Fred O. McMillan
Fred O. McMillan, AIEE President, 1951 - 1952, was an engineering professor at many U.S. universities, and he also was a consulting engineer for a number of public utility companies.
Biography
Fred Orville McMillan (A'14, M '26, F '32, Member for Life), Head, Electrical Engineering Department, Oregon State College, Convallis, Oreg., was AIEE president from 1951 to 1952. He was born May 12, 1890, in Albia, Iowa, and holds the degrees of bachelor of science in electrical engineering (1912) from Oregon State College and master of science in electrical engineering (1919) from Union College. He entered the Testing Department of the General Electric Company, Schenectady, N.Y., in 1912 and transferred to the Engineering Department in 1914 where he was engaged in design engineering for six years. In 1920 he was appointed to the electrical engineering faculty at Oregon State College as assistant professor and became From Electrical Engineering, April 1951 associate professor in 1923, research professor in 1930, and professor of electrical engineering and Head of the Electrical Engineering Department in 1937.
In addition to his academic work, Mr. McMillan has acted as consulting engineer for a number of public utilities, The Port of Portland, Oregon, in 1925, and the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1929 to 1933. He was appointed electrical engineering specialist to assist the Chinese Government with problems in China during 1943 and 1944. Much of his research work has been in the field of high-voltage phenomena including the grounded sphere-gap polarity effect and radio interference from high-voltage lines and associated equipment. This work has been reported in AIEE papers and other publications. He has served on the following AIEE committees: Student Branches (1930-36, 1949-51, Chairman 1949-51); Electrophysics (1934-37); Research (1934-41); Transfers (1936-42, Chairman 1939-41); Education (1939-40); Edison Medal (1950-52); Technical Program (1948-50); Award of Institute Prizes (1949-50) ; and Publication (1949-51). He was Vice-President representing AIEE District 9 during 1934-36 and was elected a Director in 1948. His society affiliations include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Engineering Education, Institute of Radio Engineers, Northwest Electric Light and power Association, and the Professional Engineers of Oregon. He is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Phi Kappa Phi.
