John F. Peters

Biography

John F. Peters (M '14, F '23, Member for Life), consulting engineer, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., has been awarded the Edison Medal for 1953 "for his contributions to the fundamentals of transformer design, his invention of the Klydonograph, his contributions to military computers and for his sympathetic understanding in the training of young engineers." The Edison Medal was be presented to Mr. Peters during the general session at the AIEE Winter General Meeting, January 18, 1954, in New York, NY.

Mr. Peters was born on September 11, 1884. He grew up on a farm near Chambersburg, Pa., where he worked immediately after completing grade school. Because of his financial condition, he was unable to attend either high school or college. In 1905 Mr. Peters left the farm and found employment as a night electrician at the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Steel Company. A few months later, he entered the employ of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation with whom he remained until his. retirement in 1950. Mr. Peters started his Westinghouse career as an armature winder and about a year later was transferred to the transformer engineering department. In 1917 he became technical assistant to the manager of the transformer engineering department and in 1926 he became the first Westinghouse employee with the title of consulting engineer, a position he held until his retirement in 1950. In this capacity, he has been of assistance in a wide variety of problems covering the electrical utility and industrial fields and later the military field. Since his formal retirement, he was retained by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on a part-time basis for consultation on special projects.