John P. Nelson

Biography

John P. Nelson has devoted his career to advancing the electrical safety of industrial power system equipment with work in power system protection, system grounding, and designs that minimize electrical hazards to equipment and personnel. During the 1990s, there was debate within the petroleum and chemical industries regarding which grounding systems were most suitable based on reliability, maintainability, and safety concerns. Nelson’s award-winning papers on high-resistance grounding for low-voltage systems provided clarity and helped settle the controversy. Nelson has presented short courses, conducted workshops, and taught undergraduate and graduate classes to many hundreds of engineers, students, and practicing professionals. With topics focusing on high-resistance grounding, arc flash protection, and electrical safety, he has contributed to raising levels of personnel safety and avoidance of electrical injury. Nelson’s current efforts are focused on the dangers associated with new, old, and poorly maintained equipment and potential safety issues with new designs.

An IEEE Fellow, Nelson is a registered professional engineer in numerous states and is currently the chief executive officer of NEI Electric Power Engineering, Inc. in Arvada, Colorado, which he founded in 1982.