Lee A. Kilgore
- Birthdate
- 1905/08/10
- Birthplace
- Dodge County, NE, USA
- Death date
- 2000/10/23
- Associated organizations
- Westinghouse Electric Corporation
- Fields of study
- Power
- Awards
- IEEE Lamme Medal
Biography
Lee Alton Kilgore (AM '29, F '45) was born on August 10th, 1905 in Dodge County, Nebraska and obtained the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1927, the MS. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1929, and an honorary doctor's degree from Nebraska in 1956. He started with Westinghouse in 1927 in the design of large generators.
He designed the 165,000-kw 4-pole generator in 1934 for Philadelphia Electric. This remained the highest kw rating fpr 18 years.
In 1936, he designed the first commercial ignitron rectifier, and in 1938 was made section manager of the Large Motor Design Section of Westinghouse. He later became assistant manager of generator engineering which included at the time rectifiers and motors as well as generators. In 1954, he was made manager of engineering for the East Pittsburgh Division.
Mr. Kilgore has written several AIEE papers and other articles about generator reactances, short-circuit torques, oscillations, rectifier regulation, electric couplings, wind tunnel drives, and power supplies for large particle accelerators.
In recent years, he has conducted seminars on Human Relations for Engineers and on Creativity, and has written papers and articles on these subjects.
The Lamme Medal for 1959 has been awarded to Kilgore "for meritorious achievements in the design of electrical machinery; more specifically, for analyses of synchronous machine reactances; for inventions of special armature windings; and for inventions and designs related to large adjustable-speed alternating-current motors." The presentation ceremony took place Monday, June 20, 1960. in Atlantic City, N.J. during the Summer General Meeting.
Kilgore died on October 23rd, 2000.
