IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2019 - 101

awards

Lionel O. Barthold
2019 IEEE Medal in Power Engineering winner

T H E I E E E M E DA L I N P OW E R
Engineering was established in 2008.
It is presented to an individual for outstanding contributions to the technology associated with the generation,
transmission, distribution, application,
and utilization of electric power for the
betterment of society. The award consists of a gold medal, bronze replica,
certificate, and honorarium.
The medal is sponsored by the
IEEE Industry Applications, Industrial
Electronics, Power Electronics, and
Power & Energy Societies. The 2019
IEEE Medal in Power Engineering
was awarded to Lionel O. Barthold "for
outstanding contributions to and leadership in advancing the technologies of
electric power transmission."

Lionel O. Barthold
Barthold's continued
advancements in power transmission technologies have played
a prominent role in the
reliable and efficient
operation of today's
high-voltage transmission systems. His early work on transmission system design parameters ranged
from circuit breaker reclosing times to
insulation levels of both lines and highvoltage equipment. He was an early proponent of statistical methods in insulation
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2019.2897810
Date of publication: 18 June 2019

july/august 2019

coordination and was a developer of the
digital method for transmission line radio
noise prediction. As the technical director of General Electric's Project EHV, he
redirected work to higher voltages, renamed it Project UHV, and organized its
eventual transfer to the Electric Power
Research Institute, beginning to work on
a series of major extra high voltage line
design reference books.
Barthold founded Power Technologies, Inc. (PTI) in 1969, which served
as a technical consultant to utility companies around the world during a very
rapid expansion of transmission systems at high voltages. Barthold provided
the first source of advanced solution
methods outside the purview of electrical equipment manufacturers and introduced the first interactive software
for load-flow and dynamic analysis of
large power systems (PSS/E), which
remains the preeminent world resource
for that purpose. PTI also established

an advanced testing center focusing
on special challenges in transmission
technology ranging from thermomechanical bending protection in underground pipe-type cables to limits to compaction of medium-voltage overhead
lines and feasibility demonstrations of
high-capacity, high-phase- order ac
power transmission.
Barthold's recent work has centered
on a capacitor-based dc-to-dc transformer, which functions within a dc grid the
same way a magnetic transformer does
within an ac grid. This transformer has
been considered as a key requirement for
developing high-voltage dc macrogrids
proposed as overlays to ac transmission
systems and an important enabler in the
shift to renewable energy sources. Other
achievements include converting one of
four 380-kV ac circuits on a common
line from northern to central Germany
to high-voltage dc to give central Germany access to a large block of North
Sea wind-farm energy.
Barthold is an IEEE Life Fellow
(1972) "for contributions to EHV and
UHV technology" and a member of the
U.S. National Academy of Engineers
(1981) for "outstanding leadership and
innovation in electric utility power systems engineering, particularly in transmission technology at extra high voltage
and ultrahigh voltage." He is also an
inventor and consultant in Queensbury,
New York.
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