Edward Kimbark
Encyclopedia
Edward Wilson Kimbark was a noted power engineer and professor of Electrical Engineering
at Northwestern University
.
Kimbark was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edward Hall and Maude (Wilson) Kimbark. In 1920 Kimbark enrolled at Northwestern University where he earned his B.S. in 1924 and his E.E. in 1925. After graduation, he worked for two years as a substation operator and testing lab assistant for the Public Service Company of Northern Illinois at Evanston, and for two years as an instructor at the University of California, Berkeley
.
He became the Assistant Curator for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
, Division of Power, in 1929. After four years at this job, Kimbark decided to return to his studies. He enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, receiving an S.M. in 1933 and a Sc.D. in 1937. While at MIT Kimbark began writing articles and books, which he would continue to do throughout his life.
Kimbark began teaching soon after receiving his Sc.D., beginning at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1939 he returned to Northwestern to teach. Here he eventually became the acting department chair, edited and taught from a textbook titled "Principles of Radar" at MIT's Radar School.
In 1950 Kimbark moved to Brazil
to help initiate an electrical engineering program at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica São Paulo. He taught electrical power systems engineering for the next five years, using his own English-language texts but lecturing and administering exams in self-taught Portuguese. (He was also proficient in French, German, and Russian, and was a lifelong proponent of Esperanto
.)
Kimbark returned to the United States in 1955 for a position at Seattle University
as the Dean of the School of Engineering. While at Seattle University he also became a consultant for Bonneville Power Administration
in Portland, Oregon
. In 1962 Kimbark began working for the BPA full time as the head of the Network Analog Group.
Kimbark’s first wife Ruth died in 1976. He retired from full time work at the BPA the same year. He continued to act as a consultant to the BPA until his death in 1982. He was survived by his second wife Iris.
Kimbark Avenue, on Chicago's South Side near the Museum of Science and Industry, is named after him.
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
Kimbark was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edward Hall and Maude (Wilson) Kimbark. In 1920 Kimbark enrolled at Northwestern University where he earned his B.S. in 1924 and his E.E. in 1925. After graduation, he worked for two years as a substation operator and testing lab assistant for the Public Service Company of Northern Illinois at Evanston, and for two years as an instructor at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
He became the Assistant Curator for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry
MOSI may refer to:* MoSi — molybdenum silicide, an important material in the semiconductor industry* MOSI - Master Out Slave In, a signal on the Serial Peripheral Interface Bus* MOSI protocol, an extension of the basic MSI cache coherency protocol...
, Division of Power, in 1929. After four years at this job, Kimbark decided to return to his studies. He enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, receiving an S.M. in 1933 and a Sc.D. in 1937. While at MIT Kimbark began writing articles and books, which he would continue to do throughout his life.
Kimbark began teaching soon after receiving his Sc.D., beginning at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1939 he returned to Northwestern to teach. Here he eventually became the acting department chair, edited and taught from a textbook titled "Principles of Radar" at MIT's Radar School.
In 1950 Kimbark moved to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to help initiate an electrical engineering program at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica São Paulo. He taught electrical power systems engineering for the next five years, using his own English-language texts but lecturing and administering exams in self-taught Portuguese. (He was also proficient in French, German, and Russian, and was a lifelong proponent of Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
.)
Kimbark returned to the United States in 1955 for a position at Seattle University
Seattle University
Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member...
as the Dean of the School of Engineering. While at Seattle University he also became a consultant for Bonneville Power Administration
Bonneville Power Administration
The Bonneville Power Administration is an American federal agency based in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. In 1962 Kimbark began working for the BPA full time as the head of the Network Analog Group.
Kimbark’s first wife Ruth died in 1976. He retired from full time work at the BPA the same year. He continued to act as a consultant to the BPA until his death in 1982. He was survived by his second wife Iris.
Kimbark Avenue, on Chicago's South Side near the Museum of Science and Industry, is named after him.
Works
- "Electrical Transmissions of Power and Signals" (1955)
- "Power System Stability" (1948)
- "Direct Current Transmission"(1971)
- "Principles of Radar"