Special:Badtitle/NS90:HistoryCommittee talk:2013 IEEE History Committee/2013 IEEE History Committee Memer introduction thread/reply (8)

Gilmore G Cooke, Senior Life Member, Boston Section, Chair of the History and Milestones Committee

I received the Bachelor of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from McGill University, Montreal in 1962. My first job after graduation was with E.I. Dupont as instrumentation and process controls engineer. I joined Bechtel’s Industrial and Power Divisions from 1964 to 1978. Responsibilities included engineering, construction, and startup services for electric utilities around the country. I then relocated to Framingham Massachusetts near Boston, where I continued working as project electrical engineer on large transportation, chemical, water, and manufacturing projects. I retired in 2001 after a successful career in electrical engineering.

I first volunteered for the Power Engineering Society (PES) while residing in Michigan during the 1970s. I was elected chair and director of the Detroit Chapter in 1976-78. My interests in the PES continued in the 1980s when I moved to Boston. I was soon appointed chair of the Industry Application Society’s History Committee. I participated in the publicity and early development of Boston’s highly successful Annual Conferences on Technologies for Homeland Security. In 2004, I was appointed to the IEEE Center of History Committee. This appointment was renewed in 2005 and 2006. As chair of the IEEE Boston Section History and Milestone Committee, I lead the research, nomination and helped organize IEEE Milestones awarded here beginning in 2004. In 2011, the Boston Section awarded me the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of my work.

Since my retirement, I've become increasingly interested in New England’s history of electricity. I’ve shared my research through numerous papers and articles for the IEEE and the SIA - Society for Industrial Archeology. I’ve also presented to numerous local historical societies and the Boston Public Library.