John McDonald of GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions

John McDonald, Smart Grid Business Development Leader for GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions business and Life Fellow of IEEE, will present, "Big Data, IoT, Enterprise Data Management and the New Data Requirements of Drones and Robotic Inspection Devices". 

Abstract:

This talk begins by discussing key industry/societal trends and their impacts. To realize greater benefits from Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) the two types of data within the IED, operational and non-operational, must be managed differently. The Internet of Things (IoT) and its benefits, and examples of new groups of analytics being developed, will be discussed. The importance of convergence of the Operations Technology and Information Technology groups within a utility is emphasized, and its enablement of enterprise data management. The importance of grid modernization industry standards to facilitate integration and interoperability is critical for success. Lastly, the use of new sources of data - unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robotics – will be described, available data identified, use of the data shown, and data management principles to be implemented discussed. 

Biography:

John D. McDonald, P.E., is the Smart Grid Business Development Leader for GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions business. John has 49 years of experience in the electric utility transmission and distribution industry. John received his B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. (Power Engineering) degrees from Purdue University, and an M.B.A. (Finance) degree from the University of California-Berkeley.

John is a Life Fellow of IEEE (member for 52 years), member of IEEE-HKN (inducted 52 years ago) and Tau Beta Pi (inducted 50 years ago), member of the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, and was awarded the IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Excellence in Power Distribution Engineering Award, the IEEE PES Substations Committee Distinguished Service Award, the IEEE PES Meritorious Service Award, the 2016 CIGRE Distinguished Member Award, the 2016 CIGRE USNC Attwood Associate Award, the 2021 CIGRE Honorary Member Award and the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) Lifetime Achievement Award.

John is Past President of the IEEE PES, the VP for Technical Activities for the US National Committee (USNC) of CIGRE, the Past Chair of the IEEE PES Substations Committee, the IEEE Division VII Past Director, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. John was on the Board of Governors of the IEEE-SA (Standards Association), is an IEEE Foundation Director and Chair of its 50^th Anniversary Celebration Committee and is a Founding Board Member of the SECC.

John received the 2009 Purdue University Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award and the 2023 Purdue University Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. John teaches Smart Grid courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a Smart Grid course for GE, and Smart Grid courses for various IEEE PES local chapters as an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer (since 1999). John has published one hundred fifty papers and articles, has co-authored five books and has one US patent.