
Obviously, this program had inspired him to pursue a career in this discipline. Jens, like many in the German electrical power sector, had earned his PhD at the University of Braunschweig, where the late Professor Hermann Kärner had set-up an extensive program researching the insulation properties of composite materials. Although it was our first direct meeting, I had already heard of him through his work on a CIGRE Working Group studying how best to fingerprint silicone materials for hydrophobicity and other key performance properties. INMR’s relationship with Jens goes back to early 2013 when he was visiting South Africa to participate in a conference on insulators organized by Eskom and a local university. Jens Seifert of Reinhausen Power Composites in Germany has been selected this year as recipient of the Claude de Tourreil Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Electrical Insulators. Andrew Phillips of EPRI (2019), Raouf Znaidi (2020) and Dr. William Chisholm (2017), Jean-Marie George of Sediver (2018), Dr. Vaclav Sklenicka of EGU HV Laboratory (2016), Dr. Frank Schmuck (2013), Tony Carreira of K-Line Insulators (2014), Alberto Pigini (2015), Dr. Igor Gutman of the Independent Insulation Group (2012), Dr. Gorur of Arizona State University (2011), Dr. LIANG Xidong of Tsinghua University (2009), Dr. Recipients of this honor over the years have come from across the globe and included luminaries such as Prof.

Therefore, in 2009, INMR instituted an annual award to honour his memory and to keep his name and contributions alive in the minds of succeeding generations of power industry professionals. That he would no longer be remembered by the T&D engineers whose profession he had touched so profoundly. But with each passing year, it seemed inevitable that his name and accomplishments would eventually fade from view. He was cremated in his home city in Switzerland and his ashes scattered on the graves of his parents.įor the next three years, INMR paid frequent homage to Claude, re-publishing some of his most interesting columns and contributions. Despite a valiant struggle, he succumbed to it in early March 2006. Sadly, Claude contracted leukemia in 2005 just as the fruit of his life’s work was beginning to ripen and mature. Claude’s unemotional and scientifically based arguments helped convince engineers at power utilities to give serious attention to how and where this technology could be applied on their networks. Thanks to his research, many technical papers and tireless work as Convenor of CIGRE Working Groups, engineers the world over began to learn the salient facts about composite insulator technology. In the case of composite insulators, it is fair to say that electrical supply utilities worldwide, which now increasingly rely on these insulators for line and substation applications, owe a great debt to the late Dr.
Inmr marvin zimmerman professional#
Someone whose professional credentials combined with an unbiased dedication to the facts gives users the confidence to apply it. Every new technology needs someone who believes in it – a champion.
