At ABB, passion begins with you

Sometimes, I think I must be a goofy person: Even after 35 years, I’m still fascinated by a device that doesn’t move. Sometimes I apologize to people that all I know is transformers, but I guarantee there’s a lot going on inside those steel boxes. Over my career, I’ve worked on design and key components, and more recently with the team developing the algorithms to help customers deal with all the big data we’re collecting from the transformers. I’ve also been closely involved with the rapid recovery transformer, a project initiated by the Electric Power Research Institute or EPRI, which is kind of the R&D arm for US electric utilities. This is an important, holistic project that covers large power transformers and aims to get the ones that have failed replaced, as quickly as possible, so the impact on customers is minimal. You know, we always thought we knew everything about the transformer – what happens if it’s hit by lightning, or if there’s a short circuit on the system that puts an amazing amount of stress on the transformer. But as we’re getting into renewables, we are seeing new stresses on transformers that we couldn’t even anticipate earlier. So much has changed and keeps changing: the analytical tools we have to understand the transformers, material advancements in coatings and electrical steel, the way electricity is generated and distributed. That’s the stuff I frankly have a ball learning about and sharing with customers.