1924–1995

Elected in 1979

“For contributions in the fields of electric power system control, economic simulation, and planning and dispatch.”

BY FREDERICK J. ELLERT WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY OLGA T. KIRCHMAYER

LEON K. KIRCHMAYER, a world renowned expert in power-system simulation, planning, operation, and control, died on November 12, 1995, at the Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, New York, at the age of 71. Prior to his retirement from the General Electric (GE) Company in 1984, Kirch (as he was known to his many friends around the world) was the manager of advanced system technology and planning in the Electric Utility Systems Engineering Department of GE. He and his wife, Olga, lived in Rexford, New York.

Born on July 24, 1924, Kirch was the eldest of three children born to Henry and Clara Kirchmayer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father was a mechanic, and his grandparents were immigrants from Bavaria, Germany. Kirch and his wife, Olga, have two children. Their son, Kenneth, has a degree in industrial and management engineering and is employed as a manager at GE’s jet engine plant in Ohio. Their daughter, Karen, has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA, with an emphasis on management information systems.

Kirch and his wife were avid sailors, skiers, hikers, swimmers, and dancers throughout their married life until 1984, when Kirch had an attack of severe arrhythmia that left him comatose. He