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JOSEPH K. DILLARD
1 91 7-1 988
BY EDWIN L. HARDER
FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS from 1955 to 1980, Joseph K Dillard
and his talented group of associates were the virtual leaders in
the tremendous advances in power system technology. His
seventy-five papers published between 1952 and 1974 are an
excellent chronology of these developments. They cover the
solutions to all the problems encountered as the system transmis-
sion voltages were increased to 345 kilovolts (kV), then to 500 kV
and 765 kV, and as the systems were interconnected, pooled, and
operated as vast networks.
Notable are the TicId 345-kV Project, joint with American
Electric Power Company, Inc. (A.E.P.), and the Lea(lville 345-kV
High-Altitude Project. These provided the fundamental basis for
345-kV transmission. Then came the Apple Grove Project, joint
with A.E.P., which provided the fundamental basis for 500-kV
and 765-kV transmission line design, and the 1 lOO-kV Waltz Mill
Project, which provided for testing cables up to these voltages.
All phases of lightning protection were studied: the phenom-
enon itself, the protection of lines and stations, switching tran-
sients, and the design of equipment to minimize and control
these transients.
The most comprehensive economic study of power system
operation and planning ever undertaken led to the Powercast-
ing Program for long-range system design by computer, which,
87
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88
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
for the first time, made possible the comparison of all reasonable
alternatives of system design to provicle for expected load growth
over many years.
Along with these larger, interconnected systems came huge
turbo-generators, high-voltage transformers, nuclear power, en cl
the special problems of system stability and economic clispatch-
ing. As his papers attest, Joe provicleci the much-neecleci leader-
ship in this period of rapid system growth.
Under Joe's leaclership, Westinghouse took the lead in tech-
nical development of the first U.S. 500-kV commercial system at
Virginia Electric & Power Company. This was followed by the
Allegheny Power 500-kV system. These projects were the first in
which switching surge design was determined to be a major
consideration. This led to the clevelopment of circuit breakers
with closing resistors to permit economies of equipment and
· · . ~ . ~
transmission line design.
A very important part of electric utility engineering was the
Westinghouse annual Electric Utilities School, which brought
together promising young engineers from all over America and
the world to learn the advanced technology involved in the
design and operation of electric power systems. Joe and his
group were personally acquainted with most of the key engineers
in electric utilities throughout the world. Joe was always at the
heart of these schools, never sparing himself (or his people) in
making them a model of excellence. This contributed greatly to
the respect and confidence with which electric utilities all over
the world looked to Joe's Aclvancecl System Technology Depart-
ment for leadership and help in solving the highly complex
problems of their growing systems.
All great engineering advances are the work of many engi-
neering groups, all working in concert through the professional
technical interchange afforded by the professional societies. Joe
was a firm believer in professionalism, and the efficacy of this
interchange. He was an outstanding leader in the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), chairman of many
of its committees, active on the board ofdirectorsformanyyears,
and vice-president of technical activities and in 1976 became
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JOSEPH K. DILLARD
89
president of the IEEE, the largest professional technical organi-
zation in the world.
He lecl also in other international organizations. In CIGRE,
the International Conference on Large High Voltage Electric
Systems, he was a member of the Executive Committee, and from
1972 to 1979, vice-president of the U.S. National Committee of
CIGRE. For the WorIc3 Energy Conference, he served on the
board of (Erectors of the U.S. National Committee ~ 1972-1980)
and as chairman of the Technical Program Committee in 1974.
Born on May 10,1917, in Westminster, South Carolina, son of
a plumber-general contractor, Joe became accustomed very
early to hard work, a characteristic, along with his exceptionally
clear analytical mind, that was to pay rich dividends throughout
his strenuous career. After Westminster High School, Joe went
on to the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he studier!
electrical engineering, in the Cooperative Program. After three
years, however, he left for the U.S. Navy Yard in Charleston,
South Carolina, to become a planner and estimator for the
repair and conversion of naval vessels throughout World War II.
He married Elizabeth (Betty) Wash of Greenwood, South
Carolina, on December 8,1939. In 1946 he returned to Georgia
Tech to complete his B.S. in electrical engineering, while teach-
ing mathematics for support. Betty worked as secretary in the
Electrical Engineering Department. In 1947 he went on to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for his MSEE,
while teaching electrical engineering at the same time. Again at
MIT, Betty became secretary in the Electrical Engineering De-
partment. Betty's intimate knowledge of He's engineering eclu-
cation, and his subsequent superb use of it, was a boon not
bestowed on many engineer's wives.
In 1950 foe joined the Westinghouse Electric Company, and
after assignments in the Electric Utility Engineering Depart-
ment, the Switchgear Division, and the Analytical Department,
he became manager ofElectric UtilityEngineeringin 1956. With
a reorganization, he became manager of Electric Utility Ad-
vanced Systems Technology in 1967, and then general manager
of AcivancecI Systems Technology from 1975 until 1980. He
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go
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
retired as a senior consultant in 1982 ant! died on Februaty 13,
198S, survive c3 by his wife, Betty, and his two sons, William King
(Bill) ant! John HoIcombe Jack), and their families.
Joe gave generously of his time and talents in support of the
engineering programs at Georgia Tech, MIT, and Carnegie
Mellon University and receiver! the highest commendations
from these institutions. He served as chairman of the National
Advisory Board for GeorgiaTech andwas averystrong supporter
of many of the university's programs. He was a member of the
Board of Visitors at MIT, representing industry. He server! as
chairman of the Steering Committee for the graduate program
in power systems engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
He was a professional engineer registered in Pennsylvania and
a member of the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania
and the National Society of Professional Engineers, and he
encouraged all members of the team to follow suit.
Many honors came hisway. He was elected! a member of Sigma
Xi and in 1963 a fellow of the IEEE "for contribution to electric
power systems engineering in conversion and transmission re-
search." He was awarcled the Westinghouse Order of Merit, the
company's highest recognition, in 1973 "for his work in the
development of extra-high-voltage transmission systems tech-
nology. " He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
in 1975, among the highest distinctions given to any American
engineer. In this election he was honored "for his pioneering
work in applying digital computers to the technical and econom-
ic analysis of power generation and transmission systems."
With all this, letters from many of his friends and associates, as
well as the author's personal experience, it is revealed that Joe
was a very warm and caring human being, clemanding of himself
ant] those who worked with him, but extremely supportive and
proud of them all, with a charismatic style that endeared him to
all his many friends and associates. He was recognized for his
technical ability and his friendly and cooperative spirit. He
enjoyed his work and the people he worked with. His associates
en cl friends remember him as a "real guy." This had much to do
with the success of the vast enterprise that he led en cl his election
as president of the IEEE.
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JOSEPH K. DILLARD
91
The superb electric power systems of today stand as a lasting
memorial to the group of dedicated engineers who created
them. Joe's name stands very high on the list of those who
shepherded this fantastic development during its period of most
dynamic growth.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
electric utility
