Eugene C. Whitney (26 August 1913 – 22 March 1998) was a celebrated power engineer who designed

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

and generators at

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includ ...

. The pinnacle of his career was the machinery for the expansion of the

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...

to add the #3 Powerhouse in 1966–74.

Biography

Whitney earned a bachelor's degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and then went to work for Westinghouse . Whitney's turbine generators for the Grand Coulee Dam are the largest in the world, six times larger than those at

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

which were also the largest when built. The turbine generators had to be shipped as parts and assembled at the dam. His Westinghouse manager recalled being surprised when they worked perfectly from the start. Gene designed and installed turbine generators for hydroelectric and

pumped-storage hydroelectric Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing (electrical power), load balancing. A PSH system stores energy i ...

facilities throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. When his equipment was installed at the Muddy Run Pumped Storage Facility, Gene "was present when the machines were first to be started. The operator was reluctant to take the first step. Gene said, 'Call your boss.' The boss said, 'If Gene says to start the machines, start them.' So they did, and water rose from the lower Susquehanna River to the upper reservoir, 400 feet above". Whitney retired from Westinghouse in 1974 and became an engineering consultant. He consulted for the Itaipu dam project in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Whitney received the Westinghouse Order of Merit in 1964 and the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

's Nikola Tesla Award in 1985. He was elected into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 1986. The election citation reads: "For outstanding contributions to the theory of electrical machines, and for the design of many of the world's largest hydrogenerators.". "Whitney is an IEEE Fellow and a member of the IEEE Rotating Machinery, Synchronous and the Power Generation Hydraulic subcommittees".

External links

Picture of Eugene C. Whitney1993 IEEE interview with Whitney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Eugene C 1913 births 1998 deaths American electrical engineers Fellows of the IEEE Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni 20th-century American engineers