Academic Credentials
  • B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1968
Professional Honors
  • Life Fellow, IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
  • IEEE PES Cyril Veinott, Electromechanical Energy Conversion Award, 2014
Professional Affiliations
  • Eta Kappa Nu (member)
  • Life Fellow - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
  • CIGRE (International Conference on Large High Voltage Electric Systems) (member Study Committee A1, Rotating Electrical Machines)

Mr. Edmonds specializes in power systems for electric power generation, covering all aspects of electric rotating machinery including on-line machine condition monitoring and power plant equipment diagnostic techniques, which includes electronic processing equipment and communication technologies. In this position, Mr. Edmonds has been responsible for leading design and failure investigations in the field of power electrical systems, including the study and analysis of rotating electrical machinery (generators, motors, and motor drive systems).  

Mr. Edmonds' generator expertise includes investigations of all aspects of large turbo-alternators; large, medium and small hydro generators; and wind-turbine generators: stator core, stator windings, rotor elements and excitation systems. These investigations have required a detailed knowledge of, and experience related to the generating equipment, power plant operation and maintenance procedures, interfacing equipment such as transformers, monitoring systems, unit control systems and protective relaying schemes. His motor expertise includes investigations of large, medium, and small fixed-speed and variable-speed motor drive systems of various applications and varying degrees of complexity.

Using these investigative skills, Mr. Edmonds has developed root-cause analyses for equipment design and installation defects, for relay and control misoperations, and for electrical equipment malfunctions that were responsible for cascading events and major process and system losses.

In addition to conducting investigations and testifying in matters related to power electrical systems, Mr. Edmonds has performed numerous investigations and has testified as an expert witness in matters pertaining to arc flash injuries, electrical shock incidents, electrocutions, and fire investigations that were estimated to be electrical in origin.

Prior to joining Exponent, Mr. Edmonds was Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of MCM Enterprise Limited, responsible for the introduction, marketing, and sales of the company's prime products: rotor mounted scanners for hydro-generators and lead acid battery monitoring systems. Mr. Edmonds supported the users of the diagnostic systems by providing interpretation and analysis of the diagnostic data.

For 13 years Mr. Edmonds was a Project/Program Manager for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), where he led advanced-technology research and development programs for improved power generation. This comprised technology assessments, technology development, product applications, market research, as well as commercialization aspects. It gave Mr. Edmonds an in-depth insight into the root causes leading to plant outages and performance limitations. EPRI's management selected Mr. Edmonds to serve at the National Science Foundation for one year as an electric utility industry research advisor. Prior to joining EPRI, he held a similar management position at DOE-ERDA. While at ERDA, he was chosen to chair a Source Evaluation Board for the selection of a contractor to develop a 300-MVA superconducting generator for power plant demonstration and co-managed three Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) demonstration projects.

As Staff Electrical Engineer with American Electric Power, Mr. Edmonds was responsible for all aspects of electric rotating machinery applications. This included evaluation of new equipment designs, establishing existing plant maintenance and refurbishment programs, and management of the decommissioning and disposal of retired rotating machinery systems, as well as coordination of equipment contracts for new power plant construction. Mr. Edmonds also has conducted onsite equipment testing and evaluations and instituted a unique application of a retired turbine-generator to stabilize power-line voltages in a local region.