Pitt, Siemens Partner on Training Future Electric Power Engineers

Gregory Reed

The University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering announces its partnership with Siemens Energy, Inc., to provide Pitt’s aspiring electric power engineers with the same training and software available to their professional counterparts, as well as to support an annual graduate fellowship in power and energy engineering.

The five-year agreement with Siemens Energy, Inc.’s, Transmission and Distribution Service Solutions group marks the first of only a few collaborations the company plans to form with American universities for cultivating highly qualified and trained engineers at the university level. The company will provide the Swanson School with the full professional version of its Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS®E) software, the industry-standard tool for designing and analyzing power transmission systems. In addition, Siemens will establish a graduate fellowship at the school and provide access for faculty and students to attend Siemens’ Power Technologies International courses, which provide up-to-date training in power system analysis and planning.

Gregory Reed, director of the Swanson School’s Power and Energy Initiative and a professor of electrical and computer engineering, said that the partnership presents an important advantage to students entering an engineering field that is in step with the nation’s increasing need for electric power as well as more efficient and expansive delivery networks.

“We will be educating our students with the direct support of the world’s leader in power-system analysis and give them a unique opportunity to work with the tools they will use in their careers,” Reed said. “PSS®E is the tool utility companies use for daily operations and long-term planning, from maintaining their networks to implementing new technology. Wherever our students go in the power and energy field, whether they were undergraduates who were introduced to the software or graduate students who conducted research with it, their experience with PSS®E will set them apart.”

“As a trendsetter supplying products, services, and solutions that help solve the energy challenges of the future, the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering is a natural strategic partner for Siemens,” said Kevin O’Hara, vice president and general manager of Siemens Transmission and Distribution Service Solutions. “Our strategic partnership will ultimately bring competitive value to both Siemens and Pitt’s engineering students.”