2020 Meetings

The linked titles of some meetings are the presentations speakers provided.

December 1, 2020: " Testing Requirements for Devices with Communications Functions used with Electric Power Apparatus " Jerry Ramie

Abstract: The Smart Grid continues to be a hot topic worldwide. As interest in Smart Grid (SG) and the number of installations continues to rise, so does the need for EMC validation to keep the new grid operating. The focus of this presentation will be on 2019 Standards activity as devices are being installed in the electromagnetic environments near the grid. Substation environments were discussed.

Specific examples of the immunity testing required for Smart devices used with electrical apparatus were shown. Cooperation between the EMC Society and the Power & Energy Society on IEEE standards development in the last four years on immunity testing requirements for devices with communications functions was presented.

Bio: Jerry Ramie is a 34-year veteran of the EMC test and measurement equipment business. He is Secretary of the ANSI-ASC-C63® Committee on EMC, a Member of the American Radio Relay League EMC Committee, a 2011 Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE-EMC Society on Smart Grid, a Member of the SGIP2-EMI Issues Working Group, the Vice-Chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society C2 Working Group, a duo-decade Member of The dB Society, an iNARTE-certified EMC technician and a Senior Member of the IEEE.

September 15, 2020: " EMC Design, Implementation and Test of the SMAP Spacecraft L band RE10 " Chi-Chien Nelson Huang

Abstract: This talk describes the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements on the NASA SMAP mission, the implementation of EMC best practices at various levels of development in system level cabling harnesses and subsystems packaging, and the testing and results of flight hardware at the subsystem and spacecraft system levels.

Bio: Chi-Chien Nelson Huang is the Electromagnetic Compatibility Technical Group Supervisor at JPL. Prior to this, he was the lead EMC engineer for the NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission and the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, and supported the JPL EMC Group in multiple missions including the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission. He graduated with a masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of California in Los Angeles.

March 10, 2020: " Addressing Today 's 5G and EMC Challenges with Modern EMI Test Receivers" Jeremy Cline

Abstract: With all eyes on the 5G wave, this interactive session will discuss the challenges that engineers face when it comes to radiated spurious emission (RSE) testing. RSE testing is just one part of performing fully-compliant EMC measurements, however. This presentation also aims to provide an overview of the latest features available in EMI test receivers, and why they matter to everyday EMC measurements and demo.

Bio: Jeremy Cline is the EMC Receiver, Broadband Amplifier, EMC Software, and EMC Systems Product Manager at Rohde & Schwarz USA. He is also an active member of the ANSI-ASC-C63 Committee. During his 9 years with the company, Jeremy has specialized in both field and lab applications, and has authored several white papers and patents. Jeremy graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a BSEE and The University of Southern California with a MSMDDE. He can be reached via e-mail at jeremy.cline@rsa.rohde-schwarz.com.

February 18, 2020: " The Lightning Phenomenon " Marcos Rubinstein

Abstract: Lightning is one of the primary causes of damage and malfunction of telecommunication and power networks and one of the leading causes of weather-related deaths and injuries. Lightning is composed of numerous physical processes, of which only a few are visible to the naked eye. This lecture presents various aspects of the lightning phenomenon, its main processes and the technologies that have been developed to assess the parameters that are important for engineering and scientific applications. These parameters include the channel-base current and its associated electromagnetic fields. The measurement techniques for these parameters are intrinsically difficult due to the randomness of the phenomenon and to the harsh electromagnetic environment created by the lightning itself. Besides the measurement of the lightning parameters, warning and insurance applications require the real-time detection and location of the lightning strike point. The main classical and emerging lightning detection and location techniques, including those used in currently available commercial lightning location systems will be described in the lecture. The newly proposed Electromagnetic Time Reversal technique, which has the potential to revolutionize lightning location will also be presented.

Bio: Marcos Rubinstein received the Master's and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, in 1986 and 1991, respectively. In 1992, he joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was involved in the fields of electromagnetic compatibility and lightning location. From 1995 to 2000, he worked as a research engineer, project manager and program manager at Swisscom in the areas of numerical electromagnetics and EMC. In 2001, he moved to the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland HES-SO, Yverdon-les-Bains, where he is currently a full Professor and head of the Advanced Communication Technologies Group. He is the author or coauthor of more than 200 scientific publications in reviewed journals and international conferences. He is also the coauthor of nine book chapters and the co-editor of a book. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Atmospheric Science Journal, and currently serves as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility. Prof. Rubinstein received the best Master's Thesis award from the University of Florida. He received the IEEE Achievement Award and he is a co-recipient of the NASA's Recognition for Innovative Technological Work award and the ICLP Karl Berger award. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and an EMP Fellow, a member of the Swiss Academy of Sciences and of the International Union of Radio Science. Following is summary of his presentation options.

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January 14, 2020: " Preventing Utility Power Cable Outages by Early Detection and Diagnosis of RF Signatures" Ashley Harkness

Abstract: A real scenario: A high voltage 15,000 Volt electrical cable suddenly faults interrupting power: a factory halts production; a city is darkened; or the failure starts a wildfire's storm of destruction. Sudden utility cable failures can be massively destructive events. Yet, an impending failure is typically internal to the cable, often hidden within metal enclosures, and unseen. However, there is one significant precursor that signals an impending failure: Radio frequency emissions. The detection and analysis of RF emissions from energized power cables can be used to diagnose and locate potential cable failures before an outage occurs. This allows for planning to make necessary repairs during a scheduled maintenance period. How this detection and analysis can be done is the subject of this presentation by Mr. Ashley Harkness, Jr. Mr. Harkness was the technical and field expert for partial discharge testing for over 25 years at electrical testing companies. His experience in the use of RF signatures for detecting, analyzing, and presentation of field data has saved many electrical systems from unscheduled outages. In this presentation, Mr. Harkness will show techniques to safety pinpoint potential failures sites using both simple spectrum analysis and other specialized software. The attendee will see a different application of EMC techniques that are not often discussed but have significant societal impact.

Bio: Ashley Harkness joined Electrical Reliability Services (then known as Electro-Test, Inc.) in 1982. His duties have included a wide spectrum of specialized electrical measurement and testing projects including European Community Machinery and EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive testing, basic insulation level (BIL) impulse testing, process & control instrumentation acceptance and testing, electrical equipment forensic investigations, and electrical product safety testing. In addition, Ashley is a technical resource with company-wide training and responsibilities. Since 2005, Mr. Harkness has been the technical manager for the ERS Medium Voltage Systems (Switchgear and Cables) On/Off Line Partial Discharge/cable testing Initiative. In this capacity, he has taken a lead in direct application of test equipment and processes, training of technical staff, and customer sales presentations.