Alexander Avery
2015 PES Scholar – Auburn University

 

What is your current job & what are you doing?

I'm currently an engineer at Southern Company Services's Transmission Planning Special Studies group. We perform studies not already delegated to other groups. This includes analysis of insulation, harmonics, switching events, ferroresonance, and GMD events, though I can't pretend to know how to perform all of them in detail.

How being selected as a PES Scholar impacted you?

Being selected as a scholar, quite frankly, helped my dad send three children to school at once. Performance is highly valued in our family, and he didn't want a part-time job or two to potentially invade our chance to have the best opportunities later. Every single dollar helped that balancing act.

What do you like about being in the power industry?

Being in the power sector has given me a glimpse into significant modern issues, particularly the benefits and drawbacks of different energy sources. Additionally, there are areas of power that tie into different areas of engineering, so working in power has not inherently limited me to knowing about only the power industry.