Charles B. Rawlins was born in Annapolis, Maryland, on July 4, 1928. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1949, and his M. S. in Industrial Engineering from Clarkson University in 1965.

Mr. Rawlins joined Alcoa Laboratories in 1949 and specialized in overhead conductor dynamics throughout his career. He conducted research in aeolian vibration, galloping and wake induced oscillation of overhead conductors; short circuit and 'sticking' behavior of bundled conductors; and self damping, fatigue and aerodynamic characteristics of conductors. He made computer studies of line design optimization, and developed instruments used in research on conductor dynamics. When he retired from Alcoa in July 1991, he held the position of Technical Consultant. He holds nine patents, and is the author of a number technical papers and articles. He was author of the chapters on conductor fatigue and conductor galloping, and was co author of the chapter on wake induced oscillation, in the EPRI Transmission Line Reference Book, "Wind Induced Conductor Motions," published in 1979.

Since his retirement from Alcoa in 1991, he has provided consulting services in the area of conductor mechanics to various companies, and continues to do research.

He is a Fellow of IEEE, and a member and past chairman of the Working Group on Conductor Dynamics of the Subcommittee on Towers, Poles and Conductors. He is a member of CIGRE and is past U.S. Member of Working Group B2 11, "Mechanical Behavior of Conductors and Fittings." He is a member of ASME and Sigma Xi.

Contact Author: