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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING DR. EDMUND SCHWEITZER
______
HON. CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS
of washington
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize
Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer III. On May 2, 2019, he will be inducted into
the National Inventors Hall of Fame for inventing the world's first
practical microprocessor digital relay for the power grid.
Before his breakthrough invention, utilities relied on bulky relays
made of springs, magnets, and coils. Dr. Schweitzer turned these
cumbersome and old systems into precise and reliable ones with a
digital relay that is one-eighth the size, one-tenth the weight, and
best yet, one-third the price! His multifunctional digital relay not
only protects power systems, it also records data and identifies
faults. As a result, he's inspired even more inventions that have
become the standard features for protective data relays around the
globe.
In short, Dr. Schweitzer revolutionized our power grid with computer-
based protection and control equipment. Of course, what I'm most proud
of is that Pullman, Washington, is home to his great success story.
It's where he earned his doctorate at Washington State University in
1977.
It's also in Pullman where Dr. Schweitzer built his company,
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), which has created thousands
and thousands of jobs in rural Eastern Washington since 1982 and is now
a 100 percent employee-owned ESOP.
Madam Speaker, Dr. Schweitzer's professional work is electrical
engineering, but his greatest invention is truly in human resources.
He's led to create a culture of innovation, opportunity, and respect
that has empowered people in my district to have an opportunity for a
better life. Right now, SEL employs 5,200 people who develop and
manufacture a suite of products that make electric power safer, more
reliable, and more affordable for utility companies, mines, factories,
hospitals, universities and data centers in 164 countries around the
world.
I'm proud to call Dr. Schweitzer a friend and a mentor. It's not an
exaggeration to say that his work is the fulfillment of the American
Dream. He's a living example of the wonderful accomplishments that are
made possible when the seeds of invention are able to grow freely
without federal regulations holding them back.
This week, Dr. Schweitzer will have the amazing honor of joining
Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, and Hedy Lamarr in
the National Inventors Hall of Fame. On behalf of the 116th United
States Congress and Washington's Fifth Congressional District, I'm
proud to congratulate him and thank him for his ingenuity that will
inspire many Americans for decades to come.
____________________
