Peter Lawrenson

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Peter Lawrenson
Born(1933-03-12)12 March 1933
FREng[2](1983)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Leeds

Peter John Lawrenson, FIEE, FIEEE,

Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds who pioneered and championed the development of switched reluctance drive technology. He also made significant contributions to the analysis and computation of magnetic fields and electrical machines in general, writing several notable text books along with colleagues Kenneth Binns,[5] Martyn Harris and J. Michael Stephenson [6] and latterly with C.W. ("Bill") Trowbridge.[7]

Biography

Lawrenson was born in

GEC. His early published activities include work on linear electrical machines with Eric Laithwaite, in which the linear induction motor was considered as a propulsion means for the shuttle in textile weaving machines.[8][9]

In 1961 Lawrenson was appointed a

Electrical Engineering in 1966. He retired from his chair in 1991 with the title Emeritus Professor, in order to devote his full-time attention to the growing business he had co-founded in Leeds, Switched Reluctance Drives Ltd.[17][18]

Lawrenson is considered the father of the

Nidec Corporation
of Japan in 2010 (to whom Emerson sold its entire US-based motor interests). The former SR specialist unit was transferred to Nidec's Drive Systems subsidiary in 2016, but was much reduced in size and scope in 2019 when Nidec ended all manufacturing at the Harrogate site and greatly downsized the (until then) substantial engineering team. By now, under Nidec's direction, the business unit was already increasingly focused on other motor technologies, notably synchronous permanent magnet machines. Nidec Drive Systems continues to supply SR motors and inverters, but presently only for a minority of customer-specific industrial and off-road vehicle applications.

Lawrenson was the recipient of the

Edison Medal in 2005 For outstanding contributions to the field of electrical machines, most notably the development and commercialization of switched reluctance drives.[1]

Lawrenson was president of The Institution of Electrical Engineers from 1992 to 1993.[1][19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "IEEE Edison Medal Recipients". www.ieee.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "List of Fellows".
  3. ^ Turner, Michael J. (2023). "Peter John Lawrenson. 12 March 1933—27 October 2017". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 75.
  4. ^ Peter John Lawrenson
  5. ^ "Analysis and Computation of Electric and Magnetic Field Problems", K.J. Binns and P.J. Lawrenson, Pergamon Press, 1963
  6. ^ "Per-Unit Systems with Special Reference to Electrical Machines (IEE Monograph Series, #4)", M.R. Harris, P.J. Lawrenson and J.M. Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1970
  7. ^ "The Analytical and Numerical Solution of Electric and Magnetic Fields", K.J. Binns, P.J. Lawrenson and C.W. Trowbridge, Wiley-Blackwell, 1992
  8. ^ "A self-oscillating induction motor for shuttle propulsion", E.R. Laithwaite and P.J. Lawrenson, Proceedings of the IEE - Part A: Power Engineering, Volume: 104, Issue 14, 1957, p.93
  9. ^ "Shuttle propulsion", E.R. Laithwaite and P.J. Lawrenson, Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Volume 3, Issue 26, 1957, p.96-97
  10. ^ "A new unexcited synchronous machine", P.J. Lawrenson and L.A. Agu, Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Volume 110, Issue 7, 1963, p.1275
  11. ^ "Reluctance machines", P.J. Lawrenson and L.A. Agu, IEE Electronics and Power Journal, Volume 10 Issue 8, 1964, p.264-265
  12. ^ "Theory and performance of polyphase reluctance machines", P.J. Lawrenson and L.A. Agu, Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Volume 111, Issue 8, 1964, pp.1435-1445
  13. ^ "Low-inertia reluctance machines", P.J. Lawrenson and L.A. Agu, Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Volume 111, Issue 12, 1964, pp.2017-2025
  14. ^ "Development and application of reluctance motors", P.J. Lawrenson, IEE Electronics and Power Journal, Volume 11, Issue 6, 1965, pp. 195-198
  15. ^ "Two-speed operation of salient-pole reluctance machines", P.J. Lawrenson, Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Volume 112, issue 12, 1965, pp.2311 - 2316
  16. ^ "Variable-speed switched reluctance motors", P.J. Lawrenson, J.M. Stephenson, P.T. Blenkinsop, J. Corda and N.N. Fulton, IEE Proceedings B - Electric Power Applications, Volume 127, Issue 4, 1980. pp. 253-265
  17. ^ University of Leeds, List of Emeritus Professors Archived 2012-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Debrett's Biography
  19. ^ "Peter Lawrenson". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Lawrenson&oldid=1180856911"