Raymond H. Byrne

Present Position

Manager in the Electric Power System Research Department at Sandia National Laboratories

Chapter Affiliation

University of New Mexico

Background Information

CV

Statement

Raymond Byrne is manager of the Electric Power System Research department at Sandia National Laboratories, where he has been employed since 1989. He holds a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia, an MS in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado, and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico. He also completed an MS in financial mathematics (financial engineering) at the University of Chicago. Previously, he was a distinguished member of the technical staff, which is limited to a maximum of 10 percent of the engineering staff at Sandia. Awards include 2001 Time  magazine invention of the year in robotics, the Prize Paper award at the 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, and the IEEE Millennium medal. Byrne was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 2017 for contributions to miniature robotics and grid integration of energy storage.

Byrne has been a member of Sigma Xi since 1993 and currently serves as president of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Chapter. In addition, he is a past chair of the Albuquerque IEEE Section and current serves as vice-chair.

The UNM Chapter has an active fall and spring Sigma Xi seminar series that is co-sponsored by the Albuquerque IEEE Section. The meetings are well attended by UNM researchers, IEEE members, and the community at large. Each meeting concludes with a complimentary pizza dinner with the speaker. In addition, the UNM Sigma Xi Chapter and the Albuquerque IEEE Section hold a joint award banquet each May. The banquet recognizes outstanding undergraduate and graduate researchers, exceptional math and science teachers in the community, and new initiates to Sigma Xi. The banquet concludes with an invited talk. This year’s speaker was Harrison Schmitt, the most recent living person to have walked on the Moon and the last living crew member of Apollo 17. Schmitt is a resident of New Mexico and lifelong Sigma Xi member.

Colleges and universities are the foundation for academic research and education. Therefore, as the scientific research honor society, it is natural for Sigma Xi to continue close relationships with colleges and universities. By identifying outstanding researchers for membership, Sigma Xi recognizes excellence in scientific research. Since many of the challenges facing humanity are multidisciplinary, Sigma Xi is uniquely positioned to encourage the scientific research necessary to solve these difficult problems.