Remembering IEEE Power & Energy Society Leader Mel Olken

Mel OlkenFormer executive director of the IEEE Power & Energy SocietyFellow, 92; died 9 JanuaryOlken became the first executive director of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) in 1995. In 2002 he left the position to serve as founding editor in chief of the society’s Power & Energy Magazine. Olken led the publication until 2016, when he retired.After receiving a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the City College of New York, Olken was hired as an electrical engineer by American Electric Power, a utility based in Columbus, Ohio. He helped design coal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power plants. While at AEP, he was promoted to manager of the electrical generation department.He joined IEEE in 1958 and became a PES member in 1973. An active volunteer, he chaired the society’s energy development and power generation committee and its technical council.Olken was elected an IEEE Fellow in 1988 for “contributions to innovative design of reliable generating stations.”He became an