Charles Proteus Steinmetz

Charles Proteus Steinmetz, born Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz in 1865, was a Prussian-American mathematician and electrical engineer and a professor at Union College. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers, and his discoveries about hysteresis helped engineers design better electromagnetic apparatus, especially electric motors for industry. At his death he held over 200 patents. He was nicknamed the Forger of Thunderbolts and the Wizard of Schenectady, and Steinmetz's equation, Steinmetz solids, Steinmetz curves and the Steinmetz equivalent circuit are named after him, as is the IEEE Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award.