Smart Grid Innovator Wayne R. Longcore to Keynote SATURN 2010 Conference

PITTSBURGH, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Wayne R. Longcore, recognized industry thought leader and key contributor to the nation's high profile efforts to modernize the electric power grid, will deliver a keynote address at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Architecture Technology User Network (SATURN) 2010 Conference, May 17-21, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minn., the SEI announced today.

Longcore is director of enterprise architecture & standards and chief architect for Consumers Energy, an investor-owned utility providing natural gas and electricity to more than six million of Michigan's nearly 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. His responsibilities cover information, operational, and network technologies. In this role, Longcore works to assure that Consumers Energy and the utility industry pursue an optimal standards-based architectural direction for the communications and control infrastructure of the evolving smart grid.  Recently, his work has been almost entirely dedicated to establishing a consistent vision, architecture, and set of standards for the future of the smart grid.

"The architecture-centric engineering practices that the SEI has developed and applied across government and industry can be of great benefit to the utility sector as it undergoes this important transformation," says Longcore. "I'm honored to speak at SATURN 2010 and share my experiences in working to modernize today's power grid."

In addition to his current roles at Consumers Energy, Longcore serves as a governing board member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), a board member of the Department of Energy's GridWise Architecture Council, and a board of directors member of the Utility Communication Architecture International users group (UCAIug). A member of the original team that co-authored the national smart grid conceptual model, Longcore was chosen to be a part of the SGIP Architecture Council and a member of the Open Smart Grid (OpenSG) Technical Committee.

"The modernization of the power grid is one of the largest, most complex software, systems, and system-of-systems architecture challenges we're facing today," said Linda Northrop, director of the SEI's Research, Technology, and System Solutions Program. "Wayne Longcore is a driving force in addressing issues including smart grid architecture, interoperability standards, and cyber security. We are delighted that he will be sharing his ideas and experiences with all in attendance at the SATURN 2010 Conference."

About SATURN 2010

Each year, the SEI Architecture Technology User Network (SATURN) Conference brings together experts from around the world to exchange best architecture-centric practices in developing, acquiring, and maintaining software-reliant systems. Architects at all levels meet to share ideas and lessons learned, network, and learn about new and existing technologies. The SATURN 2010 Conference is being held in collaboration with IEEE Software magazine, which will publish selected papers from the conference. For more information, go to http://www.sei.cmu.edu/saturn/2010/. 

About the IEEE Computer Society

With nearly 85,000 members, the IEEE Computer Society is the world's leading organization of computing professionals. Founded in 1946, and the largest of the 39 societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Computer Society is dedicated to advancing the theory and application of computer and information-processing technology. The Society serves the information and career development needs of today's computing researchers and practitioners with technical journals, magazines, conferences, books, conference publications, certifications, and online courses.

The authority on translating theory into practice, IEEE Software delivers reliable, leading-edge information to software developers and managers. Peer-reviewed articles and insightful columns by real-world experts cover all aspects of the industry, including development techniques and tools, process improvement, project management, web applications, testing, usability, and much more. For more information, visit the IEEE Software website at http://www.computer.org/software.

About the Software Engineering Institute

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a U.S. Department of Defense federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University. The SEI helps organizations make measured improvements in their software engineering capabilities by providing technical leadership to advance the practice of software engineering. For more information, visit the SEI website at http://www.sei.cmu.edu.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute