Wayne E. Knabach was an important figure whose legacy includes hundreds of South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University electrical engineering graduates working in the power industry. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University in 1949 and his M.S. in engineering from SDSU in 1961. Joining SDSU in 1957, the same year that Crothers Engineering Hall opened, Knabach taught for 38 years, retiring as Professor Emeritus of electrical engineering in 1995.
Before joining SDSU, Knabach worked for Northwestern Public Service Company in Yankton and Huron from 1949 to 1957, which provided him numerous practical applications to share with his students.
Knabach was honored by members of the CPSS in 2009, receiving the first CPSS Lifetime Achievement à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã presented to him by Mike Sydow of NorthWestern Energy, one of Wayne’s students.
After several years battling cancer, Wayne Knabach died on Aug. 5, 2014.
Because of his extensive work in the power industry, the Center for Power Systems Studies annually presents the Wayne E. Knabach à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã for Excellence in Power to an engineer and/or company that has had a great impact in the power community.
Past Wayne E. Knabach à£à£Ö±²¥Ðãees for Excellence in Power
- 2010 – Ed Cannon
- 2011 – Rod Scheel
- 2012 – Wanda Reder
- 2013 – Jeff Nelson
- 2014 – Steve Arbach
- 2015 - Dick McComish
- 2016 - Bob Zavadil
- 2017 - Jim Wilcox
- 2018 - John Kappenman
- 2019 - Jim Edwards
- 2020 - Mike Ropp
- 2021 - Ray Wahle
- 2022 - Blair Metzger
- 2023 - Bob Schulte