CORVALLIS, Ore. - Alan K. Wallace, a professor of electrical engineering at Oregon State University and one of the world's leading researchers in the evolving field of wave energy, died Wednesday, June 7, following a long illness.
An expert in electrical machine design, motor and generator efficiency and power systems analysis, Wallace was director of the OSU Motor Systems Resource Facility, which is one of the largest and most sophisticated testing laboratories of its type in the United States.
Earlier in his career, Wallace taught at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and later worked on improved propulsion systems for mass transit in Canada. He received his doctoral degree in electrical power engineering from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom in 1966.
"We have all been so blessed by Alan - by his love for life, his intellect, his integrity, his commitment to his immediate family and his family of students and colleagues," said Annette von Jouanne, an OSU professor of electrical engineering who worked closely with Wallace for 11 years.
"He was an excellent and caring mentor both inside and outside of the classroom, mastering the ability to motivate students to reach their potential," she said. "His spirit and collegial personality were enjoyed by so many of his friends, his colleagues at OSU and in industry. He was a brilliant professional, but people also just loved to be around him."
Wallace joined the OSU faculty in 1984, and with his expertise in motor design and testing, helped private industry to develop and perfect the new generations of "hybrid" gas and electric vehicles that are now gaining commercial popularity for their high fuel mileage and reduced environmental impacts.
He once said that "the goal of this research is to take the advantages of gas-powered vehicles and make them far more efficient that they ever have been before" - a task that has now been accomplished. The Motor Systems Resource Facility also helped improve the efficiency of wind energy turbines.
In recent years, Wallace and other OSU researchers turned their motor and power electronics expertise toward a new goal - the creation of technology to produce energy from ocean waves with improved systems that would be dependable, clean, cost-effective, and produce no greenhouse gas emissions.
Partly as a result of their efforts, Oregon may lead the nation and possibly the world in the evolution of wave energy systems, which could play a significant role in meeting energy needs while reducing dependence upon fossil fuels.
"Ocean energy is an idea whose time has come," Wallace said in 2003. "If only 0.2 percent of the untapped energy of the ocean could be harnessed, it could generate enough power to supply the entire world."
A memorial service for Wallace is being planned for next week.
Annette von Jouanne,
541-737-0831