John Kern is Manager, Electric Power & Propulsion Systems at GE Global Research. His team of nearly thirty researchers & engineers is currently focused on a variety of stationary and mobile power system application areas, including technology development for large-scale wind and solar grid integration, transmission & distribution smart grid enhancements, advanced metering infrastructures, and energy management. Mr. Kern has been with GE for over twelve years, serving in a variety of electrical power engineering, research, and leadership roles. Prior to GE Global Research, Mr. Kern gained experience in the high-voltage transmission industry, developing & fielding protection & control systems for GE Energy’s series capacitor reactive compensation systems, which increase power line capacity & efficiency. Mr. Kern earned the M.E.E.E. from Old Dominion University in 1997 and the B.S.E.E. from the United States Naval Academy in 1991. He served in the US Navy as a commissioned nuclear submarine officer, and certified as a naval nuclear engineer. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and holds eleven patents, with over a dozen applications in filing.
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