Abstract :
Charles Edward Skinner, Assistant Director of Engineering, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., a Manager of the Institute 1915–19 and one of its Vice-Presidents 1919–20, was born on a farm near Redfield, Ohio, May 30, 1865. He was educated at Ohio University and Ohio State University, being graduated from the latter with a M. E. degree with the class of 1890. He worked his way through the University, partly as a helper at the Ohio Experimental Station Dairy and partly as a machinist in the University shops. In August, after graduating in June, he joined the organization of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company as a machinist in charge of the manufacture of railway controllers and supervised the construction of the first controllers turned out by the Westinghouse Company. Early in 1891 he was asked to undertake the development of a system for the testing of insulation: this required the development of testing apparatus, testing methods, and later he was put in charge of all insulation design, as well as testing.