SUMMARY

A gifted and skilled, hands-on, mechanically-inclined engineer, a visionary and

catalyst for change who likes to both generate ideas and to implement them (this
is my core competency; what I really like to do); has a creative side that cont
inuously longs for expression. A thinker, planner, and doer, seeking opportunit
ies to generate ideas, offer solutions, and then implement and/or oversee their
implementation. Strong desire to express thoughts and ideas; impact change, and
work on creative and innovative projects with other creative, inventive, and im
aginative people; generates lots of ideas and possibilities under the right circ
umstances. Enjoys learning; masters new skills quickly; continually seeks oppor
tunities to learn and grow and be a part of the bigger picture.
OBJECTIVES
Find fulfilling work by working on creative projects with other creative people
in a positive learning environment. Seeks creative expression opportunities by
using creativity, imagination, and innovation to implement ideas and/or test/pro
ve their value, impact positive change, help others, and provide for my family.

A deep thinker with passions in the realm of the practical; possesses an intuiti
ve sense that things can be done and how to accomplish them. Gifted at testing,
trying, experimenting, building, etc. to discover what works and what doesn’t; main
ly interested in developing ideas and concepts and their practical implementatio
n. In my ideal job I would enjoy researching and collecting tools, thoughts, in
formation, ideas, materials, and other resources as needed and then implementing
a practical project or a solution.
NOTE: Helping others with their problems; increasing operational efficiency an
d adding value to the company’s bottom line are beneficial positives (not primary mo
tivators) to what I do best. And my growing understanding and technical experti
se make me a gifted problem solver and tech support person, but this is not some
thing I want to do all the time (no more than 5-10%). I prefer closure, and the
n onto a new project.
JOB POSSIBILITIES
R&D, applied R&D, applied research, pilot projects, system design, system develo
pment, research engineer, design engineer, project engineer, system engineer, sy
stem integrator, process engineer, field engineer, field scientist, technical sp
ecialist, marine engineer, geologist, technical writer, serve on corporate desig
n and development team, etc. Will consider working in various areas and discipl
ines; will relocate.
PERSONALITY PROFILE
• Primary motivations are identity and purpose, inspiration, creativity, recogniti
on and appreciation, and continued growth and development. “Chris has excellent tec
hnical skills which he utilizes to maximize the success of AIU (Ameren IL Utilit
ies)… Because of the high level of technical skills needed, Chris has continued to l
earn new skills and has become innovative in applying them.†–Rick Mellor, Manager IL Me
tering & Special projects.
PERSONALITY PROFILE (CONT.)
• Highly insightful and intuitive; asks tough questions. Prefers to be physically
active not ball and chained to a computer. Likes to use tools; unafraid of dir
t: enjoys digging, researching, and studying problems or issues from various ang
les, and then offering management ideas, options, and possibilities and then imp
lementing or overseeing their implementation. “Chris has worked hard to complete cr
itical work on time and with a high level of accuracy.†–John Herron, former Supervisor
• Articulate communicator; grasps the complex and relates to the target audience.
Unquestioned integrity; strong beliefs and values; high quality and accuracy; c
ompetent, capable, and responsive; follows through to make sure things are done
according to specs; able to focus and concentrate for long periods without inter
ruptions. “Chris is skilled at getting diverse groups of people working together to
ward a common goal. He helps others be successful.†–Lynn Davis, PE
• Has the unique ability to add value to any organization not only by understandin
g and interpreting relevant facts and relationships in people, equipment, system
s, etc. and then generating potential ideas and solutions, but also by being abl
e to implement or oversee their implementation. “He is particularly strong in apply
ing analytical and problem solving skills in averting problems and developing cr
eative solutions.†–Wayne Sternberg, former Supervisor
ACCOMPLISHMENTS & EXPERIENCE
Career Engineer: AMS System Metering, Ameren (2003-present)
Current duties/activities/responsibilities: In my current role I’m a technical meter
ing specialist for the Ameren IL Utilities. This position has a mixture of desi
gn and support activities. Design includes: performing the R&D for high-end met
ers and equipment [such as L+G Maxsys Elite, Satec, and ITRON MVLTxi]; developin
g and testing custom meter programs; system design/overseeing modifications to e
xisting systems and infrastructure to support new meter devices; preparation of
field training materials and training field personnel; R&D for special customer
interfaces to meter equipment [such as DNP3 & Modbus]; plus I also engineer capi
tal projects and O & M work for non-standard meter designs (34.5KV through 345KV
), and some substation automation work too. Support includes: support for meter
shops and test equipment; supporting our field meter techs for meter-related pr
oblems and issues; and support for the ITRON meter reading systems such as MV90,
MVRS, and MVLT as well as our AMR system. Also, I’m currently serving as a technic
al liaison for the AMI/Smart Grid Team.
• Conceived and worked with programmers and IT staff to develop a wireless meter f
ile upload process so that critical meter reading files could be sent from the t
rucks in the field directly to the billing system.
• Automated meter shop testing process by adding bar code scanning equipment which
increased operational efficiency in the testing process by 20%.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS & EXPERIENCE (CONT.)
• Developed and implemented proactive pre-programming approach for new 2006 Illino
is rates that allowed 9K meters to be field programmed before new rates became a
ctive.
• Participated on Ameren Integration team [during the transition from Illinois Pow
er to Ameren] to migrate Illinois Power’s metering systems (reading, programming, bi
lling, data warehousing, etc.) into Ameren’s new systems. This high-profile, fast t
rack project met deadlines and resulted in seamless integration.
Electrical Engineer III: Electric Meter Dept, Illinois Power (1999-2003)
• Implemented nightly MV90 monitoring solution of key accounts by replacing obsole
te meters and equipment and installing cell phones at Illinois Power’s top 300+ elec
tric customers over a two year period. This improved metering accuracy, system
reliability, and timeliness of customer bills.
• Offered a creative metering solution for recording critical system transformer d
ata for 30+ system-critical transformers and oversaw installation and setup of t
he new meters over a very short time period.
Electrical Engineer II: Corporate Engineering Dept, Illinois Power (1997-1999)
• Developed and implemented the idea of “field configurable meters†which significa
creased operational and organizational efficiency. Worked with various parties
to make the required infrastructure changes which resulted in fewer standardized
model types; reduced inventories, and fewer meters being changed out in the fie
ld.
• Wrote, documented, and tested meter programs for load research (LR), trained fie
ld personnel, and oversaw changes in infrastructure so that the system planners
could get the data they needed in time for their rate studies.
Senior Electrical Engineer: Magnum Technologies Inc. (1995-1997)
• On site design and project engineer for Monsanto Chemical for small to medium-si
zed capital and O & M projects involving power, control, and instrumentation equ
ipment which included motor controls, AB PLC5, Fisher Provox DCS, process analyz
ers, meters, control loops, installing equipment in hazardous/classified locatio
ns, etc.
• Prepared drawings, specs, and bid packages. Procured materials. Worked with co
ntractors and plant personnel to oversee installation and startup.
Electrical Engineer: Gas Engineering Dept, Illinois Power (1988-1995)
• Developed “one box solution†by implementing custom electronic control algorithms
oops, AGA measurement specifications, etc. in RTUs for gas facility and compress
or station automation projects.
• Conceived the idea and wrote the specs for a Conitel to Modbus protocol converte
r and convinced management on covering the R & D which resulted in using off the
shelf devices instead of expensive proprietary equipment.
• Upgraded and modernized various pneumatic controls and processes to electronic a
t Illinois Power’s top 20 custody transfer sites used for natural gas measurement an
d control, compressor controls, control loops, system monitoring, telemetry, etc
.
Instrumentation Engineer: Corporate Engineering Dept, Illinois Power (1985-1988)
• Performed system study and wrote management report for remotely controlled and m
onitored gas facilities, and as a result a long term replacement plan was implem
ented to change out equipment on the top 100 system critical locations.
• Replaced problematic relay logic and pneumatic controls on gas odorizers with GE
Series 1 PLCs at a dozen facilities which greatly simplified installations and
increased reliability.
• Completed numerous small capital and O & M projects to replace obsolete and prob
lematic equipment.
KEY WORDS
Creative, innovative, visionary, resourceful, ideas, proof-of-concept, focused,
possibilities, options, naturally curious, questioning, intuitive, discerning, i
maginative, independent, analyze, research, investigate, R&D, test, try, experim
ents, designer, developer, planner, builder, producer, tangible results, start-t
o-finish, turnkey, hands-on, mechanically-inclined, skilled, practical, sensible
, competent, capable, genuine, authoritative, learner, inspire, integrity, team
player, high quality, high accuracy
EDUCATION
B.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY, (1984), GPA 2
.93
Franklin-Simpson Vocational School, Franklin, KY (1978 – 1980), 2 year Industrial El
ectricity
Franklin-Simpson High School, Franklin, KY (1980), 5th out of 205 students, GPA
3.5
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Weight lifting, outdoor activities (gardening, shooting, walking/hiking, bike ri
ding, boating/canoeing, etc.) writing, metal detecting, certain types of cartoon
s & fantasy, photography, filmmaking, rock tumbling
OTHER CREATIVE & NOTEWORTHY ENDEAVORS
• Adobe CS3 (In Design, Photoshop, etc.) experience: led volunteers to produce th
e 2008 First United Methodist Church membership photo directory.
• Nominated to receive Ameren’s 2006 President’s Performance Leadership Award.
• Completed 100’s of small design/build/remodel projects at home and for others which
utilized my electrical, plumbing, masonry, tile, carpentry, and finish work hand
s-on skills.
• Reduced my body fat from 34% to 20% in seven months.
• Built two computer labs: one for the community that allowed low income kids to l
earn about computers and the Internet, and the other for Decatur Computer Club (
DCC) and First United Methodist Church that gave the Club and the Church a place
to meet and a resource to use. “Chris has strong faith, is meticulous in his work,
is family-oriented, dependable, and has a very high level of empathy for others.†Gl
ean Price, Secretary DCC
• Received numerous Illinois Power Extra Mile Awards for helping internal and exte
rnal customers.
• Kentucky EIT certification.
• Awarded the honor of Most Outstanding Electrical Student in vocational school. (
1980)
• Won local, regional, and placed 3rd in state VICA Residential Wiring Competition
(1980)