Roy Billinton BSc, MSc, PhD, D.Sc

Roy Billinton obtained B.Sc and M.Sc degrees from the University of Manitoba and Ph.D and D.Sc degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. He joined the University of Saskatchewan as an Assistant Professor in 1964, He was appointed as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus effective July 2013.

Dr. Billinton’s area of research is power system reliability, economics and performance and he has developed a wide range of techniques to evaluate the reliability of engineering systems, from simple configurations to complex systems such as large electric power generation, transmission and distribution systems. In this regard, he has made a significant contribution to the development and application of quantitative techniques for past performance and predictive assessment of power system reliability.

He is the author or co-author of ten books dealing with power system reliability. His first book, published in 1970, is considered to be the first book in English on the subject of power system reliability. He is the author or co-author of over 975 technical papers related to his research. He has made presentations, or given courses, in 42 countries, and has given over 100 short courses on reliability evaluation to electric power utilities in Canada or abroad. He has a Google Scholar h-index of 91 with over 42,000 citations.

During his tenure at the University of Saskatchewan, over 135 graduate students have received their degrees under his supervision. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in 1980 and received the University of Saskatchewan Distinguished Researcher Award in October 1993.

Professor Billinton’s research work is international in scope and he has been very active in both the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA). He joined the CEA in 1962. His contributions to the CEA and Canada were recognized by giving him the CEA Centennial Award for distinguished service to the Canadian electric power industry in 1991. He became a Fellow of the IEEE in 1978.

In addition to his international research activities, Professor Billinton served the College of Engineering as Executive Director of the U of S/CIDA Inner Mongolia Engineering College Project and as the USask Member on the CIDA/Nepal Engineering College Consortium. His contributions to international activities at USask were recognized by presenting him with the J.W. George Ivany Internationalization Award in 2000.

Professor Billinton has received a number of awards for his research on power system reliability assessment and the practical application of these concepts in generation, transmission and distribution systems. These awards include the IEEE Canada McNaughton Gold Medal in 1994, and the IEEE Canada Power Medal in 2008. His research contributions have been recognized by the following two distinct and important awards.

The Roy Billinton Power System Reliability Award was initiated in 2010 by the IEEE Power & Energy Society to honor Professor Billinton and "to recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions to reliability of electric power systems."

Election to United States National Academy of Engineering membership is considered to be one of the highest professional honors accorded an engineer. Professor Billinton was elected a Foreign Associate in 2007 for "contributions to teaching, research and application of reliability engineering in electric power generation, transmission, and distribution systems."

Dr. Billinton received the IEEE Power and Energy Society Lifetime Achievement Award at the IEEE PES General Meeting in Atlanta in August 2019.