CHEN XIAO-JIE, ALSO KNOWN AS JACKSON X.J. CHEN, BEGINS EACH DAY AT 6 A.M. Evenings, he likely can be found poring over electrical engineering magazines, surfing the Internet for the latest in transmission and distribution technology, discussing his findings with peers or writing articles to teach others about what he has learned. Don't jump to any conclusions, however. Chen isn't a fresh-faced college graduate eager to make his mark on the world — he's a 76-year-old “retired” electrical engineer who hails from Shanghai, China.

With a population of around 1.3 billion, China covers approximately 3.7 million sq miles and is the world's second-largest energy consumer (after the United States), comprising one of the most extensive electrical grids on the planet. Almost from its inception, Chen has been involved in advancing his country's electrical power infrastructure.

“I graduated from the University of Xiamen in the summer of 1952 and joined the Shanghai Electric Power Co. (now the Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Co.) that same year,” says Chen. “I worked there until I retired in 1996.”

During his 44-year career at Shanghai Electric Power Co., Chen held a variety of positions. “I worked as a professional engineer or chief engineer in safety supervisory, distribution line operation and maintenance, transmission line operation and maintenance, UHV substation operation and maintenance, technical training, customer service, and finally as the director of the distribution and utilization R&D department,” he says.

According to Chen, two incidents occurred during his early years at Shanghai Electric Power Co. that influenced the rest of his life.

“Our regular workday began at 8 a.m.,” he remembers. “One day, I arrived at 7:30 a.m. to find the lineman team leader cleaning and preparing our work area, gathering needed materials and checking the safety equipment. He advised me that if I wanted to be a good engineer, I must be sure the team had superior working conditions and that they had the necessary information and advice to perform their job that day. Of course, all this had to be done before the other team members arrived.”

From that day forward, Chen made sure he arrived at Shanghai Electric Power Co. before 6 a.m. The veteran engineer says his early-morning arrival gave him more time to perform necessary office work, as well as extra time in the field, cultivating friendships, gathering information and gaining hands-on experience. “My habit of arriving early persisted until the day before I retired,” he says.

The second incident happened in 1954, when Chen was still working as an assistant safety supervisory engineer. “I encountered consistent faults on overhead line joints,” he says. “At that time, the joints were filled with tin solder, which couldn't meet the increasing current density [requirements] and were also weak in mechanical strength. Although a new technology was being used by other utilities to solve this problem, we didn't know about it. The faults continued to occur until compression joint technology was introduced to us. This event taught me a great lesson: It's important to learn new technologies in order to improve or correct certain conditions. In the meantime, I also saw the importance of passing on to others what I had learned.”

According to Chen, his interest in electrical engineering stems from his childhood. “My father went abroad to study electrical engineering,” he says. “He graduated from MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, Massachusetts] in 1921. I believe this caused my interest in electrical works and the study of electrical engineering.”

Even after retiring from Shanghai Electric Power Co., Chen continued to be involved in the world of electrical engineering. “I served as secretary general for the Urban Power Distribution Committee of Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering for many years, as well as the secretary of the CIRED China National Liaison Committee until July 2007,” Chen says.

These days, Chen can be found studying information about electric-power distribution from magazines and the Internet, and writing papers to introduce these new technologies or management ideas to others in the business. “Especially to young engineers,” he says. “I hope to inspire their improvement of business or to help them to search for information they might need. This keeps me busy.” In addition, Chen encourages communication exchanges between the Chinese Contingent and fellow member of CIGRÉ.

“I will be in Shanghai for all the days of my retirement,” says Chen. “My wife, who is also a retired senior engineer in high-voltage testing with Shanghai Electric Power Co., encourages me to do what I find interesting. When I was working or studying, she gave me help with the housework so I could have more time to do so. As always, I help her with the cooking and heavy household chores. But I can never give up my hobby and be an unoccupied person.”