Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a German-American mathematician and electrical engineer, chief consulting engineer at General Electric, who developed the mathematical theory that made alternating current systems practical to design and analyze, including his symbolic method for calculating AC circuits using complex numbers. His work on hysteresis, the energy loss in the magnetic cores of transformers and motors, allowed engineers to predict and reduce losses in AC equipment, directly improving the efficiency of electrical power generation and distribution. Nicknamed the Wizard of Schenectady, Steinmetz became one of the most publicly recognized engineers of his era, holding some two hundred patents related to electrical power equipment. His theoretical contributions underpinned the rapid expansion of alternating current power systems across the United States in the early twentieth century.
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