Richard Cottrell

Richard G. Cottrell earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1973 and his MS in Systems Science from Michigan State University in 1976. Rich retired as CMS’s director of system planning and protection in 2010. During his thirty-seven-year career with CMS/Consumers Energy, Rich was involved in all aspects of the planning, engineering, and design of electric transmission distribution lines and substations.

As a professional engineer, Rich was active in the Jackson Chapter of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE), the Midwest Independent System Operator Planning Advisory Committee, the Edison Electric Institute Transmission Committee, the State of Michigan’s Renewable and Other Resource Integration Workgroup, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. As a Tech alumnus, Rich served as CMS’s Scholarship contact for Michigan Tech and was regularly involved in CMS on-campus recruiting programs. From 1995 to 2010, Rich served as a member and former chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Committee.

Excerpted from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy induction ceremony program August 2012