NYPA engineer earns industry honor

West Seneca-resident Joe Kessler, senior vice president of power generation for the New York Power Authority, received the 2014 Professional Engineer in Government Award from the New York State Society of Professional Engineers Thursday at the society's annual meeting held in Riverhead on Long Island.

Kessler is responsible for oversight of the operation of NYPA's 16 statewide electric power-generating facilities, including the Niagara Power Project and the St. Lawrence Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project - among the largest hydroelectric plants in the nation.

Kessler, an electrical engineer, received his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, Master of Engineering in energy systems and a Master in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a senior member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, director of the Erie-Niagara Chapter of the NYSSPE, and NYPA's representative to the Electric Power Research Institute's research advisory committee.

The NYSSPE's Professional Engineer in Government Award is presented annually. It recognizes a professional engineer in government who, during a career in public service, has made an outstanding contribution to public health, safety and/or welfare, the engineering profession, and the goals of the Society of Professional Engineers through demonstrated managerial ability and professional engineering achievement.