Charles Robert “Robby” Simpson, Jr., PhD, is a System Architect for GE Digital Energy, where he is responsible for the end-to-end architecture of GE metering systems from the utility back-office interface through the AMI network to the meter and the interface to in-home devices. Accordingly, Robby divides his time between designing and evaluating GE Meter’s architectures with particular attention to scalability, security, and interoperability and standards bodies’ activities.

Robby has been active in the Smart Grid industry for a number of years, particularly in the areas of AMI, metering, demand response, and home area networking, and has been heavily involved in the U.S. national effort to accelerate standards for Smart Grid interoperability. In addition to his service as a member of the SGIP Board of Directors, he has participated in NIST’s development workshops, been a member of several DEWGs, is a member of the Smart Grid Architecture Committee (SGAC), and helped to create the Smart Grid Conceptual Reference Model. Robby is actively engaged in several Priority Action Plans (PAPs), helping to not only accelerate standards development, but to ensure the adoption of those standards within GE and the market as a whole.

Robby is also active in ANSI, IEC, IETF, and the joint effort between the ZigBee, HomePlug, and Wi-Fi Alliances to develop the Smart Energy Profile 2.0, which he chairs.

Robby received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Clemson University and his M.S.E.C.E. and Ph.D.(Electrical and Computer Engineering) degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where he focused on Internet measurements, large-scale simulation, network protocols, and information security. Prior to focusing on smart grid, Robby worked on satellite communications at MIT’s Lincoln Labs.

Robby has published several refereed conference and journal papers on topics ranging from network measurements, network security, and network simulation to superconductor behavior. Robby has also received numerous awards for his academic and industry efforts and is an Eagle Scout (and still believes it to be worth mentioning all these years later).

In his spare time, Robby enjoys horseback riding, playing table tennis, traveling, and spending time with his family.