Joseph Goodman
Joseph Goodman (c1881-1937)
1937 Obituary [1]
JOSEPH GOODMAN was associated for practically the whole of his career with the design of electric power plant; in particular he had expert knowledge and experience in the design of transformers. He was born at Daventry, Northants, and in 1901 he commenced his studies at Faraday House, London. Two years later he began his apprenticeship, the first part of which was served with Messrs. Robert Stephenson and Company, Ltd., and the second part with the County of London Electric Supply Company, Ltd. He then joined the British Electric Transformer Company, Ltd.. of Hayes, Middlesex, and was made chief assistant in the test room.
During 1906-7 he was employed in the test room of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, Ltd., but rejoined the British Electric Transformer Company as chief assistant in the designing and estimating department. He remained with the firm for a further 21 years, and became chief designer in the transformer department. During the War he was called upon to design transformers for special purposes, in connection with welding, furnace work, rotary converters, etc. He was responsible for a number of improvements in transformer design, notably in the prevention of damage to windings resulting from high-voltage disturbances.
In 1928 Mr. Goodman was appointed chief transformer engineer at the Witton works of the General Electric Company, Ltd., and held this position until his death. which occurred on 22nd December 1937, in his fifty-sixth year. He was associated prominently with the development of the largest power transformers, as employed on the national grid and similar schemes overseas, and his work also included the design of power reactors and choke coils for use with high-pressure discharge lamps for street lighting, including the production of standard ranges of iron core reactors for use on circuits up to 132,000 volts. He also devised mass-production methods for the manufacture of chokes.
Mr. Goodman was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1910.