Erland Persson

On February 22  the world lost a true genius. My mentor and friend, Erland Persson passed away. I worked for Erland back in the early ‘80’s and it is he who taught me the basics of motion control and encouraged in me the confidence, optimism  and sheer love of engineering that still excites me today.

My job interview with Erland for an R&D position at Electro Craft in Hopkins, MN 30 years ago was a turning point for me. Right from the start we discovered common ground in music, science, engineering and even history. That lunch meeting was both the longest and shortest interview of my life. Long in that it lasted all afternoon, short in that it flew by.

At EC, Erland encouraged me to try my wings as an engineering manager (I wasn’t any good at it). At the end of the day we would gather in his office and ponder “What if”, usually regarding some engineering problem we were facing, but often we would drift into solving other problems or even dreaming up new products. At the start of my stint at Electrocraft, he would encourage me to not be so silent, by the end of my tenure there; I was confidently presenting papers at conferences and dealing with customers and staff alike. Somewhere there is a picture of Erland, myself and other young Electrocraft engineers on the beach in Santa Barbara CA. We had gone there to visit a sister division, Renco, and it became a true bonding event for the team.

We were all caught up in the recession of 1986 when Electrocraft management decided to close the R&D department. To his credit, Erland used his extensive contacts in the industry to provide a steady parade of what turned out to be potential employers through the facility, and most of the staff quickly found employment. I had gained enough confidence to strike out on my own, at least for a while, discovering to my surprise that I actually could make it and support my family (and this was pre internet!). I’ve always felt I’ve had Erland at my back.

Erland also struck out on his own at that point, and we continued to collaborate on projects for the next 20 years. With his help, we demystified motion control for a variety of clients and came up with some pretty unique solutions.

Then in 2006, I decided to go on my own full time. I called Erland to tell him the news, he told me he was winding down from consulting and we set up a lunch date. The morning of the meeting, he called to apologize that he had to fly to Detroit to meet a client and couldn’t make it. I said “But aren’t you now retired?”. He replied “yes, but they need me”. That was the essential Erland.

I ran into him once more, at an IEEE Twin Cities banquet a few years ago. He announced to me there that he was really hanging it up. I’m not sure I believed him until I heard that he didn’t renew the Magnetic Finite Element software he had been using. Then I knew he was really retiring.

Now I’ve been on my own full time for almost 5 years and have weathered the worst recession in 80 years, unscathed.

I said earlier I’ve always felt Erland was at my back

He still is.

Gary Box

www.gboxllc.com

www.softwaredefinedpower.com