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At a ceremony held on March 18, 2005, the Bonneville Power Administration presented one of its highest honors—the BPA Award for Meritorious Service—to Dr. John H. Brunke, P.E., a member of PSU’s Maseeh College Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

For over 30 years, John Brunke has been a leader in the high-voltage technology field at BPA and in the world. His innovations have directly improved BPA’s grid operations with more reliability and increase equipment life on the system.

John received his bachelor’s in electrical engineering and master’s in applied science from PSU's Maseeh College and was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 1999. The Academy recognizes alumni for success in the field of engineering or computer science, service to their profession and the community, and recognition to the Maseeh College and PSU through their achievements. At PSU, John has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and has assisted a number of doctoral students in completing their dissertations.

In addition to his PSU degrees, John received a Doctor of Technical Science in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, a distinguished and honorary member of the International Conference of Large High Voltage Electric Systems, and a recipient of BPA's Eugene C. Starr Award for technical achievement.