SEATTLE - Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer III, founder and Chairman of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, has been named Washington Policy Center’s (WPC’s) 2026 Visiting Fellow. Dr. Schweitzer will provide his insights into the state’s looming public policy challenges, the potential solutions, and the first, foundational principles necessary for our system of government to thrive.
In the early 1980s, while a professor at Washington State University, Dr. Schweitzer invented the SEL-21, the first microprocessor-based protective relay, which revolutionized the power industry improving reliability, safety, restoration, costs, and functionality. He then founded Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) in his basement, where his vision and leadership grew the company to become a national then global leader in the industry with nearly 8,000 employees and more than 100 offices across the U.S. and the globe.
“Adding the expertise of a lifelong innovator and entrepreneur with Dr. Schweitzer’s track record of industry success is such a special opportunity,” said WPC President and CEO Steven Hatting. “Dr. Schweitzer is in demand across the world, but he’s committed to putting his energies toward the challenges of Washington state. I’m excited to feature him as a distinguished leader-in-residence for the audiences we serve throughout our state. Ed will bring a fresh private sector perspective to our free-market mission this year.”
Dr. Schweitzer has long been involved in the link between policy and prosperity. For several years, SEL has published an evaluation of the business climate across the United States, the Index of Freedom, which rates three pillars Dr. Schweitzer believes are essential to a thriving business environment; government efficiency, regulatory freedom, and energy resiliency. In his first publication for WPC, Dr. Schweitzer explores the way Washington’s state legislature manages short legislative sessions and why their over-abundance of proposed bills and major policy changes do a disservice to constituents.
“In my experience, good systems do not rely on the endless layering of new rules, but on clarity, dedication to purpose and continuous improvement,” said Dr. Schweitzer “I look forward to sharing my experience with the team at Washington Policy Center and sharing the first principles of good government more broadly so that we as a society can focus more intently on the things that truly matter.”
WPC is an independent, non-profit think tank that promotes sound public policy based on free-market solutions. Its staff produces and distributes high-quality, non-partisan, evidence-based research to advance policy solutions to improve the lives of those who call Washington state their home.
