Charles F. Avila

He died on October 29, 2000 in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Avila was a Fellow of the IEEE. He was President of the Edison Electric Institute and he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. He has served on numerous committees of the IEEE and of the EEI. He received the honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1963. He received the 1968 IEEE Edison Medal; "For his early contribution to underground transmission, for his continuing guidance in the field of electrical research and for his positive leadership in the development of the electrical utility industry."

Avila advanced through a series of positions with the Boston Edison Company until in 1960 he became President and General Manager and, in 1967, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.

In high school, Avila was most interested in the science courses and became an enthusiastic builder of amateur radio equipment. His limited budget made him constantly aware of the economic aspects of his projects. This combination of technological interest and economics led him to enter an integrated five-year program in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration at Harvard University from which Avila graduated in 1929 with a bachelor's degree.

Charles Francis Avila (September 17th, 1906 – October 29th, 2000) was an American electrical engineer and a Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of the Yankee Atomic Electric Company.

Charles Francis Avila was born in Taunton, Massachusetts on September 17th, 1906. His facility for resolving seemingly insoluble problems and his vigorous leadership have contributed much to the electrical power industry. There is much in the tradition of Thomas A. Edison in the way he has worked, for Avila has the same far-reaching curiosity, the same unflagging interest in basic principles and the same unremitting perseverance. His early penchant for an engineering career became evident during his pre-high school days through his interest in the care, rebuilding, and refinishing of bicycles. He was recognized as a leader by and was a consultant to his boyhood friends in the numerous areas of model building and mechanical and electrical gadgetry.