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Advocates and reviewers will post their comments below. In addition, any IEEE member can sign in with their ETHW login (different from IEEE Single Sign On) and comment on the milestone proposal's accuracy or completeness as a form of public review.

Advocate's approval -- Juan Carlos (talk) 21:40, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

As the advocate, I’m in favor of approving the proposed milestone covering the ground-breaking theoretical and practical work of Galileo Ferraris on magnetic rotating fields and its application in induction motors.

The required two favorable expert opinions have been obtained, (and none negative among the consulted):

John Yagielski, senior Principal engineer at GE Global research center, and active member of the IEEE PES electrical machinery committee

Edward Owen, IEEE Richard Kaufman Award recipient in 2003 for his work on induction motors.

After an enriching exchange of concepts with the proposer, Prof. Michele Tartaglia, and with his consent, the name of the milestone is suggested as

"Rotating Magnetic Fields and Early Induction Motors, 1885-1888“

and a slightly changed citation as follows:

In 1885-1888 Galileo Ferraris, professor at the Italian Industrial Museum of Turin, conceived and demonstrated the principle of rotating magnetic fields (Ferraris' Fields) produced by two stationary coils with perpendicular axes fed by alternating currents phase-shifted by 90 degrees. He also constructed prototypes of two-phase AC induction motors. Rotating fields, polyphase currents and its application to induction motors had a fundamental role in the electrification of the world.

this wording eliminates some concerns raised about interpretation of the last phrase of the original proposal: “He also constructed prototypes of two-phase ac motors which paved the way to three-phase industrial induction motors and to the success of three-phase electric power. “

That phrase was perhaps too bold, and could be misinterpreted, given other work in this field. Among others Tesla (who also pioneered development of TWO-phase electrical motors) and the citation for the Rheinfelden Hydroelectric Power Plant Milestone, which pioneered the present 3-phase world standard.


The original building where Ferraris work was done, “Reggio Museo Industriale Italiano” -which was also a Higher technical education school, did not survive WWII.

The Politecnico de Torino continues its tradition. The plaque will be appropriately placed at the public entrance of its Energy Center. The nominator Michele Tartaglia will be uploading additional information which justifies the choosing of the place.

Just some minor punctuation recommendations:

In 1885-1888, Galileo Ferraris, professor at the Italian Industrial Museum (now Polytechnic) of Turin, conceived and demonstrated the principle of the rotating magnetic field (Ferraris' field), produced by two stationary coils with perpendicular axes, fed by alternating currents phase-shifted by 90 degrees. He also constructed prototypes of two-phase AC motors. Rotating fields, polyphase currents, and their application to induction motors had a fundamental role in the electrification of the world.