The Texas A&M 61st Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers was held from 31 March to 3 April 2008 at College Station, Texas. The conference was hosted by Texas A&M University. As Prof. B. Don Russell, Chair of the conference said in his Welcome address "...the conference has provided the best available information on protective relay applications and technology. With the changes that have occurred in the electric power industry and with the business emphasis on efficiency and cost savings, the relay conference is even more important than ever."

Two pre-conference events were offered to the participants:

• A presentation on the new "Guide for Protective Relaying Application to Distribution Lines" produced by a working group in the IEEE Power Systems Relaying Committee.
• Presentation on Ethics in Engine- ering Practice.
• Manufacturers seminars discussing latest advancements in protection technology were also held at the College Station Hilton before the start of the conference.

The papers were presented in several general sessions and tracks:

• Power Engineering Track
• Industrial Track
• Communications Track
• Real World Experience

Three Break-Out Sessions discussed Phasor applications, Commissioning and testing of relays and Distance element challenge.
The papers presented during the different sessions triggered interesting discussions. This was to a great extent due to the practical focus of the presentations.

Demonstrations of the latest technology and discussions of their principles and applications help the participants improve their knowledge in the field of protection and control.