The IEEE Power Electronics Society election of Members-at-Large to the Administrative Committee is now open. Elected Members at Large will serve a 3 year term from 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026
We hope you will take the time to exercise your vote and help choose the future direction of the society.
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Voting must be completed no later than 28 December 2023. Any returns received after this date will not be counted. The online voting site will close at 4:00 pm Eastern Time.
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HAN (HELEN) CUI
HAN (HELEN) CUI (GSM’12-M’16-SM’22) received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Tianjin University, Tianjin, China, in 2011, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA, in 2013 and 2017, respectively. She was a post-doctoral researcher in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UCLA from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, she joined as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. In 2023, she moved back to her hometown, Tianjin, and became a Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering at Tianjin University, China. She pursues technologies for optimization, integration, and packaging of magnetic components to improve the energy density and loss management for power electronic systems. Her research delves into establishing physics-based models for magnetic losses, electromagnetic interference suppression for high-frequency operations, and advanced fabrication processes to support integrations.
Helen has been an active young professional within PELS as an author, reviewer, event organizer, and committee leader. She has served on the technical committees for several conferences including APEC and ECCE. She is a member of the PELS Students and Young Professionals (YP) Committee, Women in Engineering (WIE) Committee, and PELS Digital Media and Education Committee where she led the P3 Talk competitions, helped host the Webinars Series and ran the social platforms. She was appointed as the PELS Publicity Chair in 2023 and led the PELS website redesign project to build a refreshed and inviting website for the society.
Statement: I feel humbled and honored to be nominated as a Member-at-Large candidate for ADCOM by the IEEE PELS Nominations Committee. With over a decade of volunteerism and continuous learning within PELS, I am filled with gratitude for the myriad opportunities PELS has provided to foster the growth and development of young researchers like myself. If elected, I would like to devote myself into the following aspects as a means of giving back to our community and making contributions to our society:
1. Promote global connections within the IEEE PELS community. I’d like to work towards raising awareness about PELS among members worldwide, facilitating their participation and enabling them to reap the benefits of our activities.
2. Increase the representation of women within PELS, especially in China and Asia-Pacific region, by organizing diverse and engaging Women in Engineering (WiE) events.
3. Facilitate educational activities within the community through various methods, including organizing workshops and webinars on a wide range of topics, establishing long-term mentoring programs, creating online discussion and learning forums, and promoting remote resources sharing mechanisms.
4. Encourage cross-disciplinary partnerships between power electronics, power systems, material science, computer science, artificial intelligence, and other fields to foster innovations and holistic understanding that positively impacts our society at large.
Serving as a Member-at-Large will not only be a new role but also a selfless duty and an exciting journey that lies ahead of me. I choose to embrace this opportunity and contribute my passion wholeheartedly.
KOSALA GUNAWARDANE
KOSALA GUNAWARDANE (GSM’10-M’13-SM’18) Dr. Kosala Gunawardane received a BSc (Hons) in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 2005 and a Ph.D. degree in Power Electronics Engineering from University of Waikato, New Zealand in 2014.
In 2014, Dr. Gunawardane joined Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Auckland, New Zealand, where she began her academic career as a Lecturer in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In less than a decade, her academic contributions led to three promotions at AUT, marking her ascent to the positions of Senior Lecturer, Senior Lecturer-progression, and Associate Professor in 2018, 2021, and 2022, respectively. Her passion for shaping a sustainable future led her to become the founding Director of the Centre of Future Power and Energy Research (CFPER) at AUT. Additionally, she served as the Deputy Program Leader of Offshore Renewable Energy Systems at the Blue Economy Corporate Research Centre in Australia. Since April 2024, she has held the Associate Professor in Renewable Energy Engineering position at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Australia.
Dr. Gunawardane’s has research interests in power converters, renewable energy systems, and energy storage devices, with a particular focus on Hydrogen and Fuel cells. She currently serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. Furthermore, she is a reviewer for IEEE journals such as IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Industrial Electronics, and IEEE Access. This year, she serves in key technical committees in IEEE PELS-supported conferences ICDCM 2023 and IFEEC 2023.
In 2018, she was nominated as a finalist in New Zealand Women of Influence in Science and Innovation category. Moreover, her dedication to empowering women in the engineering field led her to serve as the Vice Chair of the IEEE Women in Engineering NZ North Committee from 2018 to 2022 as well as AUT’s IEEE student advisor in 2018-19.
Statement: I would like to express my gratitude for being nominated as a candidate for the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) Member at Large Election by the IEEE PELS Nomination Committee. Having proudly served as a dedicated member of the IEEE PELS for the past decade, I am deeply honoured by this nomination and the opportunity it presents.
The field of Power Electronics has undergone remarkable growth on a global scale, paralleled by significant technological advancements. In the current context, sustainability is paramount, power electronics plays a pivotal role in ensuring the stability and reliability of power systems and efficient energy management alongside the integration of renewable energy systems. This link offers a compelling opportunity for IEEE PELS to actively contribute to creating a sustainable future for mankind.
If elected to serve as an AdCom member, I am committed to focusing my efforts in the following key areas:
Facilitating Knowledge Sharing: I intend to initiate a series of knowledge-sharing activities, including workshops, seminars, and educational programs aimed at promoting sustainable developments and emerging technologies in power electronics across all IEEE regions.
Promoting Collaboration between Academia and Industry: I am dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and industry by fostering industry-led education and research collaborations within the Power Electronics community. Such collaborations are vital in supporting the next generation of young members, encouraging their passion for careers in power electronics.
Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: As a proud PELS Women in Engineering (WIE) member, I am committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion within the PELS community. I will actively organize opportunities such as scholarships, mentorships, outreach programs, and networking activities to support underrepresented groups, including women in engineering.
Being a PELS member-at-large would mark a significant turning point in my service to the IEEE community. I deeply cherish this nomination opportunity and humbly request your support.
FRANCESCO IANNUZZO
FRANCESCO IANNUZZO (AM’01-M’06-SM’12) received the M.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in Electronic and Information Engineering from the University of Naples, Italy, in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
He is currently a professor of reliable power electronics at AAU Energy, Aalborg University, Denmark. His research interests are in the field of reliability of power electronic devices, condition monitoring, failure modeling, and testing to failure, both under power cycling and extreme conditions. He is the author or co-author of about 300 publications in journals and international conferences, five book chapters, and has edited a book on Modern Power Electronic Devices (2020, IET). He has contributed +30 technical seminars, keynotes, and invited speeches at top-tier conferences such as ISPSD, IRPS, EPE, ECCE, PCIM, and APEC.
Prof. Iannuzzo has been Associate Editor for the IEEE JESTPE and the OJ-PE. He currently serves as the chair of the IEEE IAS Power Electronic Devices and Components Committee. He was the General Chair of the ESREF conference in 2018, the IWIPP conference in 2022, and the EPE-ECCE Europe conference in 2023.
Statement: I am honored to have been nominated as a Member at Large candidate for the PELS ADCOM.
I have been serving PELS under many aspects and had the opportunity through the yearly events and initiatives to meet many wonderful colleagues, who are as happy as I am to engage in new challenges for a better humanity.
First of all, I would like to contribute to the power electronics development in the direction of more affordable access to energy, in particular for poor countries. I believe there is no peace without equality, and this can only happen through access to fundamental resources like water, food, and energy.
Secondly, after almost 25 years spent in academia, I feel like promoting education is a field I would like to contribute to. The new generation should have easy access to interactive and engaging material, able to stimulate curiosity, engagement, and commitment. This is particularly true for power electronics.
Finally, as an Italian and European citizen, I am confident I can contribute to promoting the IEEE activities in Europe and Region 8, in particular with exchange- and networking initiatives between the two continents.
RALPH M. KENNEL
RALPH M. KENNEL (M’90-SM’96-LS’23) Dr. Ralph M. Kennel worked with Robert BOSCH GmbH (Germany) from 1983 to 1999.
From 1994 to 1999 Dr. Kennel was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (England, UK). From 1999 to 2008 he was Professor at Wuppertal University (Germany). From 2008 until 2022, he was Professor at Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Germany).
Dr. Kennel is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Fellow of IET (former IEE), and a Chartered Engineer in the UK. Within IEEE, he is Treasurer of the Germany Section. He has been a Distinguished Lecturer of the Power Electronics Society (IEEE-PELS) as well as Vice President Meetings of the same society.
In 2018, Dr. Kennel received the Doctoral degree honoris causa from Universitatea Stefan cel Mare in Suceava (Romania).
Dr. Kennel received in 2013 the Harry Owen Distinguished Service Award from IEEE-PELS, the EPE Association Distinguished Service Award in 2015 as well as the EPE Outstanding Achievement Award in 2019.
Dr. Kennel was appointed “Extraordinary Professor” by the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) from 2016 to 2019 and a “Visiting Professor” at the Haixi Institute by the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2016 to 2021. There he was appointed as “Jiaxi Lu Overseas Guest Professor” in 2017. In 2018, Dr. Kennel was appointed Guest Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin, China. In 2019, Dr. Kennel was appointed „Honorary Chair Professor“(“distinguished visiting professor”) at Shandong University in Jinan, China.
Statement: Power Electronics is more essential for human society than most people are aware of. Even when the number of communication engineers and informatics specialists is much higher than the number of power electronic specialists, we can state, that even after an extensive work with respect to information and data processing something has to happen – either a servant (or slave – fortunately these times have been gone hopefully forever) has to perform some activities with respect to the information he got or some actor(s) within an automated system has to do that. Nearly all technical actors include power electronics or they are fed by power electronics – that means that nothing works without power electronics. Therefore, I see an important task of our society to keep the awareness of importance up within IEEE.
Benefit for PELS members must be our primary goal. With respect to my long-term experience within PELS I can say, that the basic principle: “Partnership – not Competition” is beneficial for all of us. We believe in the long-term benefit for our small community in collaborating with our partners worldwide instead of competing to them. We have to bundle our efforts instead of splitting them by competition. Otherwise we cannot convince others of power electronics to be a core competence in technology.
We all need to reflect on how we best support our profession and how we can improve industry participation. It is my strong goal to follow that road in case I am elected Member-of-Large of PELS.
ALIREZA KHALIGH
ALIREZA KHALIGH (S’05-M’06-SM’09) is a Professor and the Director of the Maryland Power Electronics Laboratory (MPEL) at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the Institute for Systems Research (ISR) in the University of Maryland at College Park (UMD). His major research interests include modeling, analysis, design, and control of power electronic converters for transportation electrification, renewable energies, and wearable electronics. He is an author/co-author of more than 210 journal and conference papers and two books. He was the General Chair 2016 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Expo (APEC) at Long Beach, CA. He was also one of the main founding members and the General Chair of the 2013 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo (ITEC) in Dearborn, MI. He was an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (TPEL), IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics (JESTPE), and IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification (TTE). He is currently the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) for IEEE TTE. Alireza Khaligh is a recipient of various recognitions including 2022 IEEE PELS Vehicle and Transportation Systems Achievement Award, 6th Nagamori Award, 2020 ECE Jimmy Lin Award for Innovation, 2019 ISR Outstanding Systems Engineering Faculty Award, 2017 Overall Invention of the Year Award from Office of Technology Commercialization at UMD, and 2010 Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), among many others.
Statement: I have been a member of IEEE for 19 years and have served PELS in various roles. I am currently the EiC of the IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. I was the Chair of PELS TC4 (Electrified Transportation Systems), where I established student travel grants to attend ITEC. I was also the Publicity Chair of PELS (2013–2023) and the Inaugural Chair of the PELS Day in 2019, where I made a successful effort to promote PELS through outreach to many universities, companies, chapters, and conferences internationally. Over 44000 IEEE members participated in the 2019 PELS Day and voted to select photo contest winners.
I also served as the Treasurer of PELS (2021-2023), where I closely worked with the PELS President, Executive Director, and VPs to create various programs of benefit to PELS members, such as increasing the PELS humanitarian funds. As an academic professor, I established a power electronics program from the ground up at the University of Maryland. I have graduated 18 Ph.D. and 13 M.Sc. students who have taken leadership roles in academia or industry.
HARISH SARMA KRISHNAMOORTHY
ALIREZA KHALIGH (S’05-M’06-SM’09) is a Professor and the Director of the Maryland Power Electronics Laboratory (MPEL) at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the Institute for Systems Research (ISR) in the University of Maryland at College Park (UMD). His major research interests include modeling, analysis, design, and control of power electronic converters for transportation electrification, renewable energies, and wearable electronics. He is an author/co-author of more than 210 journal and conference papers and two books. He was the General Chair 2016 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Expo (APEC) at Long Beach, CA. He was also one of the main founding members and the General Chair of the 2013 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo (ITEC) in Dearborn, MI. He was an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (TPEL), IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics (JESTPE), and IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification (TTE). He is currently the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) for IEEE TTE. Alireza Khaligh is a recipient of various recognitions including 2022 IEEE PELS Vehicle and Transportation Systems Achievement Award, 6th Nagamori Award, 2020 ECE Jimmy Lin Award for Innovation, 2019 ISR Outstanding Systems Engineering Faculty Award, 2017 Overall Invention of the Year Award from Office of Technology Commercialization at UMD, and 2010 Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), among many others.
Statement: I have been a member of IEEE for 19 years and have served PELS in various roles. I am currently the EiC of the IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. I was the Chair of PELS TC4 (Electrified Transportation Systems), where I established student travel grants to attend ITEC. I was also the Publicity Chair of PELS (2013–2023) and the Inaugural Chair of the PELS Day in 2019, where I made a successful effort to promote PELS through outreach to many universities, companies, chapters, and conferences internationally. Over 44000 IEEE members participated in the 2019 PELS Day and voted to select photo contest winners.
I also served as the Treasurer of PELS (2021-2023), where I closely worked with the PELS President, Executive Director, and VPs to create various programs of benefit to PELS members, such as increasing the PELS humanitarian funds. As an academic professor, I established a power electronics program from the ground up at the University of Maryland. I have graduated 18 Ph.D. and 13 M.Sc. students who have taken leadership roles in academia or industry.
MAHESH KRISHNAMURTHY
MAHESH KRISHNAMURTHY (S’03-GSM’05-M’08-SM’13) Dr. Mahesh Krishnamurthy is currently the Bodine Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering and Academic Director of the Kaplan Institute of Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at Illinois Tech. He is also the Director of the Grainger Power Electronics and Motor Drives Laboratory. He served as a Distinguished Lecturer with the IEEE-Vehicular Technology Society from 2011-2013 and 2013-2015 and Distinguished Speaker from 2015-2018 and 2018-2021. He has co-authored over 175 scientific articles, book chapters, and technical reports and has 21 issued US patents. He has been awarded several teaching and research awards. He was the founding Deputy Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification from 2014 to 2020 and served as the Editor-in-Chief from 2020. He also serves as the Chair of the PELS Technical Committee on Electrified Transportation Systems (TC4).
Statement: My experiences within IEEE and the University have honed my commitment to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, nurture entrepreneurship, and bridge the gap between academia and industry by creating opportunities for research, training, and leadership. Here, I would like to highlight select community-facing initiatives in context briefly-
IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification: Served as the Editor-in-Chief of the following six-year tenure as the founding Deputy EIC. As EIC, I saw the impact factor for the journal grow from 5.1 (2020) to 7 (2023). The number of published papers grew by over 3.2x, which was built on our editorial team’s commitment to promoting high-quality research, attracting top-tier contributions, and fostering collaboration among researchers and practitioners. I currently serve as the Chair of the journal’s steering committee, guiding its strategic direction and facilitating its continued success.
Conference Organization: Served on organizing committees for several IEEE conferences including VPPC, ECCE, APEC and IECON. Co-founded the IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo (North America) in 2012. This has since expanded to include multiple branches worldwide, such as ITEC-ESARS in Europe, ITEC Asia-Pacific, and ITEC India and emerged as one of the leading international gatherings for professionals in the field of electrified transportation, facilitating knowledge exchange, innovation, and industry-academia collaboration.
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago: Currently the Bodine Endowed Chair Professor in Electrical Engineering and the Academic Director of the Kaplan Institute of Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship. As Academic Director, I have facilitated projects, mentored aspiring entrepreneurs, and cultivated a culture of innovation and teamwork. I serve as the advisor for the Formula Electric racecar team at Illinois Tech, which won the prestigious Fiat Chrysler Innovation award at the SAE Formula Hybrid Competition. I also started Illinois Tech’s NASA Robotic Mining Competition team in 2016, which won the overall third prize in its very first year of participation at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. Since 2021, I have served as a lead faculty for the Illinois Tech EcoCAR EV challenge competition team, which is sponsored by the Department of Energy, General Motors and Mathworks.
CHRIS MI
CHRIS MI (S’00-M’01-SM’03-F’12) Dr. Mi received his BS and MS degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, in 1985 and 1988, respectively, and his Ph. D from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2001. Currently, Dr. Mi holds the esteemed position of Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at San Diego State University, where he also serves as the Director of the Caili and Daniel Chang Center for Electric Drive Transportation. He is a Fellow of IEEE and SAE. He was previously a faculty member at the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 2001 to 2015 and an Electrical Engineer with General Electric from 2000 to 2001. He was also the CTO of 1Power Solutions, SNC Technology, and EV Safe Charger.
Dr. Mi has published five books, 210+ journal papers, 130 conference papers, and 20+ issued and pending patents. He served as Editor-in-Chief, Area Editor, Guest Editor, and Associate Editor of multiple IEEE Transactions and international journals and the General Chair of over ten IEEE international conferences. Dr. Mi has won numerous awards, including the “Distinguished Teaching Award” and “Distinguished Research Award” from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, IEEE Region 4 “Outstanding Engineer Award,” IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section “Outstanding Professional Award” and SAE “Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award.” He is the recipient of three Best Paper Awards from IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and the 2017 ECCE Student Demonstration Award. In 2019, he received the Inaugural IEEE Power Electronics Emerging Technology Award. In 2022, he received the Albert W. Johnson Research Lectureship and was named the Distinguished Professor, the highest honor given to one SDSU faculty member each year. Most recently, he received the 2023 IEEE PELS Vehicle and Transportation Systems Achievement Award and IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Best Paper Award.
For more information about Dr. Mi, please visit https://chrismi.sdsu.edu/
To view or download his most recent publications, https://chrismi.sdsu.edu/publication/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wAOPsG8AAAAJ&hl=en
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri authorId=24081001100&origin=AuthorEval#potAuthModal=
LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismi
Statement: Over the past two decades, I have been actively engaged in various leadership roles within the IEEE, contributing to its growth and development. Specifically, I have served in the following capacities within the IEEE: With Southeastern Michigan Section: PELS Chapter Chair, Section Vice Chair, and Section Chair; With the Power Electronics Society (PELS), I have taken on multiple leadership roles, including Academic Affairs Chair, IEEE Future Energy Challenge Chair, IEEE e-Learning Committee Chair, and PELS TC 9 Chair. Additionally, I had the privilege of serving as a guest editor-in-chief for esteemed IEEE publications, including the Proceedings of the IEEE, as well as journals such as TPEL, TIA, TVT, and JESTPE. Furthermore, I held positions as an Area Editor for TVT and an Associate Editor for TPEL, TVT, JESTPE, OJVT, and TIA. Notably, I played a pivotal role as General Chair or Program Chair for more than ten IEEE conferences.
My involvement extended beyond PELS, as I played a significant role in the development of the intersociety Transportation Electrification Initiative, which ultimately led to the formation of the IEEE Transportation Electrification Community. More recently, I served as TC 9 Chair and actively participated in the IEEE Wireless Power Technologies Initiative, representing PELS. To further promote knowledge sharing, I established a YouTube Channel dedicated to wireless power, which has garnered over 630 subscribers.
In addition to my IEEE contributions, I have gained administrative experience as the Department Chair at San Diego State University from 2015 to 2022. Stepping down from this administrative position has afforded me more time to continue serving as a dedicated IEEE volunteer.
If elected, I am committed to focusing on the following key priorities:
1. Collaborating with IEEE Future Directions and Initiatives to elevate the visibility and participation of PELS in critical areas such as the CHIPS Act, Wireless Power, Sustainability, and Climate initiatives. I will also actively promote collaborations between IEEE and other societies.
2. Partnering with sister societies to facilitate intersociety distinguished lecturer programs, fostering knowledge exchange and growth.
3. Providing support and mentorship to young engineers, students, and women in engineering, encouraging their active involvement and advancement within the field.
SANJIB KUMAR PANDA
SANJIB KUMAR PANDA (S’86-M’91-SM’03-F’21) received his B. Tech. (SVNIT, Surat, India, 1983), M. Tech. (IIT, Varanasi, India, 1987), and PhD (University of Cambridge, UK, 1992) degrees in Electrical Engineering. He has held a Faculty Position at the National University of Singapore since 1992 and is Director of the Power & Energy Research Area. He has published over 500 technical papers and has authored a book, as well as a couple of edited book chapters. He is a member of PELS, IAS, PES, and IES and has been serving in the four IEEE Societies in different capacities. He has received the Best Paper award at the IEEE Conferences ICSET-2018 and IEEE ECCE-Asia 2021. He has also received the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI), Port-Challenge, and Research Project Award by SMI, Singapore, in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Dr. Panda is presently serving as Co-Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Special Section on Multi-Level Converters, Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, IEEE Access and has served as Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (2016-2018). Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications (2016–2021) and Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion (2016–2022). He is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Power Electronics. He served as Chair of the IEEE-ECCE Asia Conference (2021), and IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion Coordinating Committee. Dr. Panda also serves the PELS Membership and Chapter Development Committee as Regional Coordinator for the R-10. He was the General Chair for the IEEE ECCE-Asia 2021, Singapore. Dr. Panda is presently serving as the Chair of the IEEE PELS TC-12.
Statement: I have been volunteering and serving IEEE for almost 30+ years for PELS, PES, IAS and IES in various capacities. Membership Growth is paramount for the success of the IEEE. In PELS, I have worked for the Membership & Chapter Development Committee for the past eight years as R-10 Coordinator. We have achieved a membership growth rate of around 8% for the past six years. As a result, the membership number has increased from 4 digits (pre-2016) to 5 digits (post-2019). Most of the membership growth has been from the R-10 with continuous and sustained development activities, especially in India and China. We had proposed and approved it to increase the Best Chapter and Student Branch Chapter Awards from one to three each w.e.f 2024, classifying them into small, medium, and large for Chapters and Student Branch Chapters. I have also contributed as co-founder of the two well-established IEEE PEDS and ICSETS conference series, running successfully for over 15 years. Recently, we have successfully organized the IEEE ECCE-Asia 2021 Conference in Singapore for the 1st time. I am presently serving on the ECCE-Asia Conference Coordination Committee as a member of PELS. I am serving as TC-12: Energy Access and Off-grid Systems Chair. We have successfully completed the Empower a Billion Lives (EBL-II) Competition in March 2023.
Therefore, I feel that if elected, I can bring my multi-pronged experience for the benefit, growth, and visibility of PELS. I will be focusing on the following areas:
1. Membership Growth as well as Chapter and Student Branch Chapter development especially in R-10 to achieve the target of having 15k+ members and 275+ Chapters by 2025.
2. Expand the Office Bearers’ Training Program for PELS OUs for efficient and sustainable operations.
3. Help to streamline financially sponsored PELS conferences for efficient organization and financially sustainable operation and promote best practices.
4. Promote and expand the use of power electronics technology in the built environment with the aim of achieving net-zero energy transition.
5. Contribute to the Sustainability Cluster at Systems level for the usage of Power Electronics Technologies.
YONGSUG SUH
YONGSUG SUH (S’91-M’93-S’99-M’04-SM’07) was born in Seoul, Korea. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in 1991 and 1993, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA, in 2004. From 1993 to 1998, he was an Application Engineer in the Power Semiconductor Division of Samsung Electronics Co. From 2004 to 2008, he was a Senior Engineer in the Power Electronics and Medium Voltage Drives Division of ABB, Turgi, Switzerland. Since 2008, he has been with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea, where he is currently a Professor. He is the director of Smart Grid Research Center in Jeonbuk National University. His current research interests include the power conversion systems of high power for renewable energy sources, plasma applications and medium voltage electric drive systems.
Dr. Suh’s major service to PELS and IEEE are listed below:
- ECCE-Asia Coordination Committee Chair
- Organizing Committee Chair of ICPE 2023 – ECCE Asia
- Global Relation Board Member of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics interfacing IEEE
- Associate Editor in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications
- Vice Chair of Industrial Power Converters Committee of IEEE IAS
- Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE IAS
Statement: As a Member-at-Large, I’d like to give my sincere contribution in the following aspects.
- Grow Together in Global Relations through Mutual Respect
PELS has been improving its visibility in most parts of the world. In order to further enhance its reputation and membership size, active support from regional academic/industrial communities is indispensable. I have spent 1 year in Middle-East Asia, 2 years in Africa, 4 years in Europe, 7 years in the US, and 40 years in Korea. Based on a wide spectrum of my international experience, I’d like to help PELS AdCom colleagues to find a harmonious way in global relations through mutual respect.
- Make More Innovations in Industry-Academia Collaboration through Balanced Role-Sharing
Power electronics has the core value in the industrial application aspect. Academia and industry are two major thrust sources to bring a sustainable advancement of power electronics. I have 10 years of experience as an industrial engineer and 15 years of experience as a university professor. Balanced and cooperative role-sharing between academia and industry is very important to achieve innovative R&D results. I want to give my contribution to PELS AdCom to make more effective and healthy industry-academia collaboration through balanced role-sharing and active participation from academia and industry.
SARATH TENNAKOON
SARATH TENNAKOON (S’82-M’84-LM’19) received a BSc (Eng) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 1975, an MSc degree in electrical engineering from the University of Aston, UK, in 1980 and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Lancashire, UK in 1987. From 1985–1987, he was a Senior Design Engineer at GEC-TDPL, UK, where he developed his passion for Power Electronics for electric utility systems. In 1987, he joined Staffordshire University (SU), Stafford, UK, where he is currently the Emeritus Professor of Power Electronic Systems. His research focused on power electronic applications to electric utility systems and was mainly funded by industry with contributions from Research Councils and the University. During his tenure at SU, he was Head of Engineering Research, Director of the Centre for Energy Efficient Systems, Director of Postgraduate Studies, and a member of the Engineering Professors Council.
From 2018 to date, he has been a professor at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Africa, Kigali, Rwanda, teaching power electronics. His current research focuses on e-mobility, second-life storage, and grid applications. He is a member of the IEEE_PELS UKRI chapter and a past Chair. He has organized and contributed to conferences, more recently as the General Chair of the SPEC-2021 held in Kigali. In 2022, E-Mobility Lab, a consortium (VW Rwanda, Kabiza, GIZ, CMU) to support the e-mobility, was set up in Kigali. I represent CMU Africa in the consortium.
Statement: I have been a committee member of the PELS UKRI chapter since the early nineties and a past chair. I have organized IEEE conferences, the most notable being the General Chair of the 2021 Southern Power Electronics conference. This experience has given me a good understanding of the PELS Governance, operational rules, structure and the strategic goals. Since my arrival in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2018, I realized that the awareness of power electronics technology and its benefits is minimal in Africa, which has also been recognized by PELS. My vision is to enhance the awareness of power electronics technology and it benefits to the economy of Africa through concrete actions and provide IEEE-PELS services to the African power electronics community and engage them in the conferences, operation, and education activities of PELS. This work has already started; three seminars funded by GCRF and GIZ and PELS sponsored 2021 SPEC conference have already been held. A survey on Power Electronics activities in Africa is ongoing. An IEEE student branch at CMU Africa has been established. An E-mobility lab supported by GIZ, Kabiza, VW Rwanda, and CMU has been set up. There is scope for improving the involvement of PELS in Africa, for example, there are only four PELS Chapters in Africa. As a member-at-large based in Rwanda I can contribute to the African Voice at the PELS leading to the enhancement of PELS activities in Africa.
I look forward to serving in the ADCOM as a member at large.
JIN WANG
JIN WANG (S’01-M’05-SM’17-F’21) received his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from Xi’an Jiaotong University in 1998, Wuhan University in 2001 and Michigan State University in 2005, respectively. He worked at Ford for two years before joining Ohio State University (OSU) in 2007. His current research interests include high-voltage and high-power converters, transportation electrification, and renewable energy integration. Dr. Wang has over 200 journal and conference papers and ten patents.
Dr. Wang received the PELS Richard M. Bass Young Engineer Award in 2011, the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award in 2011, the Nagamori Award in 2020, and the IEEE Power Electronics Emerging Technology Award in 2022. At OSU, Dr. Wang received the Boyer Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Innovation in 2012, the Lumley Research Award in 2013, and the Harrison Award, the highest award for mid-career engineering professors, in 2017.
Since 2010, Dr. Wang’s students have received 24 best paper and presentation awards, including 1 First Place Prize Paper Award from the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics in 2020, 2 First Place Awards and 1 Second Place Award at the ECCE Student Demonstration, 12 Best Presentation Awards at APEC, and few other best paper awards from other power electronics conferences.
Statement: I have been an active volunteer of PELS for over 16 years. Most notably, I had served as the inaugural Chair for the PELS Technical Committee on Aerospace Power (TC11) from 2021 to 2023 and the Chair for the Technical Committee on High-Performance and Emerging Technologies (TC6) from 2019 to 2022.
I created and served as the inaugural Chair for the IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA) in 2013 and the IEEE Workshop on Power Electronics for Aerospace Applications (PEASA) in 2022, respectively.
I also served as the Technical Topic Chair, General Chair, and Steering Committee Chair for the IEEE Future Energy Challenge in 2013, 2016, and 2017, respectively, and as the PELS Academic Affairs Chair from 2017 to 2020.
Currently, I am serving as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and the Assistant Program Chair for APEC.
If I am elected as a Member at Large, with my past experience and insight of PELS activities, I will try to help the society in two ways:
- Facilitating new technology growth areas such as aerospace power and bi-directional devices by providing assistance and guidance to related workshops, special sessions in conferences, and special issues in journals.
- Encouraging more PELS members, especially members from less-developed and under-represented regions, to become more involved in PELS activities by helping Technical Committees and major conferences to create more volunteer opportunities, identify potential candidates, and setup more regional and international technical and service awards for PELS members.
PETER WILSON
PETER WILSON (S’99-M’02-SM’06) is a Professor of Engineering and Deputy Director of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology (DIET). He is passionate about engineering, power electronics, real-world applications of engineering and engineering education. His research includes power electronics, design-automation, modelling and simulation, computational intelligence, robotics, embedded systems and microelectronics. He received his BEng and PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Heriot-Watt University and University of Southampton, respectively, and MBA from the Edinburgh Business School. He worked for Ferranti and GEC-Marconi in Avionics, Analogy Inc. in EDA, then at the Universities of Southampton and Bath. He has published more than 150 papers, several books and patents. At Bath, he served as Head of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, was founder and Director of the Centre for Autonomous Systems and Robotics, Electrification Lead, Institute of Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems, Robotics lead in the Centre for Accountable, Responsible and Transparent AI (ART-AI).
He served from 2013 to 2019 as Vice President of the IEEE Power Electronics Society and chair of the International Technology Roadmap for Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductors (ITRW). He received an IEEE Award for IEEE Std 1076.1.1, IEEE Standards Medallion 2020, and IEEE PELS Award for ITRW. He served as IEEE Std 1573 chair, IEEE Power Electronics Society Transport Electrification Community/Council Liaison 2019-present., IEEE Design Methodologies Conference General Chair 2021 and 2022, IEEE Power Electronics Chapter (Region 8) Committee Member, IEEE Aerospace Conference Session Chair 2009 to present – “Space Applications of Power Electronics” and treasurer for IEEE Design Automation in Power Electronics.
Statement: PELS is a wonderful society that has given me so much over the years and I feel it is my duty to give back whatever I can to support our members. I have been fortunate to be a volunteer for PELS for more than 15 years, including as VP for Standards, with initiatives such as ITRW and conferences, benefitting hugely from the support of many PELS colleagues and the amazing global network that is the wider power electronics community. A major strength of PELS has come from the willingness, enthusiasm, and energy of our members to engage, volunteer, and participate, and if elected, I commit to helping our members to make the most of our fantastic society, to represent the wider membership to the society leadership and inspire others.
I will make it my mission to assist any member to become more engaged with PELS, support the wider PELS membership community, and to promote PELS. Help our members navigate the complexities of our technical committees and activities to make the most of the opportunities available through PELS and to continue to support the positive impact of power electronics on wider society, and promote the importance of power electronics through outreach projects. Not least I will share my experience and enthusiasm with PELS members who would like to make a difference and to support them in the same way that previous generations of PELS members have supported me.