IEEE Award for Achievement in Power Electronics Standards
About the Award
The IEEE Award for Achievement in Power Electronics Standards recognizes and honors individuals who have made outstanding and sustained contributions or services in IEEE standards relevant to the field of power electronics.
Award Prize:
- Plaque
- An honorarium of USD 1,500
- Reimbursement of up to USD 1,000 towards the recipient’s necessary conference registration, travel, and accommodation costs incurred to attend the award ceremony
Submitting a Nominee
When submitting a nominee, you will be asked to log into your existing IEEE account (or register for a new one) to identify as a nominator. Subsequently, select the IEEE Award for Achievement in Power Electronics Standards and enter the required data and documents.
***Please note: at least two reference letters will be required and must contain the following: name, title, contact data, referee’s main field of interest, the relationship between the referee and nominee, nominee’s achievements for the selection criteria indicated in the award description, the reason why the referee personally recommends the nominee, referee’s signature, and date.***
The portal to submit a nomination is now closed.
Award Details
Recognizing Outstanding Achievements
2024 Honoree:
Mark Swihart
for championing collaboration between IEEE Standards Association and IEC Standards Committees
Mark Swihart is Vice President of Technology and Product Development for the Magnetics division of Spang and Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has been with Magnetics since 1993, starting as an Applications Engineer and learning the applications, production, and development of ferrites, powder cores, and tape wound cores.
Mark served for nine years as chairman of Technical Committee 51 of the IEC (for magnetic cores and wound devices) and is the current US Technical Advisor for that committee. TC 51 in recent years has collaborated with IEEE ETTC (Electronic Transformers Technical Committee) to publish joint development standards, and Mark has long been active with ETTC. He also participates on the Magnetics Committee of the PSMA (Power Sources Manufacturers Association.)
Mark has a B.S.E.E. from Penn State and an M.B.A. in Technology Management from University of Phoenix. He is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania. Prior to entering the magnetics field, he worked in telephone system design.
Eligibility Requirements & Criteria
Eligibility: Any active IEEE member is eligible to receive this award. There is no restriction on affiliation, age, gender, IEEE member grade, or nationality.
Criteria: Judging is based on the nominator’s recommendation, endorsement letters, and the evaluation of the selection committee members. The criteria include:
- Candidate’s stature around IEEE standards in the field of power electronics
- Dissemination of knowledge by the candidate of the IEEE standards in the field of power electronics
- Sustained contribution of the candidate to the advancement of IEEE standards in the field of power electronics
- Sustained services of the candidate to the IEEE standards in the field of power electronics
- The quality of the nomination
Past Recipients
| Year | Recipient |
| 2023 | No Award given |
| 2022 | Matt Wilkowski |
| 2021 | Bruce Thackwray |
| 2020 | John DeCramer |
| 2019 | Brad Lehman |
Questions?
Please send any questions to the PELS Awards Committee.