IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS SOCIETY ELECTION
For Election of Members to the Administrative Committee
For a Three-Year Term 1 January 2016 - 31 December 2018
LIUCHEN CHANG (S’88-M’91-SM’99) received B.S.E.E. from Northern Jiaotong University in 1982, M.Sc.
from China Academy of Railway Sciences in 1984, and Ph.D. from Queen’s University in 1991. He joined the
faculty of University of New Brunswick in 1992 and is a professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He
held the position of NSERC Chair in Environmental Design Engineering for Atlantic Canada during 2001-2007. He
received the CanWEA R.J. Templin Award in 2010 for his contribution in wind energy technologies. He is a fellow
of Canadian Academy of Engineering. Dr. Chang has focused on R&D in renewable energy and distributed
generation systems, and has led numerous multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary projects in partnership with
industry and government, including the 16-university Canadian Wind Energy Strategic Network. He has published over 270 refereed
technical papers in journals and conference proceedings.
Dr. Chang has been an IEEE volunteer since early 1990’s, serving various positions at IEEE NB Section and PELS. He is the general
chair of ECCE 2015 (Montreal) and ECCE-Asia 2016 (Hefei). He is instrumental in establishing the IEEE annual International
Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG), served as the TPC chair, general co-chair, general
chair and Steering Committee chair. He was the chair of PELS TC of Power Electronics in Distributed Generation and Renewable
Energy Systems 2005-2008, PELS TC5 (Sustainable Energy Systems) 2011-2014, and treasurer of PELS Standards Committee 2008now. He has been an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and IEEE JESTPE.
Statement: Volunteering in IEEE has tremendously enriched my professional life, and I have enjoyed working with the colleagues at
PELS. I strongly believe that as an organization of excellence, our Power Electronic Society is a home place for power electronics
professionals, both established and young, from academia and industry. If elected a member-at-large, I would like to work collectively
and collaboratively on enhancing the professional experience of our members at our society, fostering collaboration and partnerships,
and attracting potential members in a collegial manner. I would like to contribute to the following efforts:
(1) To embark initiatives to foster industry participation in PELS sponsored conferences and other activities. This goal will be
achieved through the creation of more value-added services and venues for targeted companies in various business sectors.
(2) To increase student membership through the development of PELS student chapters and initiatives at PELS conferences.
Emphasis will be on creating PELS student chapters in universities which have established research centers and critical mass in power
electronics.
(3) To enhance our publications, products and services which are attractive to our broad-based membership, particularly to industry
and young professionals.
(4) To strengthen the established process and the operation of our society.
FEI GAO (GSM’09-M’10-SM’15) is currently an associate professor at the energy department of the University of
Technology of Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM), Belfort, France. He received the Master's degree in electrical and
control system engineering in 2007 and the Ph.D. degree in renewable energy with distinguished youth doctor reward
in 2010, both from UTBM. His main research interests include fuel cells systems and their power electronic
interfaces in transportation, multi-physical modeling and real time simulation systems. He is the author of more than
50 scientific papers, 2 books, and individual chapters in 2 books. He is the head of the energy production division of
energy department of UTBM, and the chair of fuel cell modeling axis of the national Fuel Cell Research Federation
(FR CNRS) in France. Since 2014, he is also an adjunct professor at School of Automation of the Northwestern
Polytechnical University in China. He is a senior member of IEEE and an associate editor of PELS sponsored IEEE Transactions on
Transportation Electrification. He serves also as member of organizing committee and/or technical track chair in various IEEE PELS
sponsored international conferences, such as IEEE APEC, IEEE ITEC, IEEE ITEC Asia and Pacific.
Statement: As a young researcher in the fields of renewable energy systems and transportation electrification, I believe that IEEE
Power Electronics Society is one of the most successful IEEE societies, because it has large dynamic, self-motivated, diverse
volunteers and members across the world. I think the success of the PELS relies on the practice of three key elements: senior
leadership, young “fresh blood” and diversity. In past five years, I already involved in various activities of IEEE PELS and IEEE in
general, such as associate editor in IEEE journal, committee member of PELS sponsored conferences and so on. I would like to run
my candidate for the election in order to contribute continuously, with my both European and Asian educational and research
background, to the exciting practices of PELS in the area of power electronics engineering.
My first goal, if elected, is to continue to contribute the diversity of PELS by involving more youth members and people from IEEE
region 8 and 10 into different PELS activities, such as involvement in PELS technical committees, organization of PELS sponsored
conferences and creation of new student branch chapters. My second goal is to enhance the visibility and impact of student members
of PELS by promoting educational and training activities and student competition events sponsored by PELS and industries. Finally, I
would like to support the exchanges between committee and PELS “next generation” members by listening, communicating and
working together alongside the society.
WILLIAM GERARD HURLEY (M’79-SM’90-F’07) received the B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from the
National University of Ireland, Cork in 1974, the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, in 1976 and the Ph.D. degree at the National University of Ireland, Galway
in 1988.
He worked for Honeywell Controls in Canada from 1977 to 1979 and for Ontario Hydro from 1979 to 1983. He
lectured in electronic engineering at the University of Limerick, Ireland from 1983 to 1991 and is currently professor
of Electrical Engineering at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He is the Director of the Power Electronics
Research Centre there. He served on the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Visiting Professor of Electrical
Engineering in 1997/1998. Prof. Hurley has given invited presentations on magnetics in Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Czech
Republic, Hong Kong, China, Australia and USA.
Research interests include high frequency magnetics, wireless power, and renewable energy systems.
Prof. Hurley is a Fellow of the IEEE. He was General Chair of the Power Electronics Specialists Conference (PESC) in 2000 and he is
also the General Chair for PEDG 2016 in Vancouver. He chaired the PELS Fellows Committee from 2012 to 2015. He has coauthored a text book on transformer and inductors. He is the 2013 recipient of the IEEE PELS Middlebrook Award for Technical
Achievement. He was appointed Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE for 2014-2015.
Statement: I have been a member of the Power Electronics community for over 30 years. I have witnessed massive change in that
time. I have been lucky enough to have a rewarding and fulfilling career in Power Electronics and I am seeking your vote now to give
me an opportunity to serve you the members in a forum that can effect change in a meaningful way.
In a globalised world we are connected in ways that were unimaginable only a short while ago. In my work with PESC it was obvious
to me that Power Electronics knows no boundaries and its expansion in Asia and South America brings a new dimension to the need
for collaboration and connectivity on a wide scale.
IEEE volunteers and members are the drivers behind the technological innovation and excellence. Power Electronics has evolved from
a niche area in motor drives to all aspects of modern power conversion from electric cars to renewable energy systems. My focus will
be to foster dialogue among the membership, enhance the collaboration between PELS and other societies, and promote scholarly
endeavour among our members but in particular our young members.
There has never been a more exciting time to be part of PELS and I welcome the opportunity to bring that excitement to a global
audience. I have been very active in conference organization and I see that activity as a driver for growth, in particular beyond North
America and Europe.
KATHERINE A. KIM (S’05-AM’07-GSM’09-M’14) Since 2014, I have been an Assistant Professor of Electrical
and Computer Engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in Ulsan, South Korea.
I received the B.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering,
Needham, MA, in 2007, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2011 and 2014,
respectively, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL. My research and technical background has
focused on power converters and control for photovoltaic and other renewable energy sources.
In 2010-2011, I chaired the IEEE Power and Energy Society/Power Electronics Society Joint Student Chapter at the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and continued to be active in the chapter until graduation. I helped start the IEEE Power and
Energy Conference at Illinois (for which PELS is a technical sponsor) serving on the organizing committee for five years from 2010 to
2014 and as the Conference Co-Director in 2012. I served as the PELS Student Membership Chair from 2013 to 2014, and have been
an active member on the PELS Student and Young Professionals (YP) Committee since 2013. For the last year, I have organized the
PELS YP Webinar Series, which showcases the work of student and YP members. I plan to continue to be involved in PELS
throughout my career.
Statement: After joining IEEE PELS, I found that it was much more than just a professional society, but a strong community of
people that shared my same passion for power electronics. Through PELS, I not only broadened my technical knowledge, but I met
mentors, colleagues, and friends that helped guide me through my career thus far. This is the kind of introduction that I want all new
PELS members to experience.
The culture and face of the younger generation is changing and PELS needs to change with it to ensure that we are current and
inclusive of a diverse audience. As a Member at Large, I will focus on welcoming and engaging the next generation of power
electronics engineers by ensuring that PELS activities and products create value for student/YP members, as well as more senior
members.
Some initial goals are as follows:
- Attracting students to PELS: PELS supports various student competitions (e.g. Solar Splash and IFEC), where many students are
first introduced to power electronics. These programs can be more widely promoted and the link to PELS can be more highly coupled.
- Attracting new members to PELS: Good educational materials are extremely valuable for people learning about power electronics.
Courses, webinars, and general education material can be expanded in order to provide a positive introduction to PELS and the power
electronics area.
- Closed-Loop Feedback: I plan to continually talk with and get feedback from all types of members to understand their values and
how PELS can best support them."
ERNIE PARKER (M’92-SM’12) is Director of Engineering for the Power Solutions organization within Crane
Aerospace & Electronics. Ernie’s involvement with power electronics began in 1980 with an assignment at his first
post graduation employer, Sundstrand Aviation. He has been involved in power electronics for commercial aerospace
and military applications ever since in design and engineering management roles.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics Power Solutions products are used to provide power to or within electronic systems
on a variety of commercial aerospace, military and space platforms. Their products are used in applications from postgenerator to point-of-use, spanning a range from > 100 KW to < 10 W.
Ernie has served as a member of IEEE Working Groups for the development of IEEE Std’s 1515 and 1573. He is currently the
Chairman (2014-2015) of Power Sources Manufactures Association (PSMA), a multinational non-profit industry association. Ernie is
also co-chair of the PSMA Packaging Committee and active on their Power Electronics Technology Roadmap Committee. PSMA is a
long standing co-sponsor of APEC along with IEEE PELS and IAS. PSMA’s Packaging Committee has most recently been focused
on technologies from microelectronics that are applicable to power and has published two reports on 3D power packaging including
embedding components in organic and inorganic substrates. Ernie received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Georgia
Institute of Technology in 1980 and M.S. in Management from Antioch University – Seattle in 1995. Ernie holds two patents relevant
to power electronics and has two patents pending.
Statement: I am honored by the nomination to be a Member-at-Large candidate for the IEEE PELS AdCom. It is an exciting time for
power electronics and PELS plays and important role in helping established practitioners and researchers keep abreast of emerging
technologies and applications as well as helping educate the next generation of engineers. I believe power electronics practitioners are
best prepared for success when they have a multi-disciplinary view and understanding, both across electrical engineering areas
including digital, RF, analog, and magnetics as well as other engineering disciplines including mechanical, thermal, and material
science. While it is impossible to be an expert in all these fields, PELS can play a role in helping identify key enablers such as multiphysics simulation & modelling and key sources of technical knowledge relevant to power electronics by strengthening ties to IEEE
CPMT and other similar groups.
If elected I would like to help PELS strengthen ties to other relevant organizations through, for example, co-sponsoring workshops
and help improve PELS efforts for educating the community on emerging power electronics applications, such as transportation power
electronics and alternative energy, and emerging enabling technologies including 3D packaging / component embedding.
GRANT PITEL (S’02-M’03-GSM’05-M’09-SM’14) received the B.S. degree from Cornell University at Ithaca,
NY, in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he concentrated on digital signal processing. He
received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a research focus on
digital control in power electronics and life-cycle behavior of lithium ion batteries. Before joining Magna-Power
Electronics, Grant was a Senior Engineer at PC Krause and Associates and attended a three month internship at
Google’s Platforms Division in Mountain View, CA.
He was a finalist in the 2002 Cornell Big Red Venture Business Idea Competition, received the IEEE IAS Myron Zucker Student
design award in 2003, was a 2004 Energy Star Efficiency Challenge winner, and received the 2005 Grainger Outstanding Power
Engineer award. He has written 5 first author publications, 1 patent and another pending. Grant has served as volunteer webmaster for
IEEE-PELS.ORG since 2007 and is secretary for the IAS Industrial Power Converter Committee. Grant joined Magna-Power as
Director of Engineering where he develops next-generation products. Today, he oversees engineering activities, new product
development, and internal company technologies.
Statement: The society needs to keep a focused eye on its competitors and the evolution of content mediums. Historically PELS has
grown its member base through activities such as meetings, publications, and conferences, which are all supported through dues and
registrations. However, disruptive technologies have made it possible for competitors (Meetup.com, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, TED Talks,
etc.) to quickly captivate an audience at little to no cost to the audience.
The society has for decades provided high-value services and content using a “pay-to-play” philosophy. Recently, competition has
found other strategies and has been exploding in growth. The society needs to respond by adding more tiers to its content, services,
and pricing to attract new members and provide more value to existing members.
I have a rare combination of Power Electronics expertise and a keen understanding and interest in web technologies. I believe I can
provide valuable input to the committee and help steer the society in a positive direction.
SEUNG-KI SUL (S’78-M’86-SM’98-F’00) was born in Korea, in 1958. He received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.
degrees in electrical engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1980, 1983, and 1986,
respectively. From 1986 to 1988, he was an Associate Researcher with the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison. From 1988 to 1990, he was a Principal Research Engineer with LG
Industrial Systems Company, Korea. Since 1991, he has been a member of faculty of School of the Electrical and
Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, where he is currently a Professor. He was promoted as a fellow
of IEEE with the contribution to PWM technology. He was the program chair of IEEE PESC’06 and general chair
of IEEE ECCE-Asia, ICPE, 2011. For last three years, he had served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Power
Electronics, which is a SCIE registered journal, published by the Korean Institute of Power Electronics (KIPE), Seoul, Korea. From,
2015, he is the president of KIPE.
Statement: I believe that the voices from Asian countries should be more reflected into the policies and activities of PELS. Because
major production and research related to PELS area have been done in Asian country, so more people and voice from Asian country
should be involved in PELS activities. As ECCE-Asia coordinate member, I can do this kind of work very properly.
Also, Power Electronics are application oriented discipline, and the people form industry should be invited more in all PELS
sponsored meetings. Their active involvement to PELS is very crucial to enhance the performance of PELS activities.
MARK DEHONG XU (M’94-SM’10-F’13) has been a professor in College of Electrical Engineering of
Zhejiang University, China since 1996. He received Ph.D. degree from the same University in 1989. He used to be
a visiting professor in University of Tokyo in 1995, in Virginia Tech in 2000, and in ETH in 2006.
He is interested in power electronics topology and control, and applications to energy saving and renewable
energy. He authored six books and 160 IEEE Journal or Conference papers. He owns more than 30 Chinese
patents and 3 US patents. He got four IEEE paper awards.
He was at-large Adcom member of IEEE Power Electronics Society from 2006 to 2008. He is an associate editor of IEEE
Transactions on Power Electronics. He was General Chairs of IEEE ISIE2012, PEDG2013, and IFEC2015. He was founding General
Chair of IEEE Power Electronics and Applications (PEAC2014, Shanghai). He is IEEE PELS Distinguish Lecturer in 2015. He is
IEEE Fellow in 2013.
From 2013 he is President of China Power Supply Society. He was Board member of Electrical Engineering Discipline of Education
Degree Committee of China State Department since 2003-2013. He is Editorial board Committee Chair of Journal of Power Supply
since 2013.
Statement: Power electronics is one of key technologies for addressing the climate changing and building sustainable society. Asia
with fast growth of numbers of power electronics engineers needs IEEE power electronics society while Asia is also important part of
globalization strategy of IEEE Power Electronics Society in 21st century.
Now PELS has made very successful conferences in Asia such as ECCE Asia, PEDG, PEDS, INTELEC, PEAC etc. by cooperation
with Asian societies and institutes. However there is still big potential to be developed such as membership, publications, training
programs. I hope to make a contribution to increasing the influence and visibility of IEEE power electronics society in Asian. As
President of China Power Supply Society (CPSS) and Vice President of China Power Electronics Society, I hope to make effort to
furthering cooperation of PELS with CPSS and other sister societies in Asia with respective to conferences, membership, publications
etc.
As a volunteer, I will continue doing volunteer working in PEDG steering committee, IFEC Steering committee, ECCE Asia
committee etc. I promise to join Adcom meeting at least two times each year in my duration.