In Memory of George Karady

George G. Karady

1930-2018

Dr. George Karady, IEEE Fellow, noted expert in the fields of power electronics and high voltage engineering, and a highly respected educator, passed away on June 17, 2018.

George received his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Budapest. He was appointed Salt River Chair Professor at Arizona State University (ASU) in 1986. Previously, he was with EBASCO Services where he served as chief consulting electrical engineer, manager of electrical systems and chief engineer of computer technology.

He was the electrical task supervisor for the Tokomak Fusion Test Reactor project in Princeton. Prior to this, he worked at IREQ, Canada, where he was involved with high voltage insulation studies and power electronics.

Dr. Karady served the IEEE and CIGRE with distinction. He chaired the IEEE working group on nonceramic insulators for many years. He coauthored a textbook, over 300 articles in journals and conferences. In recognition of his contributions, he received the IEEE PES Technical Committee Distinguished Individual Service Award and IEEE Third Millennium Medal.

He was the chair of the IEEE PES 10 Power Electronics Subcommittee. He was elected to IEEE Fellow in 1978 for advancement in the art of High Voltage DC transmission. He was the Treasurer/Secretary and Vice President of the US National Committee of CIGRE during 1985-1993, and the US Expert Advisor for the International Study Committee 22 from 1986-2006. He was awarded the Honorary Doctorate from The Technical University of Budapest in 1999. At ASU, he graduated 23 doctoral and 57 masters students.

George is best remembered by his colleagues and friends as a cheerful individual, full of life and zest. He enjoyed his work. George loved traveling, tennis and regular walks. He will be missed.