UPDATE: The voting period for this election has ended.
Vote for the election of members to the DEIS Administrative Committee (AdCom) for a Three-Year Term 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021.
The IEEE DEIS Bylaws provide that six new members shall be elected annually to the Administrative Committee. For the 2018 AdCom Member-at-Large election, we have ten candidates listed on the ballot. The DEIS AdCom Member-at-Large election starts on August 28 and ends on October 9, 2018. The buttons at the top and bottom of this post will direct you to the ballot.
Bios and candidate statements:
IEEE DIELECTRICS AND ELECTRICAL INSULATION SOCIETY
ELECTION OF MEMBERS TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
For the Term 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021
KEVIN ALEWINE (AM’01-M’09-SM’17) has been involved with wind generation technologies for many years while focusing his 40+ year career on electrical insulation systems and materials for rotating machines, transformers and electronic applications. Additionally, he serves as the lead for insulation systems and new technologies development for Shermco. Kevin is active on several IEEE standards working groups and is the general chair for the IEEE DEIS sponsored 2019 Electrical Insulation Conference. He is a past chair of the American Wind Energy Association O&M Committee focusing on improving the reliability and profitability of wind energy projects. He led the team developing the initial and 2nd editions of their Recommended Practices for Wind Project Operations and Maintenance, published in 2013 and 2017, respectively. Additionally, he was the technical program chair for the AWEA Windpower 2014 conference. Kevin has authored multiple technical papers for both IEEE and AWEA and is regularly published in industry publications including North American Windpower, Wind Systems, Power Magazine and the NETA World Journal. In non-business experience, Kevin has also served on the boards of directors for several non-profit arts organizations.
Statement: As I member at large for the DEIS AdCom, I would bring a wide range of business and technical experience as well as offering support for various marketing endeavours. I also have a strong background working with both volunteer organizations and paid staff structures. Additionally, my employer continues to offer strong support for my involvement with non-profit industry associations. I would be glad to help in any way needed.
THOMAS ANDRITSCH (M’11) was born in Innsbruck, Austria in 1980. He received the Dipl.-Ing. Degree in Electrical Engineering from Graz University of Technology in 2006 and his Ph.D. degree in the same field from Delft University of Technology in 2010. He is currently working as a Lecturer at the University of Southampton with focus on advanced materials for high voltage applications and plant. He has extensive experience with preparation and testing of polymer-based electrical insulation materials, including nanodielectrics, electroactive polymers and syntactic foams, as well as liquid insulation systems and nanofluids. Thomas is currently the chair of the UK & Ireland IEEE DEIS Chapter. He is a member of the IEEE DEIS working group on nanodielectrics, developing recommended practices for nanocomposite synthesis and preparation, and was contributing to Cigre WG D1.40 on the subject of functional nanomaterials for the electrical power industry.
Statement: The IEEE mission statement reads “IEEE’s core purpose is to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity”, and this idea is what was convinced me to become a member of the IEEE in 2011, just after completing my PhD. Since then I have been involved in a number of IEEE DEIS organized events, helping the DEIS to achieve its aims of excellence in technical, scientific, and educational advancement.
From 2015 I have been Chair of the IEEE DEIS UK & Ireland Chapter, during which I organized a number of events, or was helping with the organization, including the DEIS summer school, a number of seminars and technical events, and more recently chairing the Universities High Voltage Networking Colloquium (UHVnet) in Winchester, UK, as well as being secretary of the annual report conference on electrical insulation and dielectric phenomena (CEIDP), after being member of the board of said conference for a number of years.
I would like to join AdCom to further promote the IEEE DEIS among students and young professionals, which are vital for the survival of the society. To have a sustainable membership it is in my view key that young members are not only being made aware why the DEIS work is important, but also see evidence for this first hand and are encouraged to contribute themselves, with their contributions being valued. I would see my focus for now on work with young professionals and students. My current plans include the promotion of the DEIS at the Student and Young Professionals Congress 2018 in Portugal, with this goal in mind.
ISTVAN DENES (M’18) is a senior expert of the Robert Bosch GmbH, responsible for the team: CT3 Connectivity – Functional Integration of Sensors.
In 2010-2015 he coordinated various corporate activities as well as publicly funded projects on electroactive polymers. His research field concerns the technological and economic aspects of polymer based electro-mechanical systems. He got his M.Sc. in mechanical engineering and holding a Ph.D. in power electronics being supervised by the IEEE Fellow Prof. Istvan Nagy. In 2012 he was completing his studies at the Steinbeis Business Academy receiving the MBA title. He has been granted the Scholarship of the Hungarian Republic in 1998-2000.
He is a Bosch delegate in the SEMICON Europa/Flex conference committee. He is a member of the European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles (ESNAM), referee for project proposals of the funding announcement of the German Ministry of Science “Innovative Elektrochemie” in 2016 and of the announcement “Ingenieurs Nachwuchs” in 2017.
Statement: As a head of a research team active on the field of electronic assembly and interconnection technologies I believe it is important to have an open ear for the needs of the industry yet to understand the scientific depth of the problems related to the material research. Therefore I see an important role for DEIS as a gateway between the industry and the scientific world by establishing a dialog, by communicating scientific achievements and by educating their members.
Besides the well-known application fields of dielectric materials new areas are visible as well. In the recent decade, we were conducting research on the field of electroactive polymers. As the major conclusion of these activities we had to state that our technology goals could not be reached due to the performance of the applied dielectric materials.
We need better dielectrics and better defined dielectrics. With the progression of driver assistance systems and autonomous driving, a double-digit market growth of radio frequency based environmental sensation is visible. For the assembly and interconnection of the sensors System in Package (SiP) concepts are used integrating the high and the low frequency circuitry in one unit. One of the greatest challenges is to identify the adequate SiP-materials since many of the suppliers do not have any information at all on the radio frequency behavior of their product.
If elected I will focus my efforts:
– to increase the visibility of new application areas for dielectrics, such as electroactive polymer based transducers or novel electronic packaging concepts.
– to encourage interaction between the industrial and the academic parties in order to highlight new approaches for the measurement and interpretation of the relevant material properties.
– to make available these new approaches not only for the practicing researchers and engineers but through education for the younger generation as well.
I hope I could convince you to support me with your votes.
DAVIDE FABIANI (S’99-M’02-SM’17) received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with honours in 1997 and 2002, respectively. Since 2014, he is Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Electronics and Information Engineering of University of Bologna where he teaches the courses of “Innovative Electrical Technologies” and “Insulation Systems Design and Diagnosis”. Formerly, from 2005 to 2014 he was Assistant Professor at University of Bologna.
His fields of research are mainly related to: Development and characterization of nanostructured materials for applications in electrical and electronic apparatus, Investigation of HV apparatus diagnosis mainly through partial discharge measurements, Evaluation of the effect of non-sinusoidal waveforms on reliability of components and insulation systems (in particular, induction motors fed by power electronic converters) as well as the study of electrical conduction mechanisms and aging processed in high voltage insulation systems.
He was involved in several projects financed by public and private companies. He is author or co-author of about 180 papers, most of them published on the major international journals and conference proceedings. He is the Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation and IET High Voltage Journal as well as a reviewer for several International Journals.
He is a member of the IEEE DEIS since 1998 and Senior Member since 2017. He is a founder of the Research Group on Electrospinning (RGE) of University of Bologna. He is a member of the WG on Nanodieletctrics of IEEE DEIS and of two CIGRE working groups. He has been Technical Program Committee Chair of the IEEE CEIDP for 2014 and 2015. He was vice-chairman of the international conference IEEE ICSD 2013. He is currently a member of DEIS AdCom and Chair of the Meetings Committee since 2016.
Statement: In the next years the world of Dielectric and Electrical Insulation will have to face many challenges. On one side, the development of smart power networks requires more performing insulation and reliable condition monitoring techniques, on the other side the increasing use of power electronics, e.g. in the HVDC-related applications, demands deeper knowledge regarding integration of dielectrics in power equipment. Therefore, one key point for DEIS growth could be to strengthen relationships with other IEEE Societies, particularly the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and IEEE Power Engineering Society (PES).
In the first three-year terms I was involved in managing DEIS Technical Meetings and Conferences. Among those, a new periodic conference co-sponsored together with PELS and Packaging Society was established on power electronics packaging. If elected for this second three-year term, I would like to continue my efforts on the development of technical activities, meetings and conferences, with particular attention to co-locating DEIS conferences with meetings of other sister societies. This will permit to strengthen the relationship with other communities, advertising better DEIS activities, thus bringing new fresh blood into the Dielectrics community.
ELIZABETH FOLEY (M’16) holds a B.S. in Polymer and Textile Chemistry from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina. She is currently employed at Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. as a Process Support Scientist working on a variety of projects, including insulated wire. She has been a member of IEEE Dielectrics and Insulation Society since 2015. In 2017, she was the International Chair for the Electrical Insulation Conference (EIC). In 2018, Elizabeth served as the International and Student Chair for EIC, and she is looking forward to continued involvement with DEIS.
Statement: I am particularly passionate about increasing student and young professional’s membership and participation in the society. IEEE Dielectrics and Insulation Society should be a resource they turn to for guidance on career management, publication, and increasing technical prowess. By investing in their growth, they become an integrated part of our community. This community investment leads to students and young professionals wanting to share new knowledge, accept new challenges, and mentor the next generation. While this strategy sounds very idealistic, I fully believe that idealistic goals are achievable with concrete steps. At the 2018 Electrical Insulation Conference, I organized a student lunch with panelists to discuss transitioning from a student to a young professional. It was, perhaps, a small step, but a concrete step. As a member-at-large for DEIS, I would continue to work to provide opportunities for DEIS to invest into students and young professionals in order to ensure continued success of DEIS in meeting our four objectives: technical, scientific, literary, and educational.
ALLEN L. GARNER (S’02-M’06-SM’13) received the B.S. degree (with high honors) in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1996. He received an M.S.E. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1997, an M.S. in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, in 2003, and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2006.
He was an active duty Naval officer from December 1997 to December 2003, serving onboard the USS Pasadena (SSN 752) and as an instructor of the Prospective Nuclear Engineering Officer course at Submarine Training Facility, Norfolk VA. He is currently a Commander in the United States Navy Reserves. From 2006 to 2012, he was an electromagnetic physicist at GE Global Research Center, Niskayuna, NY. Since August 2012, he has been an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. His research interests include the application of pulsed power and plasmas for studies of biodielectrics and gas breakdown at microscale and nanoscale. In 2016, he also served as a Summer Faculty Fellow at Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Prof. Garner received a University of Michigan Reagents’ Fellowship and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. He has been awarded two Meritorious Service Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and five Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He was the Session Chair for the Biological, Medical, and Environmental session in the 2012 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference (IPMHVC), Publications Chair for the 2014 IPMHVC, Technical Chair for the 2016 IPMHVC, and Treasurer for the 2018 IPMHVC. He also received the 2016 IEEE NPSS Early Achievement Award. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Michigan.
Statement: I would like to leverage my experience from industry, government, academia, and IEEE conference preparation to ensure that we provide beneficial, cost-effective services to our membership.
AKIKO KUMADA (M’03) is currently Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems at the University of Tokyo, where she has been a member of staff since 2003. Her areas of research include: Electro-optic sensors (Pockels sensor, Kerr sensor) and its application to field measurement, Discharge characteristics of CF3I (SF6 gas alternative) and its application to GIL, Electron density measurement in arc discharges by Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensor, Vacuum arc elucidation and improvement of withstanding voltage of vacuum circuit breaker, Insulation designing of stress grading system of high-voltage rotating machines, Treeing in silicone gel for IGBTs, treeing-visualization in epoxy resin filled with micrometer filler, and Quantum chemical computation approach of charge transfers in solid dielectrics.
Activities in scientific and technical committees include: Program Committee member (CMD 2010, CEIDP 2018), Associate Editor IEEE TDEI (2015-) and Secretary, Japanese national committee of CIGRE SC-D1.
Statement: I have engaged in the development of optical sensing technology and its application to the field of power transmission, also in high voltage and high current field. In this power transmission field, paradigm shift for the first time in 100 years, a revival of direct current, is now occurring. Therefore, the importance of exploring new insulation materials, material design, and sophisticated insulation designing is increasing.
I want to address these interesting issues with many researchers not only taking the use of my past experience but also taking the new approach, such as quantum chemical computation approach for elucidating material property, which I started working on with my colleagues recently.
AXEL MELLINGER (M’08-SM’09) obtained his physics Diploma and Ph.D. degrees at the Technical University in Munich, Germany, in 1992 and 1995, respectively. (His Ph.D. research was performed at the Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.) In 1996-1997 he held a two-year postdoctoral position at UC Berkeley’s Department of Chemistry. From 1998-2008 he was a senior scientist at the University of Potsdam, Germany, where he obtained the highest German university degree, the Habilitation, in September 2005. In August 2008 he joined Central Michigan University’s Department of Physics as Assistant Professor (2008-2014), and since 2014 as Associate Professor. His work focuses on optical and electrical properties of ferroelectrets and polymer micro- and nanocomposites, as well as multi-dimensional mapping of polarization and space charge distributions. He has authored/co-authored 47 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Mellinger is the current DEIS secretary. From 2010-2015, and again since 2017 he has been a board member of the IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (CEIDP). He served as General Vice Chair of the 15th International Symposium on Electrets (ISE) in Baltimore, MD (2014). In August 2011 he was elected into the ISE Scientific Advisory Committee. From 2011-2015 he was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation. Dr. Mellinger is a former scholar of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. In the astronomical community he is known for his wide-field mosaic images of the night sky which are used in planetariums around the world.
Statement: Research in dielectric materials has been my chosen field for 20 years, and I have been active in the DEIS community since 2010, as CEIDP board member, ISE conference vice chair, and since January 2018 as DEIS secretary. As the DEIS sponsored meetings have greatly helped me in my professional development, I am delighted to offer my service as AdCom member-at-large. One of my goals is to facilitate communication between AdCom members using modern electronic tools, including e-voting and video conferencing.
HOWARD SEDDING (M’88-SM’15) graduated with a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering at the University of Strathclyde and then acquired MSc and PhD degrees. His PhD Thesis was on the degradation of epoxy mica insulation used in rotating machines.
Most of Dr. Sedding’s career was spent working at the Research Division of Ontario Hydro, later known as Kinectrics. Howard was involved in, or responsible for, numerous projects related to the specification, testing, monitoring and maintenance of solid, liquid and gaseous electrical insulation systems in a wide range of high voltage electrical equipment. At the conclusion of his career at Kinectrics he was manager of 40 specialists who provided testing and condition monitoring services to the electric utility industry. Currently, Howard is employed as an Insulation Engineer at Iris Power. He is an active member of numerous technical committees, and has contributed to many IEEE and IEC standards concerned with electrical insulation. Specifically, he is the Chair of the Canadian committee for IEC TC112 (Evaluation and qualification of electrical insulating materials and systems), the International Secretary of IEC TC42 (High voltage and high current test techniques) and is the Canadian representative for Cigre SC A1 (rotating machines). In 2006 he was the General Chair of the IEEE International Symposium on Electrical Insulation and was a technical co-chair of the Electrical Insulation conference in 1999 and 2001. From 1994-1999 he was a member of DEIS AdCom and is currently a member of AdCom having being elected to serve for the 2016-2018 term. Howard has authored and co-authored more than 150 technical papers.
Statement: I have been fortunate enough over the past 25 years or so to have been involved in many activities sponsored by the DEIS from serving as member-at-large of AdCom to chairing the International Symposium on Electrical Insulation. In these activities, I have always been impressed by the expertise and dedication displayed by DEIS members who provide their time on a voluntary basis. Membership of the DEIS has afforded me the opportunity to engage with a wide spectrum of individuals across industry, government and academia. For me, this forum for cross-fertilization of ideas through the many conferences, publications and standards-making working groups that DEIS sponsors is extremely valuable and something for DEIS to be proud of. If elected to a further term as a member-at-large of AdCom, I will continue to work toward ensuring that industrial members of the DEIS benefit from enhanced cooperation between the industrial and academic sides of the DEIS.
FEIPENG WANG (M’15) received his PhD in Materials Physics and Chemistry from Tongji University, China in 2007. I am currently professor of Department of High Voltage and Insulation Technology in the School of Electrical Engineering at Chongqing University, China. He is a member of IEEE DEIS Membership Development Committee and am both the IEEE and DEIS member. He organized the IEEE ICHVE 2016 conference as the Conference Secretary & Chair of Local Organization Committee, and will organize the IEEE ISE 18 in 2021 as a conference co-chair.
His research focuses in two areas including engineering insulation dielectrics and functional dielectric systems for sensors and actuators. He has published almost 100 peer-reviewed articles and international conference papers.
Statement: If elected as a member-at-large of DEIS AdCom, my objective is to work with a focus of developing DEIS members in China besides the duty of managing DEIS society affairs. I will also use my relationships to promote the engineers and researchers in China power grid and community at large to follow and focus DEIS by e.g. join as a member of DEIS society and attending more DEIS sponsored conferences. The other key point is to initiating and managing DEIS Chongqing Chapter which will be jointly supported by a newly established International Research Center of High Voltage and Electrical Insulation Systems in Chongqing University. I will attend most DEIS sponsored conferences as well as join the DEIS AdCom meeting twice a year with the financial support from my university.
