Prof. Rik De Donker
RWTH Aachen University
Former President of IEEE PELS
Member of the German National Academy of Sciences
IEEE Fellow

Title: Power Electronics for the Energy Transition

Biography: Rik W. De Doncker received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, in 1986. In 1987, he was appointed as a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After a short stay as an Adjunct Researcher with Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, Leuven, he joined, in 1989, the Corporate Research and Development Center, General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY, USA. In 1994, he joined Silicon Power Corporation, a former division of General Electric, Inc., as the Vice President of Technology. In 1996, he became a Professor at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, where he currently leads the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA). Since 2006, he has been the Director of the E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University. He has authored more than 400 technical papers and is holder of more than 40 patents. Dr. De Doncker was the President of the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) in 2005 and 2006. He was the founding Chairman of the German IEEE Industry Applications Society PELS Joint Chapter. In 2002, he was the recipient of the IEEE IAS Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2008, he received the IEEE PES Nari Hingorani Custom Power Award. In 2009, he led a VDE/ETG Task Force on Electric Vehicles. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctor degree of TU Riga, Riga, Latvia. In 2013, he received the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award. In 2020, he received the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering.