Dr. Laszlo Gyugyi

1994 William E. Newell Power Electronics Award Recipient



Dr. Laszlo Gyugyi of the Westinghouse Science and Technology Center received the 1994 William E. Newell Power Electronics Award on June 22 at the Awards Luncheon of the 25th IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

Dr. Gyugyi received his basic technical education at the University of Technology, Budapest, studied mathematics at the University of London, England, and electrical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, where he obtained his M.S.E.E. in 1967, and at the University of Salford, England, where he received his Ph.D. in 1970.

 

He started his professional career at the Epsylon Research and Development Co., Ltd., England, then in 1963 joined the Westinghouse Science & Technology Center, where he had a number of engineering and technical management positions of increasing responsibility. In 1980 he was appointed Manager, Power Electronics Department, and assumed responsibility for the Corporation's central research and development work in power electronics for utility, industrial, and defense applications.

 

At the beginning of his career, Dr. Gyugyi carried out research and development in different fields of electronics; however, in the last 30 years he has worked exclusively in the area of power electronics. His work has covered all types of power conversion circuits, control systems, and applications, leading to new products such as airborne variable-speed constant-frequency power generators, variable-speed ac motor drives, power line conditioners, and high-power static var compensators. During the last 15 years, he increasingly has focused on the development of new power electronic technologies for the real-time control of electric power transmission systems and solving the power quality problems of distribution systems.

 

Dr. Gyugyi holds 67 U.S. patents, is coauthor of the book "Static Power Frequency Changers" and author of the section "Power Frequency Changers in two electrical engineering handbooks. He has over 30 technical society publications and won the 1992 Prize Paper Award from the IEEE Power Engineering Society. In 1990, he received a Recognition Award from the U.S. National Committee of the International Conference on Large High Voltage Electric Systems (CIGRE). Dr. Gyugyi is a member of various IEEE and CIGRE working groups in the area of high-power electronics used for the compensation and control of power transmission systems.

 

Dr. Gyugyi also has regularly lectured in the Professional Development Programs of the University of Wisconsin. In 1992, he received the Westinghouse Order of Merit, the Corporation's highest honor, for his creativity and achievements in power electronics, and for his personal efforts in developing advanced power electronic technology for the compensation and control of utility transmission and distribution systems.

Source: Newsletter of the IEEE PELS, July 1994