Mr. Pierre A. Thollot
1997 William E. Newell Power Electronics Award Recipient
Pierre A. Thollot (M 75-SM 86-F 94) received his BSEE degree from The City College of New York in 1962. He joined the National Aeronautics & Space Administrationís Cleveland Lewis Research Center, where in 1968 he became head of the Brayton Controls and Electrical Components Section responsible for power generation and control subsystems.
While at NASA, he was appointed Chief of a newly formed Power Electronics Branch within the Spacecraft Technology Division in 1971, and later, Deputy Project Manager, Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Project Office. In 1981 he left NASA to join Sundstrand Corp. as Research Engineering Manager responsible for Aerospace advanced prototype high power electronic processing, management and distribution projects. Subsequently, his responsibilities as Director of the Electrical Research organization included direction of three technical departments.
Prior to his retirement in 1996 he held the position of Chief Research Engineer at Sundstrand. Not willing to fully retire, Pierre and Jenny moved to Denver, to be closer to several of their children /grandchildren, and started a small consulting business called Aerospace - Electric Power Systems Application Technology.
Thollot's career includes 30 years of voluntary service serving on numerous industry and government committees and active participation in various professional organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and as President of the Power Electronics Society.
In 1994 he was made a Fellow of the IEEE. With other coinventors, his work has lead to seven U. S. Patents, and he is author of over a dozen technical reports, founder and first chairman of the International Council on Power Electronic Cooperation, and Chief Editor of the first (1993) IEEE Technology Update Seriesî of books titled Power Electronics Technology and Applications.
Source: Flyer from Award Presentation