Rik W. De Doncker

Biography

With more than 40 patents, Rik W. De Doncker’s power electronics innovations for energy-efficient conversion and drive technologies have impacted applications ranging from electric vehicles to advancing development of the electronically controlled power grid. He developed the dual active bridge electronic DC-to-DC transformer in 1988, which was critical to energy supply systems for the NASA space station. His auxiliary resonant commutated pole converter developed in 1990 had important implications for efficient high-power converters. Developed in 1994, his converter controller for low-voltage batteries in electric cars extends vehicle range and has been incorporated by several car manufacturers. He co-developed the first medium-voltage static transfer switch, which has been deployed in the United States to prevent power grid sags.

An IEEE Fellow, Dr. De Doncker is a professor and head of the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives and director of the E. ON Energy Research Center at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.