Newswise — Renewable energy leader Dr. Babak Fahimi, a professor of electrical engineering in UT Dallas' Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional association for the advancement of technology.

Fahimi has been teaching and conducting research in the power electronics area for almost 20 years.

“This is a unique honor for me and our power group,” he said. “I am especially honored that IEEE has acknowledged my contributions at this stage of my career.”

IEEE has 400,000 members in 160 countries. The rank of fellow is conferred by the IEEE board of directors upon a person with an outstanding recording of accomplishments in any IEEE field, and is the highest grade of membership.

Fahimi is among the less than 0.1 percent of the membership selected this year to receive the distinction. He was cited for contributions to analysis and modeling of AC adjustable speed motor drives, which are used in many industrial processes.

Fahimi’s research involves inventing solutions for sustainable and affordable access to energy, water and health care. His technical interests have included:

• Optimal harvest and utility grid interface for renewable energy systems • Electromechanical energy conversion at macro- and micro-power levels • Application of power electronics in vehicular technologies, bioengineering, and digital signal processing and advanced control technologies • Design and control of power electronics converters and systems

At UT Dallas, Fahimi is director of the Renewable Energy and Vehicular Technology Lab and outgoing chairman of the University committee on sustainability.

Fahimi, who has written extensively, is the author of two books about motor drives and electric machines expected to be published this summer. He has advised nearly 20 master’s and 30 doctoral students, including three who were recruited to academic positions at top-ranked engineering schools.

“I am passionate about energy conversion and enjoy working with my team,” he said. “I still feel like a graduate student and explaining natural phenomenon gives me incredible satisfaction. There is nothing else to replace this joy.”

Fahimi holds 12 U.S. patents and has several pending. Some of his inventions have been put to use in industry. His noise and vibration control method was used in an electrically assisted power steering system by the automotive industry. His high torque switched reluctance machine has been used in a hybrid compressor system by the oil and gas industry.

Fahimi earned his bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees from the University of Tehran, and his doctorate from Texas A&M University. He worked as a research scientist in Rhode Island before teaching at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now the Missouri University of Science and Technology) and the University of Texas at Arlington. He joined UT Dallas in 2010.