BPEC researchers Syed Tahmid Mahbub and Nagesh Patle are recipients of the 2025 Graduate Research Grants from the nonprofit organization Hearts to Humanity Eternal (H2H8). This broadly defined award is granted to thirty graduate researchers each year to fund research that improves world-affecting problems like climate change or furthers advancements in medicine, space exploration, artificial […]
Awards
Dr. Rahul Iyer and Dr. Yicheng Zhu receive the 2025 PELS Ph.D. Thesis Talk Award!
Recent Pilawa Group graduates Dr. Rahul Iyer and current postdoctoral scholar Dr. Yicheng Zhu have each been awarded the 2025 PELS Ph.D. Thesis Talk Award! This award is granted yearly to outstanding graduates who have defended their thesis and submit an additional video submission to the IEEE Power Electronics Society. Participants are judged based on […]
Nagesh Patle Receives Timothy B. Campbell Innovation Award!
Graduate student Nagesh Patle received the 2025 Timothy B. Campbell Innovation Award, which is granted once per year to a computer science or electrical engineering graduate student who demonstrates a spirit of innovation, collaboration, and creativity in their work and method. The award honors the memory of Timothy B. Campbell, a former Ph.D. student working […]
Leheng Wang wins 2025 IEEE PELS Graduate Studies Fellowship!
Visiting Ph.D student Leheng Wang was recognized for his technical achievements and research in the areas of resonant converters in EV chargers and data center power conversion by the IEEE Power Electronics Society. The IEEE PELS Graduate Studies Fellowships are awarded yearly to visiting scholars whose work aligns closely with the mission of PELS. Leheng […]
Dr. Yicheng Zhu Receives Ross N. Tucker Memorial Award
Post-doctoral scholar Dr. Yicheng Zhu has received a Ross N. Tucker Memorial Award for 2024. The Tucker Award is given to recognize superior work and scholarship in the characterization, development and/or use of semiconductor, magnetic, optical or electronic materials by a graduate student or students pursuing such areas of inquiry. This award memorializes Dr. Ross […]
Syed Tahmid Mahbub Receives Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans!
Syed Tahmid Mahbub has been named one of the 2025 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellows, a national, merit-based award granted to new Americans pursuing research at the graduate level. He is recognized both for his award-winning research in the Pilawa Group and for his educational contributions to multiple universities in the United States. Tahmid’s research […]
BPEC Wins Four Best Presentation Awards at IEEE APEC 2025
Four researchers from the Berkeley Power and Energy Center (BPEC) received awards for outstanding oral and poster presentations at the 40th IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2025), the flagship conference in power electronics. Syed Tahmid Mahbub, a second-year EE PhD student advised by Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski, received a Best Presentation Award for his oral […]
Rod Bayliss III Wins Outstanding Grad Student Instructor Award!
Rod Bayliss III, a fifth-year PhD student advised by Dr. Robert Pilawa-Podgusrki, won a 2024 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award for his role as a GSI in the inaugural offering of EE 213B, Power Electronics Design, taught by Dr. Jessica Boles. This award honors UC Berkeley GSIs each year for their outstanding work in teaching […]
Pilawa Group wins First Best Place Demo Award at ECCE!
Graduate students Logan Horowitz, S. Tahmid Mahbub, Jiarui Zou, and Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski have received a First Best Place Demo Award at the recent 2024 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Expo. Their innovative thermal test vehicle design provides a dynamic platform which simulates the heat generation of high-performance GPUs and CPUs, allowing engineers to evaluate […]
BPEC Director Robert Pilawa-Podgurski Elevated to IEEE Fellow
BPEC Director Robert Pilawa-Podgurski was elevated to IEEE fellow in the 2024 class, “For contributions to hybrid switched capacitor power converters”. IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number of fellows selected […]