The IEEE has named István Nagy recipient of the organization’s 2008 William Newell Award for his work in developing four generations of excitation systems for large electric power plants. Nagy is a research professor at the Budapest University of Technology in Hungary.
Under his direction, his department at the Research Institute of Automation and Computation, working with another department in Hungary, developed a fully automatic fuel handling system for nuclear power plants. These plants were commissioned by the former Soviet Union and used throughout most of Eastern Europe. Nagy’s research department also developed high frequency inverters used in induction heating and single- and three-phase uninterruptible power supplies and inverter fed motor drives.
During his more than 50-year career, Nagy has been both a teacher and consultant. He held a part-time consulting position with Ganz Electric Work in Budapest for 14 years, and has been a visiting professor at universities around the globe. Currently, Nagy’s research team is focused on developing environmentally friendly power production technologies, specifically involving the use of waste, renewable energies, and the efficient use of solar energy.
The award, sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society, recognizes Nagy for leadership in research, development, worldwide promotion, and university education in power electronics technology. It will be presented to Nagy at the 39th IEEE Power Electronics Specialist Conference June 19 at Isle of Rhodes in Greece.