Author: Daniel W. Cunningham

Isik C. Kizilyalli currently serves as the Associate Director for Technology at the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy. In this role, Dr. Kizilyalli supports the oversight of all technology issues relating to ARPA-E’s programs as well as assisting with program development, and coordinating project management across the Agency. Kizilyalli’s focus at ARPA-E includes novel power electronics, wide bandgap semiconductors, electronic systems for hostile environments, electrification of transport (aviation, ships, automotive), subsurface instrumentation, novel drilling concepts, medium voltage DC distribution grids, and grid resiliency against EMP and space weather threats. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Kizilyalli served as founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Technical Officer of Avogy Inc., a venture backed start-up focused on bulk Ga N based vertical power semiconductor technologies and power electronics. Previously, he was with Bell Laboratories, followed by Nitronex Corporation, and solar PV startup Alta Devices where his team holds the world record for single junction solar cell conversion efficiency. Kizilyalli was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2007 for his contributions to “Integrated Circuit Technology”. He also received the Bell Laboratories’ Distinguished Member of Technical Staff award and the Best Paper Award at the International Symposium on Power Semiconductors and Integrated Circuits in 2013. Kizilyalli holds his B.S. in Electrical Engineering, M.S. in Metallurgy, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering all from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has published more than 100 papers and holds 126 issued U.S. patents.   Z. John Shen is currently a Professor and Director of School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He has more than 30 years of industrial, academic, and entrepreneurial experience in power electronics and power semiconductor devices. He has over 300 publications and 18 issued U.S. patents in these areas. He has been involved in DC circuit breaker research since 2013. He was Grainger Chair Professor of Electrical and Power Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago between 2013 and 2021. He has served the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) in various capacities including Vice President of Products, Ad Com member, Chair of Distinguished Lecturers Program, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Power Electronics Magazine, Guest Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics and the IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics. He has been on the organizing or technical program committee of over 30 international conferences in the field, and served as the General Chair of the 2016 Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE2016) and the 2018 International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices & IC’s (ISPSD2018). He is a Fellow of IEEE and the U.S. National Academy of Inventors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Vicor Corporation (NASDAQ: VICR). He received his B.S. from Tsinghua University in China, M.S., and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the U.S., all in electrical engineering.   Daniel W. Cunningham is Acting Associate Director for Technology-to-Market at the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy where he helps prepare innovative energy technologies for transition from the lab to the market. Prior to ARPA-E, Cunningham worked at BP PLC in the Chief Scientist’s Office evaluating emerging energy technologies such as energy storage and alternative fuels pathways, assessing their impact on BP’s future business. In addition, Cunningham spent much of his career at BP Solar Inc., serving in multiple capacities, including Director of Product Development leading a multidisciplinary team to develop new technologies for BP Solar’s product line. Here, he was responsible for bringing technologies to market, using innovative materials and manufacturing processes to enhance performance and reduce cost. He also took on the role of Director of Technology where he led a R&D engineering team developing and manufacturing electrochemically deposited thin film Cd Te devices for use in photovoltaic applications in collaboration with NREL and the Institute of Energy Conversion (Uo D). He received a Research Partnership Award in 2001 from the U.S. Department of Energy for work in this area. Cunningham has extensive experience in semiconductor crystal growth and processing including PV module packaging and product reliability. Cunningham has authored over 70 publications and 12 patent publications. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry specializing in electrochemistry and in-situ reflectance spectroscopy, and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry at the University of Southampton, UK. Heis also a Senior Member of the IEEE and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry with Chartered Chemist status.