Óscar Lucía, professor and researcher at the I3A (Aragon Institute for Engineering Research) at the University of Zaragoza, has just received the IEEE Rudolf Chope Research and Development Award for his scientific contributions to energy conversion for induction heating.
These annual awards are presented by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Industrial Electronics Society, the world's largest technical professional organisation, which brings together more than 450,000 engineers, scientists, technologists and professionals in more than 160 countries who are dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of society. He is the first Spaniard to receive this award since its creation in 2008.
Óscar Lucía, born in Zaragoza in 1983, is a senior member of the IEEE and president of the Young Academy of Spain. He is an industrial engineer and holds a PhD in electronic technologies, both with Extraordinary Prize, from the University of Zaragoza.
From 2007 to 2010 he developed his research career with DGA and FPU pre-doctoral fellowships at the University of Zaragoza and at BSH Electrodomésticos España. Since 2010, he has been working at the Department of Electronic Engineering and Communications of the University of Zaragoza, where he is currently Professor. He was visiting professor at the Center for Power Electronics Systems, Virginia Tech, USA, and at the Einstein Center and TU Berlin, Germany.
He is a researcher in the Power Electronics and Microelectronics Group (GEPM) at the I3A. His main research lines include resonant power conversion, broadband devices and digital control, mainly applied to wireless power transfer, induction heating, electric vehicles and biomedical applications. On these topics, he has published more than 100 papers in international journals and 200 conference papers, and is co-inventor on more than 70 patent families with more than 150 international extensions. He is co-author of some of the most cited papers in the field of induction heating, and has organised special sessions on this topic at major scientific conferences and journals.
The award recognises his scientific career in the field of induction heating, where he has researched new power electronic topologies, the use of new power semiconductors, and new modulation and control strategies, which have led to the design of more efficient appliances with better performance and greater economy of design.
According to the researcher, ‘a promising field of research is now opening up with the application of new wide-gap semiconductors beyond silicon, such as silicon carbide or gallium nitride, and the application of new microelectronic control techniques, which will allow systems to be designed with better performance and efficiency, making them more sustainable in terms of energy and the environment. This will also allow the extension of these technologies to fields such as electric vehicles or medical electronic systems for the treatment of cancer and other serious conditions.
Óscar Lucía is president of the Academia Joven de España, a public law corporation that brings together 50 relevant researchers from all fields of science, and which aims to make young Spanish researchers visible and empower them, carrying out activities throughout Spain and internationally.
He is a senior member of the IEEE and associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine (the Society's news editor) and IEEE Open Journal of the Industrial Electronics Society. He is the general co-organiser of the IEEE ECCE Europe 2024 international conference, held in Darmstadt, Germany, in September 2024.
Scientific career awards
He has received the ‘Agustín de Betancourt y Molina 2021 Award’ from the Royal Spanish Academy of Engineering, the ‘2020 IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine Best Paper Award’, the ‘2023 IEEE CPE/Powereng Best Paper Award’, the ‘BSH Industrial Innovation Award’ in 2009 and 2018, and the ‘Multidisciplinary Innovation Award of the SAMCA Chair of Technological Development’, among others. He is a recipient of the ‘Leonardo’ grant from the BBVA Foundation.
Information about the IEEE Award:
https://iten.ieee-ies.org/announcement/2024/2024-ieee-ies-awards-laureates-announced/
