Virginia Tech inventors Rolando Burgos and Eric Burger have been elevated to fellows as part of the 2026 class for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), highlighting their excellence in contributions to high-power-density power electronics, stability of electronic power systems, and telecommunication policies.

To be named a fellow, IEEE members must demonstrate significant contributions to their field, technical accomplishments with societal impact, and a record of service to professional engineering societies, among other criteria.

Fewer than 0.1 percent of voting members are selected annually for this member grade elevation.

Securing the next generation of networks

Burger is the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) research director and National Academy of Inventors Fellow. He was selected as an IEEE fellow “for contributions to telecommunication policies with a focus on securing the next generation of networks.” 

“Eric's elevation recognizes his extraordinary contributions to the field,” said Luiz DaSilva, CCI executive director. “His experience with global and local policy combined with his expertise as an entrepreneur and inventor are guiding the next generation of secure wireless networks.”

A former chief technology officer of the Federal Communications Commission, Burger holds 22 U.S. patents, which are being used by companies in telecommunications, mobile advertising, health care telecommunications, and cybersecurity. 

With a primary appointment as a CCI research professor, Burger has courtesy research professor appointments in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Center for Public Administration and Policy. Burger is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Computer Science, Wireless@VT, and the Virginia Tech National Security Institute.

Burger serves on influential committees and centers and is active in international governance organizations. This year, he was appointed to the Blockchain Advisory Committee, a newly formed subcommittee of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and tasked with writing and proposing draft legislation.

Burger received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Illinois Tech.

Powerful inventions

Burgos is a professor in in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and recently completed a four-year term as the director for the Center of Power Electronic Systems. He’s being elevated to IEEE fellow for his contributions to high-power-density power electronics and stability of electronic power systems.

"We congratulate Rolando on his well-deserved elevation to IEEE Fellow,” said Richard Zhang, Center of Power Electronic Systems director and the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dushan Boroyevich, professor emeritus and former CPES director, in a joint statement. “His foundational contributions to our research field were achieved through sustained and extensive research efforts that have led to the graduation of over 25 doctoral and 35 master’s students." 

Burgos originally joined the Center of Power Electronic Systems in 2002 as a postdoctoral associate. In 2009, Burgos worked at ABB Corporate Research as a scientist and principal scientist, in addition to his work as an adjunct associate professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at North Carolina State University. He returned to the Center of Power Electronic Systems in 2017. 

His areas of expertise include

  • High-power-density wide-bandgap semiconductor-based power conversion—low voltage and medium voltage applications
  • Packaging and integration
  • Electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility
  • Multi-phase multi-level power converters
  • Modeling and control
  • Grid power electronics systems
  • Stability of AC and DC power systems

Burgos has been inventing for almost 25 years, with 30 U.S. and European patents in advanced AC and DC power conversion concepts. He has published 723 peer-reviewed papers, including 170 journal articles. He is a member of numerous electrical societies, including the IEEE Power Electronics Society, the IEEE Industry Applications Society, the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, and the IEEE Power and Energy Society.

Burgos has his bachelor’s, electronics engineering professional degree, master’s, and Ph.D. from the University of Concepción, Chile.

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