Richard Zhang reappointed Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professor
Richard Zhang, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, has been reappointed as the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professorship was established in 1998 through a generous gift from Ethel C. Kelly. The professorship was created to attract and retain eminent scholars in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Recipients hold the professorship for a five-year term.
Zhang has a long and distinguished record of research and scholarship. He is an internationally recognized leader in power electronics, with particular distinction in high-voltage direct current transmission, grid integration of renewable energy, and the emerging field of electrified green infrastructure. He currently serves as director of the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES), one of the world’s premier power electronics research centers.
At CPES, Zhang initiated and leads the electrified green infrastructure power conversion research thrust and has been a driving force behind the center’s holistic and system-oriented research approach. The center’s newest research focus, “Grids to Chips,” advances innovative solutions for converting and delivering electrical power across the entire electric energy value chain, from electric grids to the chips that power modern data centers. Under his leadership, CPES has also established a world-class high-power laboratory to advance power electronics systems research.
Since returning to Virginia Tech, Zhang has rapidly built a substantial research portfolio, securing more than $6 million in research funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. He also established the Joint Research Partnership, a new mechanism for long-term and strategic collaboration between CPES and industry. The initiative fosters system-oriented research with world-leading companies and promotes academia-led research ecosystems that bring together multiple industry sectors to address complex challenges requiring integrated system solutions.
Zhang is a prolific inventor and author, with 119 patents granted or pending across 46 patent families in multiple countries. He has delivered numerous invited keynote and distinguished lectures. He is an IEEE Fellow, recognized for his technical leadership in development of high-power electronics. He has also received multiple IEEE paper awards and numerous industry honors.
Zhang received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech.
