Johann W. Kolar

Biography

Johann W. Kolar (F´10) received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree (summa cum laude / promotio sub auspiciis praesidentis rei publicae) from the University of Technology Vienna, Austria. Since 1984 he has been working as an independent international consultant in close collaboration with the University of Technology Vienna, in the fields of power electronics, industrial electronics and high performance drives. He has proposed numerous novel converter topologies and modulation/control concepts, e.g., the VIENNA Rectifier, the SWISS Rectifier, the Delta-Switch Rectifier, the isolated Y-Matrix AC/DC Converter and the three-phase AC-AC Sparse Matrix Converter. Dr. Kolar has published over 450 scientific papers at main international conferences, over 180 papers in international journals, and 2 book chapters. Furthermore, he has filed more than 110 patents. He was appointed Assoc. Professor and Head of the Power Electronic Systems Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich on Feb. 1, 2001, and was promoted to the rank of Full Prof. in 2004. He has supervised over 50 Ph.D. students and PostDocs.

Research Interest

The focus of his current research is on AC-AC and AC-DC converter topologies with low effects on the mains, e.g. for data centers, More-Electric-Aircraft and distributed renewable energy systems, and on Solid-State Transformers for Smart Microgrid Systems. Further main research areas are the realization of ultra-compact and ultra-efficient converter modules employing latest power semiconductor technology (SiC and GaN), micro power electronics and/or Power Supplies on Chip, multi-domain/scale modeling/simulation and multi-objective optimization, physical model-based lifetime prediction, pulsed power, and ultra-high speed and bearingless motors. He has served as IEEE Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Power Electronics Society in 2012 - 2014.