IEEE Foundation

Meet the IEEE Foundation Board: Philip Krein

Philip joined the IEEE Foundation Board in 2025 as a Director at Large, bringing decades of leadership in power electronics, clean energy, and engineering education.

Philip holds the Grainger Endowed Chair Emeritus in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is an Adjunct Distinguished Professor at Zhejiang University. As co-founder of SolarBridge Technologies, he helped pioneer AC photovoltaic panels — a meaningful leap forward for solar energy. He holds 42 U.S. patents.

Philip's honors include the IEEE Foundation William E. Newell Power Electronics Award and the IEEE Transportation Technologies Award. He is a Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and a past president of the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS).

We are grateful for the vision and expertise he brings to advancing the IEEE Foundation's mission.

💡 Did you know?

Thanks to the Jon C. Taenzer Memorial Fund, IEEE Smart Village seed funded a solar-powered milling unit and bakery along the DRC–Rwanda border is helping feed a community of 500,000 people.

Technology, meet humanity.

You can explore more impact in the IEEE Foundation 2025 Annual Report - link in the comments.

Conferences shape careers.

For graduate students, attending a major symposium means meeting mentors, finding collaborators, and gaining the confidence that comes from presenting work in front of peers. But conference attendance also comes with very real costs — costs that can put it out of reach for many.

The IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society C.J. Reddy Travel Grant for Graduate Students helps close that gap.

Congratulations to the 2026 recipients! Your research is part of what makes meetings like the AP-S Symposium worth attending.

🔗 Read more: https://ieeeaps.org/2026-cjrtg-awardees

💡 Did you know?

In 2025, the IEEE Milestone Program dedicated a record 28 milestones — including an extraordinary seven-fold dedication at Nokia Bell Labs, marking the centennial of one of the most influential research institutions in history.

A century of innovation, recognized.

Link to see more from the IEEE History Center in the comments→