Saifur Rahman
Virginia Tech College of Engineering
The IEEE-USA presented Saifur Rahman, the Joseph R. Loring Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute in Alexandria, Va., with its Divisional Professional Leadership Award during the organization’s annual meeting recently at the Hilton Cincinnati in Ohio.
The award is in recognition of Rahman’s outstanding leadership efforts in advancing the professional aims of the IEEE in the field of power and energy in the United States. Of special importance for this divisional award is the recipient's contribution to the IEEE's goals of enhancing the quality of life through the constructive application of technology and promoting understanding of the influence of technology on the public welfare in the United States.
The IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. The association and its members inspire a global community through highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.
Rahman is the founding editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy and currently serves as the vice president for New Initiatives and Outreach of the IEEE Power and Energy Society and as a member of its governing board. He is also a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Power and Energy Society and a member-at-large of the IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee.
Rahman has lectured and published extensively in the areas of smart grid, conventional and renewable energy systems, load forecasting, uncertainty evaluation, and infrastructure planning. He was recognized by Greentech Media in The Networked Grid 100: The Movers and Shakers of the Smart Grid in 2012 for having "dedicated his professional life to researching cutting-edge energy technologies, including energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy and microgram and distributed generation and storage."
At the IEEE-USA annual meeting last year, Rahman was awarded the Professional Achievement Award for leading the collaboration between the IEEE and other engineering societies to form the Technologies for Carbon Management Initiative.
A Virginia Tech faculty member since 1979, Rahman received his master’s degree from the State University of New York and his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. He was named the Joseph R. Loring Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2005 and reappointed by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors in 2010.
Virginia Tech has fostered a growing partnership with the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C., community since 1969. Today, the university’s presence in the National Capital Region includes graduate programs and research centers in Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Leesburg, Manassas, and Middleburg. In addition to supporting the university’s teaching and research mission, Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region has established collaborations with local and federal agencies, businesses, and other institutions of higher education. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.