World's leading technology and engineering community unveils 2027 Technical Field Awards, recognizing achievements in medical robotics, wireless networks, digital privacy, power electronics, computing technology, and more

PISCATAWAY, N.J., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating innovations ranging from life-saving surgical robots to next-generation Wi-Fi and electric vehicles, IEEE — the world's largest technical professional organization and public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity — today announced the recipients of the 2027 IEEE Technical Field Awards.

These global honors recognize individual researchers, innovators, and collaborative teams whose technical achievements and leadership have made a lasting impact on technology, engineering, and society worldwide.

"The 2027 IEEE Technical Field Award recipients embody the relentless spirit of innovation and service that defines our global community," said Mary Ellen Randall, 2026 IEEE President and CEO. "Across microelectronics, artificial intelligence, medical robotics, wireless networks, energy conversion, and technical education, their groundbreaking accomplishments continue to push the boundaries of science and solve critical challenges for the benefit of humanity."

Each year, the IEEE Awards Board selects honorees through a rigorous peer-review process approved by the IEEE Board of Directors based on their extraordinary technical achievements, societal impact, and leadership in specialized engineering disciplines. The 2027 Technical Field Award recipients will be celebrated at a luncheon on 5 May 2027, as part of IEEE Awards Week.

2027 IEEE Technical Field Award Recipients

IEEE Biomedical Engineering AwardSponsored by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology, IEEE Circuits and Systems, and IEEE Signal Processing SocietiesRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Kullervo Hynynen — Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of TorontoHynynen is honored for pioneering contributions to the development, advancement, and clinical translation of therapeutic ultrasound.

IEEE Cledo Brunetti AwardSponsored by the Brunetti BequestCo-Recipients: IEEE Member Edward Charles Gage, IEEE Fellow Ganping Ju, IEEE Fellow Jan-Ulrich Thiele — Seagate TechnologyGage, Ju, and Thiele are recognized for contributions to heat-assisted magnetic technology powering ultra-high-capacity hard disk drives and enabling greater storage of digital information.

IEEE Roger W. Brockett Control Systems AwardSponsored by the IEEE Control Systems Society, and Friends and Family of Roger W. BrockettRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Arjan van der Schaft — Bernoulli Institute, University of Groningen (Retired)Van der Schaft is recognized for contributions to robust and geometric approaches to nonlinear control, hybrid systems, and the control of physical systems.

IEEE Electromagnetics AwardSponsored by the IEEE Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing, and IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology SocietiesRecipient: IEEE Fellow Zoya Popović — University of Colorado BoulderPopović is recognized for contributions to microwave and millimeter-wave circuit designs, including power amplifiers, power-combining, and wireless power systems.

IEEE James L. Flanagan Speech and Audio Processing AwardSponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL)Recipient: IEEE Life Fellow Chin-Hui Lee — Georgia Institute of TechnologyLee is recognized for contributions to and leadership in technologies that enable automatic speech and speaker recognition, including innovations in adaptive learning and discriminative training.

IEEE Fourier Award for Signal ProcessingSponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL)Recipient: IEEE Fellow Nicholas Dimitrios Sidiropoulos — University of VirginiaSidiropoulos receives the award for contributions to signal processing methods for analyzing complex data and identifying patterns in multiple dimensions.

IEEE Andrew S. Grove AwardSponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices SocietyRecipient: IEEE Fellow John Robert Brews — University of Arizona (Retired)Brews is recognized for foundational contributions to the physics and technology underlying MOS devices and circuits.

IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Technology AwardSponsored by Sony Group CorporationRecipient: IEEE Honorary Member Mike Lazaridis — Quantum Valley InvestmentsLazaridis is honored for transformative contributions to mobile communication through visionary leadership that reshaped global consumer technology.

IEEE Internet AwardSponsored by Google LLCRecipient: IEEE Fellow Matthew Roughan — Adelaide UniversityRoughan is recognized for foundational contributions to analyzing Internet traffic and network structures, enabling better network management and understanding.

IEEE Richard Harold Kaufmann AwardSponsored by the IEEE Industry Applications SocietyRecipient: IEEE Fellow Akshay Kumar Rathore — National University of SingaporeRathore is honored for developing innovative current-fed and multilevel power electronics converters.

IEEE Joseph F. Keithley Award in Instrumentation and MeasurementSponsored by Tektronix Inc. and the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Pasquale Daponte — University of Sannio, Benevento, ItalyDaponte is recognized for contributions to the measurement and standardization of analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters.

IEEE Gustav Robert Kirchhoff AwardSponsored by the IEEE Circuits and Systems SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Janusz Rajski — Siemens Digital Industries SoftwareRajski is recognized for contributions to testing digital integrated circuits at the silicon level.

IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching AwardSponsored by the IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Memorial FundRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Rama Chellappa — Johns Hopkins UniversityChellappa is recognized for contributions to multi-disciplinary graduate education and mentoring of doctoral students in image processing, computer vision, and pattern recognition.

IEEE Koji Kobayashi Computers and Communications AwardSponsored by NEC CorporationRecipient: IEEE Member Amin Vahdat — Google LLCVahdat is honored for developing network systems that scale data centers to support modern cloud computing and machine learning.

IEEE Arun N. Netravali Video Analytics, Technology, and Systems AwardSponsored by Nokia Bell LabsCo-Recipients: IEEE Life Member Jens-Rainer Ohm — RWTH Aachen University (Emeritus); IEEE Life Fellow Gary J. Sullivan — Dolby Laboratories; and IEEE Member Benjamin Bross — Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI), Berlin, GermanyOhm, Sullivan, and Bross are recognized for leadership in and contributions to developing the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) international standard, which improves the efficiency of digital video compression.

IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics AwardSponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics SocietyRecipient: IEEE Fellow Paolo Mattavelli — University of Padova, Padua, ItalyMattavelli receives the award for contributions to advanced modeling and control of power electronics converters.

IEEE Donald O. Pederson Award in Solid-State CircuitsSponsored by the IEEE Solid-State Circuits SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Wanda Kay Gass — Texas Instruments (Retired)Gass is recognized for pioneering contributions to programmable digital signal processing systems through innovations in circuit design, system architecture, and silicon compilers.

IEEE Frederik Philips AwardSponsored by the IEEE Frederik Philips Award FundRecipient: IEEE Member Ann B. Kelleher — Intel Corporation (Retired)Kelleher is honored for leading the historic advancement of CMOS process technology, culminating in the first node with backside power delivery.

IEEE Photonics AwardSponsored by the IEEE Photonics SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Martin David Dawson — University of StrathclydeDawson is recognized for contributions to microstructured and wide-bandgap semiconductor optoelectronics and for leadership in technological innovation.

IEEE Robotics and Automation AwardSponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Russell H. Taylor — Johns Hopkins UniversityTaylor is distinguished for contributions to, leadership in, and the clinical translation of surgical and medical robotics.

IEEE Frank Rosenblatt AwardSponsored by the IEEE Computational Intelligence SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Shun-ichi Amari — Teikyo University, Tokyo, JapanAmari receives this award for foundational contributions to neural network theory and information geometry.

IEEE Marie Sklodowska-Curie AwardSponsored by the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences SocietyRecipient: Victor Malka — Weizmann Institute of ScienceMalka is recognized for leadership in the development of laser-driven particle sources and advancing the technology toward practical applications.

IEEE Innovation in Societal Infrastructure AwardSponsored by Hitachi, Ltd. and the IEEE Computer SocietyCo-Recipients: IEEE Fellow Jaideep Vaidya — Rutgers University; IEEE Senior Member Lucila Ohno-Machado — Yale School of Medicine; and IEEE Senior Member Xiaoqian Jiang — UTHealth HoustonVaidya, Ohno-Machado, and Jiang are recognized for leadership in designing and deploying privacy-preserving distributed clinical research infrastructures that enable secure, large-scale collaboration using health data.

IEEE Charles Proteus Steinmetz AwardSponsored by the IEEE Standards AssociationRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Mehmet Ulema — Manhattan University (Emeritus)Ulema is recognized for leadership in the development and standardization of architecture, management, and protocols used in wireless communications and data networks.

IEEE Eric E. Sumner AwardSponsored by Nokia Bell LabsRecipient: IEEE Fellow Gerhard Fettweis — Technische Universität Dresden and Barkhausen Institut, GermanyFettweis is recognized for contributions to physical-layer communication technology that have had an impact on the global wireless industry.

IEEE Nikola Tesla AwardSponsored by Wolong Electric Group Co. Ltd., the IEEE Industry Applications Society, and the IEEE Power and Energy SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Pragasen Pillay — Concordia UniversityPillay is recognized for contributions to the modeling, design, and application of electric machines in industrial, transportation, and renewable energy applications

IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu AwardSponsored by the late Dr. Kiyo Tomiyasu, the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society, and the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology SocietyRecipient: IEEE Fellow Yun Raymond Fu — Northeastern UniversityFu is honored for contributions to computer vision and augmented human-machine interaction.

IEEE Transportation Technologies AwardSponsored by the IEEE Industry Applications, IEEE Industrial Electronics, IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems, IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology, IEEE Power Electronics, IEEE Power and Energy, and IEEE Vehicular Technology SocietiesRecipient: IEEE Fellow Chunting Chris Mi — San Diego State UniversityMi is recognized for contributions to advancing electric and hybrid electric vehicle technologies.

IEEE Rao R. Tummala Electronics Packaging AwardSponsored by the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society and Friends of Rao R. TummalaRecipient: IEEE Fellow Ravi Mahajan — Intel CorporationMahajan is recognized for contributions to the development of technology that connects multiple chips within advanced electronic packages.

IEEE Undergraduate Teaching AwardSponsored by the IEEE Education SocietyRecipient: IEEE Fellow Rhonda Rene Franklin — University of MinnesotaFranklin is recognized for leadership in advancing inclusive workforce development initiatives that create clear and accessible career pathways via undergraduate engineering education.

IEEE Lotfi A. Zadeh Award for Emerging TechnologiesSponsored by the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics SocietyRecipient: IEEE Life Fellow Peng Shi — Adelaide UniversityShi is recognized for contributions to artificial intelligence-based methods for robust control and filtering in complex systems.

For more information on IEEE Awards and the 2027 IEEE Technical Field Awards program, please visit https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/recipients/current-recipients.

Submit a nomination for an IEEE Technical Field Award by 15 January; to learn more, please visit https://ieee.secure-platform.com/a/page/ieeemedals_recognitions_techfieldawards/ieee_technical_field_awards 

About IEEEIEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization and is a public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is a trusted voice across fields ranging from global standards, aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at https://www.ieee.org.

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