Arun Phadke is a University Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. [1] Along with fellow Virginia Tech professor James Thorp, Dr. Phadke received The Franklin Institute's 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering [2] for their contributions to the power industry, particularly microprocessor controllers and Phasor measurement unit (PMU) technology in electric power systems.
Phadke received his Bachelor of Science degree from Agra University in 1955. He received the B.Tech. (Honors) degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 1959. He then joined the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago where he received the Master of Science degree in 1961. He joined the University of Wisconsin in Madison for his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1964). He joined the University of Wisconsin as a faculty member after graduation, and later started working in Allis-Chalmers company in Milwaukee, where he worked on developing software for HVDC and HVAC system analysis. In 1969 he joined American Electric Power Service Corporation in New York city in their Computer Applications Department. Here he led a team of researchers to develop digital computer based relaying systems. Dr. Phadke's work on Distance Relaying using the Discrete Fourier Transformer is the basis of most commercial computer based relays now in existence.
Dr. Phadke remained active in education of practicing engineers. He taught various courses at the summer institute in University of Wisconsin - Madison for more than 50 years.
Dr. Phadke became a professor at Virginia Tech in 1982, where he founded the Power Engineering Center. He was the first American Electric Power Chair holder at Virginia Tech, and later was appointed a University Distinguished Professor. He retired from active teaching in Virginia Tech in 2003, and was appointed a University Distinguished Research Professor, a position he holds at present.
Dr. Phadke and his team invented the Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) at Virginia Tech, a technology which is now in use by almost all electric utility companies around the world.
He is also an accomplished artist. See, e.g., his pencil drawing of Venus de Milo, done while teaching at the University of Wisconsin.
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Awards and Recognition
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