Purdue ECE PhD student earns top IEEE paper award for cutting-edge electric vehicle research
Kangbeen Lee, a PhD student in Purdue University’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has received the First Paper Prize Award from IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications for work advancing electric motor drive technology, a critical component in electric vehicles and aircraft.
The award was presented at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Expo (ECCE) in Philadelphia. The paper, “Electromagnetic Interference and Partial Discharge Signature Analysis of WBG-Based AC Motor Drives,” is co-authored with Purdue ECE Assistant Professor Matt Woongkul Lee, who leads the research along with collaborators from industry.
“Electric vehicles demand power electronics that are not only fast and efficient, but incredibly reliable,” said Kangbeen Lee. “This award highlights the importance of understanding and addressing insulation stress in high-speed motor drives — work that will help make future EVs lighter, more energy-efficient, and longer lasting.”
The research focuses on a key challenge in future transportation systems: how to make electric motors smaller, lighter and more efficient using wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices. These are powerful switching devices that enable faster, more efficient motor control that can help automakers build electric vehicles with longer driving range and less weight. But to accomplish that, engineers must also manage new electrical side-effects that come with high-speed power electronics.
One of those challenges is partial discharge, a tiny electrical spark inside motor insulation that can grow over time and threaten system reliability. The Purdue-led team developed a new method to detect and analyze these discharges, even at extremely high switching speeds, helping engineers design more durable and reliable electric motors.
“This work helps bridge the gap between advanced power electronics and long-term reliability in next-generation electric machines,” said Prof. Lee. “We’re very proud of Kangbeen’s contribution and grateful for our industry partnership that makes this research possible.”
The award-winning research was sponsored by BorgWarner, a global leader in electric propulsion technology. The company continues to support Prof. Lee’s lab through multiple research projects focused on advancing power electronics and electric drive systems for the automotive industry.