Pulsed Power Science and Technology (PPST)
The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Science Society Standing Technical Committee for Pulsed Power Science and Technology strives for the advancement of pulsed power science, technology and its application and is committed to maintain and promote high scientific and technical standards among the pulsed power community. The Committee shall aid in promoting cooperation and exchange of technical information among the pulsed power community. In particular, it will take responsibility for the following activities:
- Organize and conduct the IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference, encourage participation in the conference and publish the digest of technical papers for the conference.
- Recognize special achievements in the Pulsed Power community by presentation of the IEEE NPSS Pulsed Power Technical Committee Awards: Erwin Marx Award, Peter Haas Pulsed Power Award, and Arthur H. Guenther Outstanding Pulsed Power Student Award.
- Encourage the Pulsed Power community to publish in the Transaction of Plasma Sciences by biennially sponsoring Special Issues on Pulsed Power and by promoting publication in all monthly issues.
- Encourage students to enter the Pulsed Power field.
- Cosponsor other meetings and symposia that provide an opportunity to present results of pulsed power research, development, engineering and related applications, science or technology. Represent the Pulsed Power community interests in IEEE.
- Act as a liaison between IEEE and other organizations in the area of pulsed power.
The field of interest of the pulsed power community represented by the Committee is the understanding, development and application of pulsed power to a variety of fields including but not limited to plasma physics, nuclear science, high power RF, and life sciences. The areas of technical activities shall include but are not limited to high power pulsed accelerators, pulsed power applications, pulse forming networks, high power switching, pulsed electrical insulation and breakdown, electromagnetic energy storage, explosive pulsed power techniques, high current electron and ion diodes, intense particle beams and the associated diagnostics.
To be added to the PPST mailing list to keep up with our upcoming conferences, please follow this link.
Technical Committee Information
Committee News
Your PPST Committee is excited to welcome you to the 2025 Pulsed Power and Plasma Science Conference in Berlin, Germany, taking place June 15 – 20, 2025. Additional information for authors, exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees can be found on the conference website (https://www.ppps2025.kit.edu/index.php).
Important Conference Dates:
Award Nominations Due: December 1, 2024
Abstracts Due: January 30, 2025
Early Bird (Reduced Fee) Registration Cutoff Date: April 27, 2025
Four Voting Members are elected to the Committee each year during the IEEE-NPSS election cycle. If you would like more information on the election process or would like to run for election, please contact the current Chair, Emily Schrock, emily.schrock@ieee.org
Upcoming Pulsed Power Conferences
2025 Pulsed Power and Plasma Science Conference
The next joint PPC-ICOPS conference is being planned for Berlin, Germany in 2025.
General Chair: Dr. Georg Mueller (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
Vice Chair: Dr. John Jelonnek (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
Technical Program Co-Chairs: Dr. Tom Huiskamp (Eindhoven University of Technology) and Dr. Simon Bland (Imperial College London)
Treasurer: Dr. Wolfgang Frey (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
Please check back for updates as conference plans progress.
Special Issues of Transactions on Plasma Science
- A Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (TPS) accompanies each IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (PPC) every two years or Pulsed Power and Plasma Sciences (PPPS) Conference when the PPC and ICOPS co-locate every six years. The objective of these Special Issues is to provide the widest possible distribution of archival quality papers detailing the unique and innovative developments in the areas of pulsed power science and technology. Contributions to the special issue will undergo the same rigorous review standards as typical for all IEEE Transactions and Journals. A few of the recent ones are listed below:
- Special Issue offered at the conclusion of the 2021 IEEE PPC https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=9927133&punumber=27
- Special Issue offered at the conclusion of the 2019 IEEE PPPS https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9218223
- Special Issue offered at the conclusion of the 2017 IEEE PPC https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=8481599
- Special Issue offered at the conclusion of the 2015 IEEE PPC https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=7583630
- Special Issue offered at the conclusion of the 2013 IEEE PPPS https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=6810912
Constitution and Bylaws
Standing Technical Committees - Voting Members
Randy Curry
Sandia National Laboratories
rdcurr@sandia.gov
Josh Gilbrech
Pulsed Power Engineer/Program Manager
Leidos Innovation Center
joshua.a.gilbrech@leidos.com
Theodore “Chris” Grabowski
Principal Electrical Engineer
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1141
t.c.grabowski@ieee.org
Frank Hegeler
Head of the Pulsed Energy Technology Section
Naval Research Laboratory
Washington DC, 20375
frank.hegeler@nrl.navy.mil
Tom Huiskamp
Assistant Professor
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
t.huiskamp@tue.nl
John Krile
Electrical Engineer
Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA)
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903, US
jkrile@sara.com
Kevin Lawson
Electrical Engineer
Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH)
King George, VA 22485
Lawson_Kevin@bah.com
Amanda Loveless
Post Doctoral Research Assistant
School of Nuclear Engineering
Purdue University
mlovele@purdue.edu
Georg Mueller
PPPS 2025 General Chair
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology (IHM)
Hermann-von-Helmholtz – Platz 1,
FR Germany
georg.mueller@kit.edu
Bucur Novac
Loughborough University
School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Leicestershire, UK
B.M.Novac@lboro.ac.uk
Jason M. Sanders
Owner
Transient Plasma Systems, Inc.
Torrance, CA 90501
jason.sanders@transientplasmasystems.com
Emily Schrock
Chair 2024-2025
Pulsed Power Group
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico
PPST Secretary
eschroc@sandia.gov
James Schrock
Principal Investigator (PI) in the Electromagnetic Weapons Technology Program
Chief of the Computational Physics Section
Air Force Research Laboratories
Kirtland AFB, NM 87117
james.schrock@gmail.com
Tao Shao
Professor
Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing 100190 P. R. China
st@mail.iee.ac.cn
Jacob C Stephens
Vice Chair 2024-2025
Assistant Professor
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409
Jacob.C.Stephens@ttu.edu
Simon Bland
Imperial College London
South Kensington Campus, London
Sn.bland@imperial.ac.uk
Joshua Leckbee
Advanced Accelerator Physics
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, NM
jjleckb@sandia.gov
Johanna Neuber
SARA Inc.
Colorado Springs, CO
jneuber@sara.com
David Wetz
Professor and College of Engineering’s Director of Strategic Initiatives
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
Arlington, TX
wetz@uta.edu
Standing Technical Committees - Past Members
Raymond Allen, Naval Research Laboratory
Stephen B. Bayne, General Chair, 2023 Pulsed Power Conference, Texas Tech University
Sterling R. Beeson, Research Engineer, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
Steve Calico, Industrial Advisory Committee, Raytheon Company, Albuquerque, NM
Gerald Cooperstein, Past Fellow Nomination Committee Rep., Retired, consultant , Naval Research Laboratory
Pat Corcoran, L-3 Communications Pulse Sciences, San Leandro, CA
Mark Crawford, Elected AdCom Representative, General Chair, 2015 Pulsed Power Conference, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Randy D. Curry, Professor, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Steven J. Gitomer, Editor-in-Chief TPS, Los Alamos National Laboratory (Retired), Santa Fe, NM
Frank Hegeler, Treasurer for PPC 2023, Head of the Pulsed Energy Technology Section, Naval Research Laboratory
Susan Heidger, Technical Program Chair for PPC 2023, Sr. Research Physicist, AFRL/RDHP, Kirtland AFB, NM
W. Mark Henderson, DE T&E Capability – Navy Deputy, NAVAIR HPM S&T Lead, Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake, CA
Thomas W. Hussey, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, VA
Chunqi Jiang, Associate Professor, Center for Bioelectrics, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Weihua Jiang, Nagaoka University of Technology, Department of Nuclear System Safety Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering
Ravi P. Joshi, Professor, Texas Tech University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lubbock, TX 79409-3102
Juergen Kolb, Committee Chair (2013 – 2015), Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald), Greifswald, Germany
Joshua Leckbee, Committee Deputy Secretary, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
Jane Lehr, University of New Mexico, Dept of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Lisa Mattox, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
Brent McHale, Finance Committee, National Security Engineering Division (www-eng.llnl.gov), Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Livermore, California
Georg Mueller, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology (IHM), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, FR Germany
Andreas A. Neuber, Past Chair, P.W. Horn Professor, Center for Pulsed Power & Power Electronics, ECE Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Bucur Novac, International Advisory Committee, Loughborough University, School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Leicestershire, UK
Heather K. O’Brien, Chair 2022-2023, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
Bryan V. Oliver, Pulsed Power Technical Committee Awards Committee, General Chair, 2013 Pulsed Power Conference, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
Frank Peterkin, Awards Committee Chair, Naval Surface Warfare Center – Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, VA
Mark Rader, Treasurer, 2011 Pulsed Power Conference, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, AL
Luís Redondo, Conference Publications, Lisbon Superior Engineering Institute (GIAAPP/ISEL), Portugal
Robert E. Reinovsky, President, NPSS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Pulsed Power Hydrodynamics, Los Alamos, NM
Jose Rossi, Conference Cycler Scheduler, National Institute for Space Research – INPE, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil
Hong-Je Ryoo, Chung-Ang University, Seoul
Edl Schamiloglu, Secretary, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Albuquerque, NM
Nigel Seddon, MBE, Technical Expert – Novel Systems, United Kingdom
Rebecca Seviour, Head of Accelerator Research, University of Huddersfield (UK)
Mark Sinclair, General Chair, 2017 Pulsed Power Conference, Physics, AWE
Ian D. Smith, Chair, PPS&T Awards Committee, L-3 Communications Pulse Sciences, San Leandro, CA
Rick B. Spielman, University of Rochester
Kenneth W. Struve, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1173
Igor Timoshkin, Institute for Energy and Environment, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
David Alan Wetz Jr., Professor and Director of Strategic Initiatives, Electrical Engineering Department, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Roger White, L-3 Communications Pulse Sciences (Retired), San Diego, CA
William M. White, Secretary, Pulsed Power Engineer, Sandia National Laboratories,, Albuquerque, NM
Technical Committee History
The history of the Pulsed Power Conference and the Committee responsible for the organization started with the first conference held in Lubbock, Texas, in 1976. The conference attracted already about 200 attendees. We like to believe that the biennial meeting has since then become the most important forum for the exchange of advances in Pulsed Power Science and Technology and respective applications. The Conference Proceedings constitute a comprehensive record of accomplishments for more than a quarter of a century. Outstanding accomplishments are recognized by prestigious awards since 1981. The Erwin Marx Award was given for the first time at the 3rd Pulsed Power Conference to J. “Charly” Martin. The inaugural Peter Haas Award was presented to Magne “Kris” Kristiansen in 1987. In the same year also the first outstanding student awards were presented.
Through 1995 the Pulsed Power Conference was affiliated with IEEE and sponsored by Pulsed Power Conference Inc. Starting in 1997 this private not-for-profit organization then became a Technical Committee in IEEE NPSS. A Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science has followed each Pulsed Power Conference since 1997.
Another milestone in our history was joining forces with PSAC and combining the International Conference on Plasma Science and the Pulsed Power Conference for the first Pulsed Power and Plasma Sciences Conference in Las Vegas, NV in 2001(PPPS-2001) – a meeting which found the interest of more than 1000 attendees. This combined conference has been taking place every 6 years, with PPPS-2007 in Albuquerque, NM; PPPS-2013 in San Francisco, CA; PPPS-2019 in Orlando, FL; and PPPS-2025 to be held in Berlin, Germany.
For Committee Members
PPST Committee meetings for 2023 will continue to include a virtual or dial-in option. The spring meeting will take place in March in Albuquerque, NM. There will be a brief Committee meeting on-site just before the kickoff of the PPC in San Antonio, TX. The fall meeting date and location are TBD.
The Erwin Marx Award
About The Erwin Marx Award
The Erwin Marx Award recognizes outstanding contributions to pulsed power technology by an individual over an extended period of time. The first Erwin Marx Award was presented at the 3rd IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (June 1981). The Erwin Marx Award was dedicated to the memory of Professor Marx and his concept of the Cascade Impulse Voltage Generator that bears his name. Professor Marx passed away on January 11, 1980, just prior to his 87th birthday. The High Voltage Institute of the Technical University of Braunschweig, where Professor Marx conducted his research, has graciously allowed the Pulsed Power Conferences to present the Erwin Marx Award in his name. A brief review of Professor Marx’s career is presented in the Proceedings of the 4th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference, Albuquerque, NM, June 6 – 8, 1983, p. 51.
Prize: Funded by the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society’s International Pulsed Power Conference this award consist of $3,000 and a plaque.
Eligibility and Basis for Judgement: Individuals who have made outstanding technical contributions to pulsed power technology for at least ten years are eligible for this award.
- Importance of technical contributions to pulsed power research or development over at least a ten year period. (50%)
- Importance of technical contributions made by teams led by the candidate. (20%)
- Quality and significance of publications and patents (20%)
- Years of technical distinction (10%).
The award is in consideration for outstanding technical accomplishments. The nominee is not required to be a member of the NPSS or IEEE but, where candidates have otherwise equal qualifications, preference shall be given to the candidate who is a member of the IEEE.
Presentation: Biennially, with presentation in odd numbered years at the IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference Awards Banquet.
Nominations For The Erwin Marx Award
Marx Award Form (docx)
In addition to the nomination form, a nominating letter and CV may be provided as an attachment to the form. It is also encouraged, though not required, to provide up to three letters of reference (maximum 2 pages in length each).
Submission Deadline: December 1
Send nominations to: Heather O’Brien
Most Recent Recipient
Mark Savage was the 2021 Erwin Marx Award Winner, recognized for “For his contributions to high current, low inductance pulsed power machines, especially Sandia National Laboratories’ Z-Machine”.
1981-Present Past Recipients
1981 J.C. “Charlie” Martin
1983 Ian D. Smith
1985 Thomas H. Martin
1987 Ihor M. Vitkovitsky
1989 Kenneth R. Prestwich
1991 Gennady A. Mesyats
1993 Phillip W. Spence
1995 A. Richard Miller
1997 Boris M. Kovalchuk
1999 Peter J. Turchi
2001 Malcolm Buttram
2003 Vladimir K. Chernyshev
2005 Leland Schlitt
2007 David L. Johnson
2009 John T. Naff
2011 Patrick Corcoran
2013 Ian R. McNab
2015 William A. Stygar
2017 Sergei Rukin
2019 Alexander (Sasha) Kim
2021 Mark Savage
The Peter Haas Award
About The Peter Haas Award
The Peter Haas Award recognizes individuals whose efforts, over an extended period, have greatly benefited the pulsed power field through the development of important applications or areas of activity including research, education, and information exchange.
The Peter Haas Award recognizes outstanding contributions to pulsed power technology resulting from an individual’s continued effort to develop programs of research, education, and information exchange that are the basis for progress in pulsed power. The Peter Haas Award was established at the 6th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (June 1987) and bears the name of the late Peter Haas who was recognized at the 2nd Pulse Power Conference (1979) “for many contributions to a strong and vigorous pulsed power program through sound management, steadfast conviction, and farsighted technical acumen.” Today, the Peter Haas Award honors those individuals that share Peter’s dedication, leadership, and administrative vision for pulsed power.
This award is $3,000 and Plaque.
Funded by the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society’s International Pulsed Power Conference budget.
Presented biennially, with presentation in odd numbered years at the IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference Awards Banquet.
Eligibility and Basis for Judging
Any individual who has demonstrated sustained contributions to developing, managing or influencing programs, education or information exchange that has led to important advances in the field of pulsed power.
1. Importance of contributions to pulsed power through developing, managing or influencing programs, education, or information exchange (40 points); 2. Demonstrated leadership and service to the field of pulsed power (30 points); 3. Importance of the technical contributions to pulsed power research or development (20 points); 4. Years of service advancing or enlarging the field of pulsed power (10 points). The award will consider the total benefit conferred on pulsed power by the individual. The nominee is not required to be a member of the NPSS or IEEE, but where candidates have otherwise equal qualifications, preference shall be given to the candidate who is a member of the IEEE.
Nominations
Haas Award Form (docx)
In addition to the nomination form, a nominating letter and CV may be provided as an attachment to the form. It is also encouraged, though not required, to provide up to three letters of reference (maximum 2 pages in length each).
Submission Deadline: December 1
Send nominations to: Heather O’Brien
Most Recent Recipient
Andreas Neuber was awarded the 2021 Peter Haas Pulsed Power Award, recognized for “For his dedication to educating and empowering the next generation of pulsed power engineers through his own renowned research program and his leadership of the Texas Tech University’s (TTU’s) Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics”.
1987-Present Past Recipients
1987 Magne “Kris” Kristiansen
1989 Arthur H. Guenther
1991 Gerold Yonas
1993 Alan C. Kolb
1995 Bernard H. Bernstein
1997 William L. Baker
1999 Gerald Cooperstein
2001 Dillon H. McDaniel
2003 Hidenori Akiyama
2005 Robert Reinovsky
2007 Karl H. Schoenbach
2009 John E. Maenchen
2011 Roger White
2013 Scott J. MacGregor
2015 Edl Schamiloglu
2017 Ron Gilgenbach
2019 Thomas Mehlhorn
2021 Andreas Neuber
The Arthur H. Guenther Pulsed Power Student Award
About The Arthur H. Guenther Pulsed Power Student Award
The Pulsed Power Science and Technology Committee’s Outstanding Pulsed Power Student Award (established in 1997) was renamed the Arthur H. Guenther Pulsed Power Student Award in 2007 following the passing of Dr. Guenther. The Award is to recognize outstanding contributions as a student in pulsed power engineering, science or technology. A recipient is selected each year but awarded biennially at the Pulsed Power Conference Banquet.
This award is $2,000 and Certificate.
Funded by the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society’s International Pulsed Power Conference budget.
Awarded annually, with presentation at the biennial IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference Awards Banquet.
Eligibility and Basis for Judging
Any full time undergraduate or graduate university student in pulsed power engineering or science. The nominee must be a student when nominated.
1. Quality of research contributions (40 points);
2. Quality of educational accomplishments (30 points);
3. Quality and significance of publications and patents (30 points).
Nominations
Guenther Award Form (docx)
In addition to the nomination form, a nominating letter and CV may be provided as an attachment to the form. It is also encouraged, though not required, to provide up to three letters of reference (maximum 2 pages in length each).
Submission Deadline:
December 15
Send nominations to: Heather O’Brien
Most Recent Recipients
2022 – William Brooks, Texas Tech University
2021 – Artem Kuskov, recognized for “For his outstanding research contributions to the field of pulsed power during his time as a graduate student at University of New Mexico.”
Past Recipients 1981-Present
1981 Timothy S. Sullivan
1983 Charles H. Harjes
1985 Anthony Donaldson
1987 Richard A. Korzekwa
1989 Mary Baker
1989 F. Mark Lehr
1989 Michael Mazzola
1991 Thomas G. Engel
1993 David C. Stoudt and Frank Hegeler
1995 Mark T. Crawford
1997 Raymond J. Allen
1999 Ron Arad
2001 Kelly Hahn and Tammo Heeren
2003 Gary Brent McHale and Thomas A. Holt
2005 Joshua Leckbee and Michael Butcher
2006 David Wetz
2007 Gregory F. Edmiston
2008 Jamie Darling
2009 Andrew J. Young
2010 Sarita Prasad
2011 Jonathan Foster
2012 Shurik Yatom and Jouya Jadidian
2013 Jacob Stephens
2014 Christopher Leach
2015 Sterling Beeson
2016 Dimitry Mikitchuk
2016 Shelby Lacouture
2017 David Yanuka
2018 Brett Huhman
2019 Christine Stollberg
2020 – Gabriel Shipley
2020 – Yang Cao
2021 – Artem Kuskov
2022 – William Brooks
IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Paul Phelps Continuing Education Grant
IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Paul Phelps Continuing Education Grant
Resources
IEEE Fellow Nominations
Nominations for IEEE Fellow
The Pulsed Power Science and Technology (PPST) Committee requires adequate time to review requests for endorsement in order to best support highly qualified candidates to reach the grade of IEEE Fellow. The PPST Committee will limit the number of endorsements each year and may grant no endorsement in any given year.
Any individual, for whom the nominator is requesting endorsement from the PPST Committee, must be a recognized member of the pulsed power technical community. An informal request for endorsement must be submitted to the PPST Chair no later than January 15 to allow the Committee sufficient time to evaluate the request. The nominator may be required to provide a CV of the nominee to the PPST Chair, who will forward it to the PPST Committee for review. For assistance in reviewing and strengthening the overall nomination package, please reach out to members of the pulsed power community who have already been elevated to Fellow.
List of IEEE Fellows in the Pulsed Power Science & Technology and Related Areas