Rate My Professor Kaushik Rajashekara

Kaushik Rajashekara is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston, serving as director of the Power Electronics, Microgrids & Subsea Electrical Systems Center. He received his B.Eng., M.Eng., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 1984, and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1992. His research focuses on power conversion and control technologies for the electrification of transportation, renewable energy systems, and subsea electrical systems. He has published more than 250 articles in international journals and conference proceedings, co-authored a book with IEEE Press, authored six monographs, and contributed chapters to eight books. He holds 36 U.S. patents and 15 foreign patents.

Prior to joining the University of Houston in 2016, Dr. Rajashekara was a Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Endowed Chair at the University of Texas at Dallas. He served as Chief Technologist at Rolls-Royce Corporation, developing electric aircraft architectures and power conversion technologies for more electric and hybrid electric aircraft. From 1989 to 2006, he held lead technical and managerial positions at Delphi and General Motors, managing teams that developed electric machines, controllers, and power electronics for electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles, and served as Technical Fellow and Chief Scientist for advanced power conversion and drive systems. He was an Adjunct Professor at Purdue School of Engineering and Technology from 1994 to 2006. His contributions include pioneering work on the General Motors EV1, the first commercially produced electric vehicle. Dr. Rajashekara has received numerous honors, including election to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2012 for contributions to electric power conversion systems in transportation, the Global Energy Prize in 2022, the IEEE Medal for Environment and Safety Technologies in 2021, IEEE Richard Harold Kaufmann Award in 2013, election as International Fellow of the Engineering Academy of Japan in 2024, and fellowships from IEEE in 1999, SAE International in 2006, and the National Academy of Inventors in 2015.