Grainger Endowed Director's Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics
Chair: Grainger Endowed Director's Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics
The Grainger Endowed Director's Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics was established in 2002 by a gift from The Grainger Foundation Inc., a private foundation established by William Wallace Grainger, a 1919 Illinois graduate in electrical engineering. In 1927, the late Mr. Grainger founded W. W. Grainger, Inc., a distributor of industrial and commercial equipment and supplies. Today the Grainger Corporation is an international leader.
The new Chair supports the Director of the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics. The Center is supported by a separate endowment and is dedicated to establishing the University of Illinois as a leader in the field of electric machinery and electromechanics.
The Grainger Foundation Inc. has made many notable gifts to the College of Engineering, including student fellowships and awards; funds to establish and equip laboratories in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; funds to construct the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center and landscape the Bardeen Quadrangle; funds for the renovation of Engineering Hall; funds to establish and then endow the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics; and funds for a new technology development program.
The endowment of the Director's Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics comes two decades after the establishment of the Grainger Professorship in Electrical Engineering. Those who have held the original position include Mac Van Valkenburg, Petar Kokotovic, and George Gross. In 1998 the Professorship was elevated to the Grainger Chair in Electrical Engineering, and Professor Pete Sauer was invested with the position.
Faculty: Kiruba Sivasubramaniam Haran
Kiruba Haran obtained his BS in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from OAU in Nigeria, and his PhD in Electric Power Engineering from RPI in Troy, NY. He is currently a Professor and the Grainger Endowed Director's Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Haran moved to Illinois after spending 13 years at GE Research in Niskayuna, NY. At GE, he led the research group working on advanced electrical machines for all of GE’s industrial businesses. In this role he was responsible for a broad set of technology development activities, including projects on novel machines for aviation, renewable energy, defense, appliances, EV’s, locomotives, and mining equipment. At Illinois, Dr. Haran's research has focused on high specific power cryogenic and non-cryo machines for electrified transportation and renewable energy applications.
He also serves as the Director of the NSF funded POETS Engineering Research Center, and the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics. Dr. Haran is a registered PE in New York, a Fellow of the IEEE, and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Emeritus Faculty:
Philip T Krein, Grainger Endowed Chair Emeritus in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics in Electrical and Computer Engineering