IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - 17

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Students and young professionals

leading the effort to establish IEEE
Smart Village as a signature project of
the IEEE Foundation; his passion for
the Smart Village mission and education continues to attract many outstanding young members.
Ray Larsen (larsen@slac.stanford.
edu) earned his B.A.Sc. and M.A.Sc.
degrees in electrical engineering from the University of
British Columbia and his professional engineer degree
from Stanford University, California. He is a cofounder of
IEEE Smart Village, chair of its Executive Committee, and
acting chair of the Technology Committee. He led the
technical team that developed SunBlazer I for Haiti. Currently, he is an electrical engineering special projects manager and former division director of the SLAC National
Accelerator Laboratory. He has more than 40 years of
experience in engineering research systems for high-energy accelerator controls, detectors, and pulsed power systems. He has cofounded and led as chief executive officer
or chief technology officer three start-ups in Silicon Valley.
He is a Life Fellow of the IEEE, a past president of the IEEE
Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society, and a member of
the IEEE Power & Energy Society. He has been active in
church social justice outreach programs.
Henry Louie (hlouie@ieee.org) is a member of the IEEE
Smart Village Standing Committee. He is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Seattle
University, Washington. He cofounded KiloWatts for
Humanity and has led energy development projects in
Zambia and Kenya. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar at
Copperbelt University in Kitwe, Zambia, where he is teaching and researching electrification in the context of less
economically developed countries. He previously served on
the IEEE Power & Energy Society Governing Board and is a
Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE on the topic of energy
poverty and rural microgrids.
Nathan Johnson (NathanJohnson@asu.edu) is a member
of the IEEE Smart Village Technical Committee and is overseeing development of the Smart Village Universal Charge
Controller. He is an assistant professor in The Polytechnic
School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Arizona State University recognizes
him as a Senior Sustainability Scientist in recognition for
his globally focused sustainability efforts. He has spent
over two years of field research in developing countries
seeking to address energy needs for emerging market
economies and the rural poor.
Shammya Saha (Shammya.Saha@asu.edu) is a member
of the IEEE Smart Village Technical Committee. He is a
Ph.D. student at Arizona State University. He developed
the first Smart Village Charge Controller while pursuing
his bachelor's degree at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

IEEE Smart Village
is funded entirely
by donations.

can serve as IEEE Smart Village ambassadors, working in the field and
mentoring microutility start-ups.
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Financial support is critically
needed to help IEEE Smart Village
provide more access to basic electrical services in more villages;
support continued innovation in the electrical systems
that are being deployed around the world; boost awareness and excitement in schools and universities
regarding the potential of engineering; and foster partnerships with more governments, multinational corporations, and foundations around the world. IEEE Smart
Village is funded entirely by donations.
IEEE Smart Village's approach to helping poor, energydeprived communities address their socioeconomic challenges and successfully build toward sustainable prosperity
is fundamentally new and uniquely comprehensive. To
learn more about getting involved, please visit ieee-smartvillage.org.

For Further reading
IEEE Smart Village. [Online]. Available: http://ieee-smart-village.
org
(2016, Jan.). "Now I feel like a human being:" Impact
assessment of Sirona Cares' SunBlazer systems in Haiti.
[Online]. Available: http://energyaccess.org/news/recent-news/
now-i-feel-like-a-human-being-impact-assessment-of-sironacares-sunblazer-systems-in-haiti/
(2016, Jan.). Lichi lights Ipafu, Filibaba in Chingola with
solar kit. [Online]. Available: http://www.tiozambia.com/
lichi-lights-ipafu-filibaba-in-chingola-with-solar-kit/
M. Dalton. (2016, Jan.). IEEE PES congratulates winning
Green Village Electricity Project. [Online]. Available: http://
www.ieee-pes.org/ieee-pes-congratulates-winning-greenvillage-electricity-project
(2016, Jan.). BoI disburses N75.8m to solar system providers. [Online]. Available: http://leadership.ng/business/445008/
boi-disburses-n75-8m-to-solar-system-providers
C. Owens. (2015, Jan.). IEEE smart village executive committee member talks about bringing light to zambia. [Online].
Available: http://ieee-smart-village.org/ieee-smart-villageexecutive-committee-member-talks-about-bringing-light-tozambia/ (accessed Jan. 2015).

Biographies
Robin Podmore (robin@incsys.com) earned his Ph.D. degree
in electrical engineering from the University of Canterbury,
New Zealand, and was elected to the prestigious National
Academy of Engineering in 2013. He is a cofounder of IEEE
Smart Village. He is currently a vice president for the IEEE
Power & Energy Society's (PES's) New Initiatives and outreach; he also chairs the PES Engagement Committee. He is
the founder and president of the power systems operations
business Incremental Systems Corp., with simulation systems installations worldwide. He was instrumental in
bringing the Community Solutions Initiative under PES and

IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / March 2 0 1 6

http://B.A.Sc http://M.A.Sc http://www.village.org http://ieee-smart-village http://www.energyaccess.org/news/recent-news/ http://www.tiozambia.com/ http://http:// http://www.ieee-pes.org/ieee-pes-congratulates-winning-green http://www.leadership.ng/business/445008/ http://www.ieee-smart-village.org/ieee-smart-village

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016