Victor Veliadis, a senior advisory engineer for Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, has been named the chief technology officer for PowerAmerica, the public-private power electronics institute hosted on Centennial Campus.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Dr. Veliadis’s stature and knowledge join PowerAmerica,” said PowerAmerica executive director Gen. Nick Justice. “He has a tremendous track record of accomplishment in the research and development of power semiconductor devices and brings a wealth of experience.”

In his capacity as senior advisory engineer at Northrop Grumman, Veliadis led efforts in the design, fabrication, and testing of various wide bandgap devices and was principal investigator (PI) and program manager for a number of federal programs, including the U.S. Army’s TARDEC Big Area SiC Switch and the U.S. Army Research Lab’s High Temperature SiC Power Electronics programs. He also designed SiC Avalanche Photodiodes for solar blind Geiger mode applications.

Veliadis has been awarded 23 patents for his work and has numerous patent applications pending.

Veliadis has also been an adjunct physics professor at Ursinus College and St. Joseph’s University and a post-doctor research fellow, research assistant and instructor at Johns Hopkins University.

Veliadis received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens.

PowerAmerica is tasked with implementing critical wide bandgap power electronics technologies, sparking early commercialization, and nurturing the U.S. wide bandgap semiconductor industry through education programs and training.

Wide bandgap semiconductors can improve energy efficiency of the next generation of power electronics while reducing cost and size. The Institute will be establishing a collaborative community that will create, showcase, and deploy new power electronic capabilities, products, and processes that can impact commercial production, build workforce skills, enhance manufacturing capabilities, and foster long-term economic growth in the region and across the nation.

Source: NC State News