Standardization experts recognized with IEC Awards

The IEC Lord Kelvin Award was presented to Dejun Ma, a longstanding expert within the IEC community, at the IEC General Meeting held in New Delhi this week. The award recognizes exceptional and extensive contributions to global electrotechnical standardization.

Involved in international standardization for more than 35 years, Dejun Ma is currently Chair of the Systems Committee for Active Assisted Living (SyC AAL) and the IEC committee for electrical air cleaners for household and similar purposes, IEC TC59/SC 59N, as well as Vice Chair of the committee for safety of household and similar electrical appliances, IEC TC 61.In addition, he serves as a convenor for nine different working groups related to household appliances and robot technologies for household use.

During his long career within standardization, Dejun Ma has made more than 50 proposals for IEC standards, including IEC 63310, for the performance and safety of robots used in AAL connected home environments, which has been transformative for the global AAL robot industry.

He has also been a strong advocate for greater participation of developing countries in IEC work, being actively involved in the IEC Affiliate Countries Programme, as well as actively promoting IEC work in the Chinese household electrical appliance industry.

In presenting the award, IEC President Jo Cops said the IEC Lord Kelvin Award is the organization's highest distinction.

"Assisted living tools and products such as robots have been proven to significantly improve the quality of life of many people while reducing the burden on families and social services. Mr Ma's contribution to standardization in this area has helped to grow the industry, supporting safer and more innovative products, while enhancing lives everywhere."

On receiving the award, Mr Ma said: "I am honoured to receive this prestigious award in recognition of my wholehearted belief in the importance of standards and how they can improve the world. Winning the Lord Kelvin Award is just a new beginning, and I hope to make greater contributions to IEC in the future."

Earlier in the week the IEC also announced the recipients of its Thomas A. Edison Award which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the IEC. Created in 2010, the Award recognizes exceptional achievement, dedicated service and significant contributions to the IEC by officers in IEC technical committees and subcommittees as well as officers of the IEC Conformity Assessment Systems.

This year's winners are:

• Mr Bob Griffin, Chair IEC TC 108

• Dr Michio Kondo, Chair IEC TC 82

• Dr Ockwoo Nam, Secretary IEC TC 100 / TA 15 and TA 17

• Mr Christian Noce, Secretary IEC TC 8

• Mr Andreas Scholtz, Chair IEC TC 34

• Mr Arnaud Ulian, former Chair IEC TC 57

• Mr Rajeev Vagdia, Secretary IEC SC23A

• Mr Alistair Mackinnon, IECRE Chair, Member of the IECRE Executive committee

• Mr Paul Meanwell, IECEx Chair, Member of the IECEx Executive committee

About the Lord Kelvin Award

The prestigious IEC Lord Kelvin Award takes its name from the first IEC President, who was a distinguished scientist and prolific inventor. Lord Kelvin contributed significantly to the advancement of modern physics and the practical applications of electrotechnology.

Lord Kelvin, together with Charles Le Maistre, the first IEC General Secretary, can be considered the true fathers of standardization. They put in place the processes and methodologies that enable companies to spread new technologies broadly and countries to build more sustainable infrastructure.

Today, the Lord Kelvin Award honours their vision and drive to understand and improve the practical applications of the millions of electrical and electronic devices and systems that are part of our daily lives.

About the Thomas A. Edison Award

The Thomas A. Edison Award recognizes exceptional current achievements of TC/SC and Conformity Assessment officers. It is granted in recognition of dedicated services and exceptional individual contributions to the effective management of technical committees or IEC Conformity Assessment Systems.

Learn more about IEC Awards.