On April 2, 2019, the 2018 Annual Team Award of China Automation was officially unveiled. The advanced energy conversion and electrified transportation team (including teachers and students Xiao Xi, Zheng Zedong, Xu Lie, Wang Kui, Sun Kai, Wang Shanming, Lu Haifeng, and Sun Yuguang) led by Prof. Li Yongdong of the Department of Electrical Engineering (EEA), Tsinghua University (THU), won this award. Many research teams from Chinese Academy of Sciences, universities, companies and national defense research institutions in the field of automation declared the honor. After prior recommendation, strict evaluation and publicity by experts, four teams were awarded. Besides the EEA team, the other three teams were from aerospace systems, and the other one was from Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The recommendation remarks show that the EEA team includes many young and capable members with overseas doctorates who have rooted in China for many years. The team has been engaged in international frontier researches in the field of high performance and large capacity AC motor control for a long time, and is committed to industrialization of the results. It has made outstanding contributions to energy saving and emission reduction, industrial automation and traffic electrification in China, and has achieved great economic and social benefits.

Prof. Li Yongdong’s EEA team

The team's main research areas: 1. High-performance, full digital AC motor vector control and servo system; direct torque control system and speed sensorless control and their applications in high-speed rail; ship electric propulsion; CNC machine tools/robots; large aircraft electrical systems; 2. High-voltage and large-capacity multi-level power electronic converter topology and control; and large-capacity AC motor driving system; 3. Double-fed and permanent magnet direct-drive wind power generation control system, including fan converter and control, low voltage traversing strategy; new energy generation, and micro-grid and energy storage system research and application.

The EEA team’s achievements have been awarded the first prize of natural science and the second prize of scientific and technological progress by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for its excellent achievements in scientific research in colleges and universities. At present, the team undertakes 56 scientific research projects, and has published 389 papers: 52 papers in foreign journals, 141 papers in international conferences, 103 papers in domestic journals and 93 papers in domestic conferences; and 25 national authorized invention patents. It organized and co-sponsored international conferences such as IEEE Workshop, IPEMC, ICEMS and MEA, participated in and presided over many domestic academic conferences in the field of power electronics and electrical automation, and made more than twenty reports to the conference. In 2017 and 2018, the first and second sessions of "Workshop on Emerging Technology of Transportation Electrification" were successfully held Tsinghua University in Beijing, and the hot response in the industry was arisen.

Prof. Li Yongdong is the first postdoctoral student of Mr. Gao Jingde who was the former president of Tsinghua University. Prof. Li has been engaged in researches and application of high-performance large-capacity full digital power electronics and AC motor control in motor speed regulation energy saving, and high-speed railway and ship electric traction since he was a lector in Tsinghua University after graduation in 1990. His team has always attached great importance to international academic exchanges and practical applications. Every doctoral student in his laboratory has the opportunity to attend international academic conferences and go abroad for six months to one year. So his students not only broaden the academic horizon and strengthen the exchange of frontier research with internationally renowned universities, but also greatly improve their ability of foreign language and communication. In addition, many Ph. D. and M. S. graduates from Mr. Li Yongdong's team work as chief engineers in key state enterprises, private enterprises and foreign enterprises, and undertake a large number of key projects and R&D tasks. To this end, Mr. Li has also been awarded the titles of "Advanced Individual" in the employment of graduates from Tsinghua University in the academic year of 2009-2010 and "Excellent Communist Party Member" in Tsinghua University in 2012.

Chen Xu, secretary of the Party Committee of Tsinghua University, met with NAOMI, president of IET, who attended the International Seminar on MEA Technology.