On May 17, the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering announced the result of the 2022 Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award, and granted Professor Wu Weihan of Tsinghua University the 2022 “Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award” in recognition of his pioneering contribution to electromagnetic transient numerical calculation and power system lightning protection.

In 2010, the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering and the Power Energy Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE PES) jointly established the “Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award”. This award is selected once a year to reward an expert who has made major achievement in the field of electrical engineering and important contribution to the progress of electric power technology. According to the “Regulations on Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award”, the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering and IEEE PES jointly organized the 2022 Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award selection work. After expert nomination and review by the international selection committee, the Standing Council of the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering and the IEEE PES Board of Directors decided to grant the 2022 “Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award” to Professor Wu Weihan of Tsinghua University.

Wu Weihan

Professor Wu Weihan, born in Zhejiang in September 1931, graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University with a bachelor’s degree in 1953, and studied at the Moscow Institute of Dynamics from 1955 to 1959, and obtained an associate doctorate degree there. In 1953, he worked in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, and was promoted to associate professor in 1976 and professor in 1983. From 1984 to 1989, he served as the dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University, and also a director of the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering.

Professor Wu Weihan, one of the Chinese pioneers in research on overvoltage in power systems, has made important contribution in electromagnetic transient numerical analysis, overvoltage protection and insulation coordination. He is one of the earliest scholars in China to study the numerical calculation method of electromagnetic transients in power systems, especially in the modeling of cables and GIS equipment, shock corona characteristics and ferromagnetic resonance overvoltage, etc. In the 1980s, the overvoltage analysis model was not as mature as it is today, and the computer memory was limited, but the model proposed by Professor Wu Weihan and the code developed by Professor Wu Weihan realized the rapid and accurate calculation of the electromagnetic transient of the actual power grid under limited hardware resources. He completed the research on overvoltage calculation and insulation coordination of 110-500kV systems in China, and solved the overvoltage calculation problems of many power projects in the 1980s and 1990s, including China’s first 500kV compact transmission line. His research achievement won the third prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. In addition, he took the lead in the development of 110-500kV composite jacket lightning arrester in China, which promoted the application of lightning arrester in transmission line lightning protection and has been proved to be the most effective method for transmission line lightning protection.

The book “Numerical Calculation of Overvoltage in Power Systems” written by Professor Wu Weihan is a classic work in this field. He has lectured on the courses of “Overvoltage and Insulation Coordination of Power Systems” and “Numerical Calculation of Overvoltage of Electromagnetic Transient Power Systems” for a long time and has trained 17 doctors and masters, and many of his students have become famous scholars and business leaders in the industry.

Since its establishment in 2010, the “Gu Yuxiu Electrical Engineering Award” has been granted to 13 winners, including 3 teachers (Wang Xiangheng in 2013, Zhang Boming in 2015, Wu Weihan in 2022) and 3 alumni (Ma Weiming in 2014, Chen Chen in 2020, He Renmu in 2021) from the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University.