Dr. Y. H. Ku awarded Third Millennium Medal

From left, IEEE Past President Ken Laker and President Bruce Eisenstein present Dr. Ku with his Millenium Medal.

IEEE President Bruce A. Eisenstein and IEEE Past President Kenneth R. Laker recently made a very special Third Millennium Medal presentation to Dr. Yu Hsiu Ku at his home in Philadelphia, USA. Ku, who is 97 years old, is professor emeritus of electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He also is a renowned poet, playwright, teacher, novelist and scientific writer who once taught Eisenstein, Laker and Jiang Zemin, the president of China.

Ku has made major technical contributions in the areas of electrical machinery, nonlinear systems and the theory of nonlinear control. He was named an AIEE Fellow in 1945 and IRE Fellow in 1961. He was awarded the IEEE Lamme Medal in 1972 for his work in a-c machinery.

In addition, he served his native China as vice-minister of education for the Chinese Republic, as president of National Central University and as president of Chengchi University, among other positions as professor and dean. Twelve volumes of Ku's collected literary works were published in 1961, followed by eight volumes of poems.

"Dr. Ku is a remarkable individual who successfully and notably bridged two diverse cultures, the East and the West -- and two diverse disciplines, technology and poetry," said Eisenstein. "It is a great privilege to honor him for significant, far-reaching technical and scientific contributions that influenced our world for much of the 20th century."

Ku received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from MIT, Cambridge, Mass., USA