Minjie Chen receives Isao Takahashi Award from the Institute of Electrical Engineering in Japan
Minjie Chen has won the 2026 Isao Takahashi Power Electronics Award from the Institute of Electrical Engineering in Japan in recognition of his outstanding achievements in power electronics.
Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, is known for his work on making power electronic systems smaller, smarter, and more sustainable. He runs the Princeton Power Electronics Research Lab, which models and designs new, compact, and energy efficient devices for converting electricity from the grid for applications including household appliances, electric vehicles, data centers, and information systems.
Researchers in Chen’s lab are working on power electronics that deliver electrical power to power AI computing devices such as specialized computer processors called GPUs in data centers. His team also works on machine learning methods for power magnetics, with the goal of making those components more energy efficient and accelerating their design. The research article on the model won the First Place Prize Paper Award for 2023 in the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.
The Isao Takahashi Award is presented once every four years to up to three researchers or engineers under the age of 40. It is considered one of the most prestigious awards for mid-career researchers in power electronics. Chen was presented with the award at the 2026 International Power Electronics Conference held in Nagasaki in early June.
Chen joined Princeton in 2017 after completing a Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was promoted to associate professor in 2024. Last year, Chen was named a fellow of the Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. Other past honors include the 2024 Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Engineer Award from the IEEE Power Electronics Society, where he is also a distinguished lecturer; a C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute Faculty Award; an NSF CAREER award; and a Siebel Energy Institute Faculty Award, among many others. He was listed on Princeton Engineering Commendation List for Outstanding Teaching for multiple times.