Atsuo Kawamura
Biography
Atsuo Kawamura was the first in the world to realize deadbeat (DB) control of single-phase PWM inverters using a microprocessor in the 1980s. At that time, analog controllers were used to generate PWM waveforms for inverters. This innovation addressed reliability issues and steady-state errors inherent in analog controllers. DB control’s advantages in reliability, responsiveness, accuracy, and robustness led to its practical application in uninterruptible power supplies, marking a significant advancement in power electronics control. These high-performance DB controls are also used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, thus supporting the advancement of modern society. Recently, Kawamura proposed a new multi-rate DB with MHz samples using an FPGA, helping to dramatically improve the responsiveness of digital controllers for large-capacity power electronics equipment.
An IEEE Life Fellow, Kawamura is Professor Emeritus, Yokohama National University, Kanagawa, Japan and is the 2025 recipient of the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award for "pioneering contributions to deadbeat control of PWM inverters and the subsequent development."
