GIST Professor Chun-Taek Lim Becomes Korea's First Recipient of IEEE Power Electronics Society "Milan Jovanovic Award"

Development of Wireless Charging Technology for Electric Vehicles and Mobile Devices

Chun-Taek Lim, GIST Professor.

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on July 1 that Professor Chun-Taek Lim of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 "Milan Jovanovic Award" by the Power Electronics Society (PELS) under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The IEEE Power Electronics Society is the most prestigious academic organization in the field of wireless power transfer worldwide. This award is given annually to only one researcher who has developed leading-edge technology and achieved outstanding results in this field. With this recognition, Professor Lim becomes the first recipient from Korea and the seventh recipient globally.

This award recognizes Professor Lim's contributions to the development of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles and mobile devices.

He has developed a magnetic induction-based wireless charging technology capable of reliably transmitting power over a distance of 12 meters, holding the world record for the longest wireless transmission. To date, he has published 205 papers in renowned academic journals, filed over 170 patents, and has consistently achieved excellent research outcomes, including receiving the Best Paper Award from IEEE-affiliated societies (PELS) and international journals (JESTPE).

Last year, he was named among the top 0.38% of researchers worldwide in the field of electrical and electronic engineering, according to the global academic information analytics company Elsevier. He is also an IEEE Fellow.

This award is the result of a comprehensive evaluation of Professor Lim's key technological achievements in the field of power electronics. Notably, he developed the "OLEV (On-Line Electric Vehicle)" technology, which enables wireless power supply of 100 kW at 85% efficiency over a 20 cm gap between the ground and the vehicle while driving on the road, allowing Korea to become the first country in the world to commercialize this technology.

He also developed the "6-DoF (six degrees of freedom) wireless charging technology," which enables stable charging even in environments where the position (x, y, z) and orientation (roll, pitch, yaw) are constantly changing, such as with robots or drones, thus presenting new possibilities for next-generation electronic devices.

Professor Lim emphasized, "The wireless power market is expected to reach approximately $27.2 billion (about 37 trillion KRW) this year, with rapid annual growth rates of 13 to 21%. This is a promising industry, and Korea, with its strengths in semiconductor and circuit technologies, is well-positioned to lead the global market."

The award ceremony will be officially held at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Exposition (ECCE 2025) in Philadelphia, USA, this October.