A pioneer and champion of electric vehicles has been awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest individual award for his contribution to engineering.
Professor Ching Chuen Chan, Honorary Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong, will receive the Prince Philip Medal at the Royal Academy’s Awards Dinner on 2 July in recognition of his role in the development of electric vehicles.
Professor Chan, who has been described as one of the “three wise men” of the international electric-vehicle community, has contributed to the development of the field with over 300 research papers and 11 books over 40 years. He is also the co-founder and president of the World Electric Vehicles Association. The Royal Academy describes his contributions to the field as “many and diverse”.
He was instrumental in the development of the E2O — Mahindra REVA’s low-cost electric car for the Indian market. He was appointed as Honda Chair Professor of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong in 1992, advising on the development of Honda electric vehicles until 2002.
In addition, he is chief advisor to FAW — China’s largest automotive manufacturer — on the development of ‘new-energy’ vehicles.