René Peter Paul Smeets
KEMA Labs
Topic: High-voltage DC interruption with vacuum interrupters
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Brief Bio:
René Peter Paul Smeets received a PhD degree for research work on vacuum switchgear and he was an assistant professor at Eindhoven University. In 1995, he joined KEMA, the Netherlands, world leader in testing HV equipment, until retirement in 2021. From 2001 - 2013 he was part-time professor at Eindhoven University, the Netherlands. In 2013 he became adjunct professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. Dr. Smeets is member of various study/advisory committees of CIGRE in the field of emerging switching technologies. He was convener of teams in IEC on standardization of switchgear and he is fellow of IEEE and of CIGRE. Since 2008 he is chairman of the “Current Zero Club”, a scientific study group on current interruption. Dr. Smeets published and edited three books and authored over 300 international papers on testing and high-voltage switching technology. He received nine international awards.
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Martin B.J. Leusenkamp
Eaton
Topic: Manufacturing technology of vacuum interrupters
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Brief Bio:
Martin B.J. Leusenkamp received his M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Eindhoven Univ. of Technology in 1995. That same year, he joined Eaton (formerly Holec) as an R&D Specialist in Medium-Voltage systems, focusing on the design and manufacturing of Vacuum Interrupters (VI). In 1997, he earned a diploma in Advanced Vacuum Technology from the Dutch Vacuum Society (NEVAC). In 2005, he led the establishment of Eaton’s VI manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, where he served as Engineering Manager and later as Chief Engineer until 2014. Currently, he is Senior Director Technology for Eaton’s Electrical Sector in APAC. He is widely recognized as a subject matter expert in Electrical Power Engineering, with specialization in Vacuum Interrupters (VI), Vacuum Circuit Breakers (VCB), and their applications. He is a member of the “Current Zero Club”.
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Thomas Brauner
Siemens AG
Topic: Ultra-high current interruption phenomena in vacuum interrupters |
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Brief Bio:
Thomas Brauner received the Dipl.-Phys. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 2002 and 2007. After working for Xtreme Technologies, Göttingen, Germany, he joined Osram GmbH in Berlin, Germany, in 2008 as an R&D engineer for discharge lamps. Since 2013, he has been with Siemens AG, Berlin, Germany. His work as R&D project manager includes the design, manufacturing and testing of vacuum interrupters. In 2025, he was also appointed senior key expert for vacuum switching technology within the Siemens company.
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Thierry Delachaux
Hyosung Heavy Industries
Topic: Physics of high-voltage vacuum interruption
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Brief Bio:
Dr. Thierry Delachaux is working as a team leader for research and development of high-voltage vacuum interrupters at the European R&D Center of Hyosung Heavy Industries in Arnhem, Netherlands since 2023. He obtained a PhD in low pressure plasma discharge from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland in 2003. From 2004 to 2023, he has been with the ABB Corporate Research Center, Baden, Switzerland, working in the field of vacuum interrupters, low-voltage switchgear and hybrid breakers. Dr. Delachaux is a member of the Current Zero Club, a group of international experts in the field of interruption phenomena in high power circuit breakers.
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Zhao Xiaomin
Pinggao-XJTU Power Equipment Research institute
Topic: Application of HV vacuum switchgear in China
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Brief Bio:
Zhao Xiaomin, a professor-level senior engineer, serves as Deputy Director of the Pinggao Electric–Xi’an Jiaotong University Power Equipment Technology Research Institute. Long dedicated to environmentally friendly switchgear R&D, he successfully developed 126 kV and 145 kV single-break vacuum interrupters and vacuum circuit breakers now in commercial service, achieving world-leading results.
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Liu Zhiyuan
Xi’an Jiaotong University
Topic: Experimental research of high-current vacuum arc phenomena
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Brief Bio:
Liu Zhiyuan received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 2001. From 2001 to 2002, he was in the General Electric Company Research and Development Center (Shanghai), Shanghai, China. Since 2003, he has been working in State key laboratory of electrical insulation and power equipment, department of electrical engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China. Now he is a professor in Xi’an Jiaotong University. He is primarily involved with research and development of high voltage vacuum circuit breakers. In 2018, he won the second prize of the National Technological Invention Award of China. He has published four books and more than 450 technical papers. He holds more than 100 Chinese patents. Dr. Liu is a member of current zero club and he was members of four CIGRE working groups, including WGA3.27, WGA3.38, WGA3.40, JWGA3/B4.34.
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Yuki Inada
University of Saitama
Topic: Breakdown phenomena in vacuum gaps
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Brief Bio:
Yuki Inada received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, in 2014. He is now working as an Associate Professor at Saitama University, Saitama, Japan. His research interests include arc interruption phenomena, plasma diagnostic techniques, and plasma application technology. He received Paul A. Chatterton Young Investigator’s Award in ISDEIV 2014.
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Tarek Lamara
Sécheron
Topic: Low-and medium voltage DC interruption with vacuum
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Brief Bio:
Tarek Lamara received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Plasma physics from the University of Lorraine, Nancy, France, in 2000 and 2004, respectively. His research focused on the optimization of high-power pulsed microwave plasmas and magnetron sputtering for various thin-film processing. In 2006, he joined ABB Corporate Research in Baden, Switzerland, where he worked as a scientist and project manager in MV switching technologies, specializing in vacuum interrupters and power semiconductors. His research work covered vacuum arcs investigation and plasma diagnostics, electromagnetic and electro-thermal simulations, and vacuum interrupter design optimization. In addition to his technical contributions, he managed several multinational R&D projects and coordinated research activities with the business unit. Since 2013, he has been a Senior R&D Expert at Sécheron SA, a global leader in railway electrical safety equipment, where he also oversees intellectual property strategy and innovation. He is leading the development of new generations of MV vacuum AC switchgear and managing the new development of innovative hybrid DC circuit breakers and contactors. Actively involved in circuit breaker research since 2006, he is a co-inventor of 20 patents and has co-authored over 40 international scientific publications. He is a member of IEEE society and a regular reviewer for “IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science” and “IOP Plasma Science and Technology”. He is a member of Electro-Suisse, local representative of CIGRE organization, and also a full member of Current Zero Club (CZC).
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Thomas Heinz
Siemens Energy
Topic: High-voltage vacuum interrupter development
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Brief Bio:
Thomas Heinz is an expert in high-voltage vacuum switching technology at Siemens Energy in Berlin, where he has been working since 2016 – initially as an R&D engineer and project manager and, for the last three years, as team leader for vacuum circuit breaker development. He studied electrical engineering at Technische Universität Darmstadt, completing his degree (“Dipl.-Ing.”) in 2010 and earning his doctorate in 2016, with a focus on DC switching in medium and high voltage applications using vacuum interrupters. His current work centers on the development of vacuum interrupter units and high-voltage AC circuit breakers. He contributes to both basic research and product development of single- and multi-break vacuum circuit breakers for voltages up to 550 kV and rated currents up to 80 kA.
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Huang Xiaolong
Sichuan University
Topic: Modelling of vacuum arcs and plasma
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Brief Bio:
Huang Xiaolong is an associate professor at the College of Electrical Engineering, Sichuan University, China, and serves as the Executive Chairman of the 31st ISDEIV. He received his Ph.D. degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2016. His research has primarily focused on vacuum switches and vacuum arc plasmas, and he has developed a three-dimensional transient magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of vacuum arcs. As a key researcher, he contributed to the development of 252 kV vacuum interrupters and circuit breakers, and is currently involved in the research of 550 kV vacuum circuit breakers.
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