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ISMB Outstanding Achievements Awards

Prof. Paul Allaire (USA)

Prof. Paul E. Allaire was Mac Wade Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Viriginia and led the Rotating Machinery and Controls lab until 2012. He was among the first researchers to pick up the topic of magnetic bearings in the United States of America and has been a driving force of the international research community ever since. He successfully organized three symposia (ISMB3, ISMB6, and ISMB13) and has served over two decades on the international advisory board of this symposium series.
Prof. Allaire received the ISMB Outstanding Achievements Award in 2014.

Prof. Hannes Bleuler (Switzerland)

After receiving his engineering education in Switzerland, Hannes Bleuler worked at the Mechanical Engineering Research Lab of Hitachi and at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, both in  Japan. After having returned to Switzerland for positions as a lecturer at ETH Zurich and after co-founding MECOS-Traxler AG, he was appointed professor at the University of Tokyo and eventually, at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. With his continued work on magnetic levitation principles and the industrialization of magnetic bearings at MECOS-Traxler AG, he contributed significantly to the progress of this research area. In 2006, he also organized and chaired ISMB10 in Martigny, Switzerland.
Prof. Bleuler received the ISMB Outstanding Achievements Award in 2014.

Prof. Toshiro Higuchi (Japan)

As one of the first researchers in Japan to investigate magnetic bearings on an academic level Prof. Higuchi was not only one of the co-founders of the ISMB series but a founding father of this research topic itself in Japan. His broad research interests ranging from mechatronics, new actuator principles and MEMS to robotics and, of course, magnetic bearings, have made him a established and well-respected researcher both inside and outside of Japan. He hosted the second ISMB in Tokyo in 1990 and has inspired numerous Japanese researchers in their work on magnetic levitation.
Prof. Higuchi received the ISMB Outstanding Achievements Award in 2014.

Prof. Yohji Okada (Japan)

As one of the first scientific players in the field of magnetic bearings, professor Yohji Okada picked up research on magnetic bearings in Japan where he was professor of Mechanical Engineering at Ibaraki University. His research interests include magnetic bearings and applications, self-bearing motors, artificial heart pumps, active/regenerative vibration control, servo control systems and electromagnetic engine valve drives. Together with his research group, he was one of the pioneers in introducing magnetic bearings and bearingless motors to different motor topologies. Since that time, he continuously supported the development of the international research network and also hosted ISMB8 in Japan.
Prof. Okada received the ISMB lifetime achievement award in 2012.

Prof. Gerhard Schweitzer
(Switzerland)

Prof. Gerhard Schweitzer from Switzerland was one of the founders of the ISMB series in 1988 and hosted the 1st, 4th and 7th symposium in Zurich, Switzerland, where he was professor at the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology. He put his main scientific focus on dynamics of controlled mechanical systems, especially interactive robots, magnetic bearings and mechatronics. His support for magnetic bearings research on an international level was also expressed in his recent engagement in helping to build up a magnetic bearings community in South America and, especially, in Brazil.
Prof. Schweizer received the ISMB lifetime achievement award in 2012.

Michael K. Swann (USA)

Over the past 25 years, Michael K. Swann has been one of the driving forces in bringing magnetic bearings to the market. With his activities he helped to develop the technology and, more importantly, to prove its industrial relevance. The organizing committee honored his ongoing  engagement in this field as a true lifetime achievement. Michael K. Swann is currently General Manager at Waukesha Magnetic Bearings and the author of several technical articles and patents related to magnetic bearings.
Michael Swann received the ISMB lifetime achievement award in 2012.