Stephen D. Umans is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he received the S.B., S.M., E.E., and Sc.D. degrees, all in electrical engineering. He is currently engaged as an independent consultant, having previously held the position of Principal Research Engineer in the MIT Electromechanical Systems Laboratory and lecturer in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the IEEE and a recipient of the Cyril Veinott Electromechanical Energy Conversion Award from the IEEE Power Engineering Society.