Dr. Veronika Rabl, Executive Advisor, Quanta Technology, has been awarded the IEEE-USA John Meredith Professional Service Award for her tireless efforts encouraging sound, forward-thinking energy policy — and her commitment to making sure that the positions of IEEE-USA and its members play a role in the public policy arena, as well as educating policy makers. The award is given annually for outstanding IEEE-USA volunteer efforts and contributions.
Babu Chalamala, of Sandia National Laboratories, nominated Rabl, stating, “She is particularly known as a visionary technical leader, with early contributions as a thought leader in electrification and energy efficiency.” He added, “Before it was widely recognized, Dr. Rabl led initiatives related to the electrification of residential, commercial, industrial and transportation energy systems as options to achieve environmental and energy efficiency benefits.”
Rabl worked at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in the 1980s through 2000, where she took a leadership role in developing demand response options for homes, buildings and industry. Her early work helped spur the commercial development of smart energy management systems. More recently, she has been a key advocate for IEEE policy support for electrification and deep decarbonization of transportation, energy efficiency and modernizing transmission and distribution systems, to optimize integrating renewables into the electric grid.
Rabl’s service to IEEE-USA has been critical in positioning it as a trusted source of information during important energy public policy debates.
Rabl commented on the importance of engineers and IEEE getting involved in public policy, “The unprecedented pace and breadth of change in technology, knowledge and engineering create new challenges — not only for the lay public, but also for regulators, legislators, and even engineers. IEEE is in a unique position to provide independent technical and professional counsel to assist in the resolution of energy issues in the United States, and worldwide. It can deliver engineering knowledge, skills, and thoughtful leading-edge recommendations built on synergies between its private and public sector members. Indeed, given IEEE’s unbiased, state-of-the-art knowledge, it is essential to provide it as input into critical public policy decisions.”
Rabl has been a member of the IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee since 2008 and has served both as Chair and Vice-Chair. She has also chaired several subgroups developing IEEE-USA positions and white papers; and she served as author/coauthor of IEEE-USA National Energy Policy Recommendations. Among the white papers she has written, Rabl is the principal author of IEEE-USA’s Electrified Transportation, adopted in 2021; and Transforming Transportation by Diversifying Energy Sources, adopted in June 2018. In the past, she has served as Secretary of IEEE’s Power System Planning and Implementation Committee; Chair of IEEE’s Customer Products & Services Working Group; and Chair of IEEE’s DSM Program Planning & Evaluation Working Group. In addition, Rabl regularly organized sessions at IEEE meetings and conferences focused on energy issues. She also tirelessly worked to ensure that IEEE-USA’s positions were successfully included in public policy debates.
Rabl has participated in IEEE-USA’s Congressional Fly-ins, including preparation and presentation of background materials on electric transportation issues and developing “asks” for lawmakers and their staffs. She was the principal organizer and coordinator of ASME-IEEE’s Congressional Briefing on Grid Security and Advancements in Smart Grid Technology; and led the development of a primer on energy storage that has been widely used in the policy community.
In endorsing her for this award, Damir Novosel, of Quanta Technology stated, “Veronika has the unparalleled ability to understand deep technical issues — and connect them to holistic industry and regulatory perspectives — to make a difference for both our industry and the society.”
Rabl has also helped educate global policy makers and industry leaders on energy policy, delivering presentations, lectures and keynotes in places such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, and Canada.
Responding to receiving the award, Rabl stated, “I am greatly honored in receiving this prestigious award and thank all those who supported this nomination. Most importantly, I am grateful to all my IEEE colleagues and staff for the opportunity to work with them.”
The John Meredith Professional Service Award is named in honor of John Meredith, IEEE Life Fellow, Director Emeritus of the IEEE Foundation, former Region 5 Director, and 2007 IEEE-USA President. It is given out each year to someone who exhibits a similar commitment to advancing IEEE and the profession. Meredith served on dozens of committees and boards at the regional and national levels, was active in the Communications and Circuits and Systems Societies, and helped organize countless conferences. He brought a wealth of experience from his years in the Navy, industry and academia — and he never gave up his passion for learning.
IEEE-USA Awards: Nominate a Colleague Today
Nominations for the 2023 IEEE-USA Awards are open now, and will be accepted through 15 September 2023. Nominate someone today!
