Farhad Rachidi

Farhad Rachidi is a Full Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), where he serves as the Head of the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory within the School of Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering. His research group has been active in EMC research since the early 1980s and maintains collaborations with numerous international institutions including Universities of Bologna and Rome (Italy), Uppsala University and KTH (Sweden), University of Toronto (Canada), University of Florida (USA), and others.

Professor Rachidi's research spans electromagnetic compatibility, lightning electromagnetics, lightning and EMP interaction with transmission lines, electromagnetic time reversal, fault location, numerical computation of electromagnetic fields, and power line communications. His work integrates theoretical modeling with experimental validation, particularly in the context of lightning phenomena and electromagnetic interference. The research group develops innovative techniques such as electromagnetic time reversal for applications ranging from lightning detection to partial discharge localization in power systems.

Analysis of his recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a strong focus on electromagnetic time reversal techniques, lightning physics and modeling, machine learning applications in electromagnetic phenomena, and advanced computational methods for electromagnetic field analysis. His work bridges fundamental electromagnetic theory with practical applications in power systems, atmospheric electricity, and security technologies.

• 2025 IEEE EMC Technical Achievement Award
• 2005 CIGRE Technical Committee Award
• 2006 Blondel Medal from SEE
• 2016 Berger Award from ICLP
• Best Paper Awards of IEEE Transactions on EMC (2016, 2018)
• Motohisa Kanda Award for most cited papers (2012-2018)
• 2024 Distinguished Honorary Professor at Tsinghua University
• 2014 Honorary Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University

Professor Rachidi has supervised numerous students through semester projects, diploma projects (equivalent to MS), and PhD programs at EPFL. His research is primarily sponsored by Swiss National Science Foundation, European Community programs, European Space Agency, Swiss Electrical Utilities, and private companies. He has served in leadership roles including President of the International Conference on Lightning Protection (2008-2014), Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility (2013-2015), and President of the Swiss National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (2012-2020).

The EMC Laboratory at EPFL, which he heads, maintains the Säntis lightning research facility and has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of lightning phenomena through direct measurements at instrumented towers. The group has developed innovative techniques including electromagnetic time reversal for fault location in power networks and lightning detection systems.