Professor and Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Ji Chen, Fellow IEEE, Fellow AIMBE, was recently selected by the EMC Society to receive the 2026 Richard Stoddart Award for Outstanding Performance. This IEEE award recognizes “the outstanding performance of an EMC Society member in contributing to the advancement of EMC technology or in contributing to the solution of a socio-technological problem.”
“The impact of Professor Ji Chen’s work is transformative across engineering scholarship, clinical care, industry practice, and regulatory science,” states the award summary. “His methodologies constitute essential electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and MRI safety infrastructure used globally by regulators, clinicians, and medical device manufacturers to ensure that active and passive implantable medical devices can be safely exposed to MRI.”
Chen’s nomination, based on his “seminal contributions to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and MRI safety engineering that bridge fundamental electromagnetic theory, regulatory science, and deployable engineering systems,” received support from many fellow professionals well-versed in MRI technologies.
From an industry and regulatory implementation perspective, Urs Wigger, Senior Director of R&D at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, described Chen’s central leadership role in large-scale global regulatory remediation efforts, including the “comprehensive evaluation of MRI safety across extensive implant portfolios under both FDA and Medical Device Regulation (MDR) frameworks.”
From the perspective of regulatory science, Ananda Kumar, Senior Staff Fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), noted that Chen’s work forms the technical backbone of modern MRI safety assessment practices used by regulatory agencies; methods he has pioneered “have been incorporated into FDA-recognized regulatory science tools and international standards, transforming fundamental EMC theory into actionable, reproducible regulatory evidence that supports both market clearance and patient safety.”
From an academic and scholarly perspective, Professor Steven M. Wright, R.E. Wisenbaker Professor II at Texas A&M University, emphasized his leadership and sustained influence on the scientific foundations of MRI safety and EMC, further noting that Chen’s “unique integration of theory, simulation, and experimental validation has established a research paradigm that is now foundational to MRI device safety evaluation worldwide.”
According to Laura P. Del Rey-Vasquez, a healthcare executive, MRI facility leader, and MRI safety professional, “In many such situations, Professor Chen’s expertise has enabled patients — who otherwise would have been denied MRI — to undergo examinations safely, with results that directly influenced care.”
“These independent endorsements, from clinical practice, industry leadership, regulatory science, and academic scholarship, highlight the rare breadth and depth of Professor Chen’s impact,” further states the EMC award summary. “His work has simultaneously advanced fundamental EMC science, strengthened FDA and international regulatory science, enabled a hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars medical device industry, and expanded equitable access to clinically essential MRI diagnostics. Without these frameworks, many implantable devices could not be marketed in U.S. and European jurisdictions, and millions of patients would be denied access to MRI-based diagnosis and care.”
“I am deeply honored to receive this award. It is especially meaningful because it recognizes research that has helped improve patient access to MRI while maintaining safety for individuals with implantable medical devices. This recognition reflects the collective efforts of my students, collaborators, clinicians, and industry partners, and it motivates us to continue advancing technologies that improve patient care.”
The 2026 Richard Stoddart Award for Outstanding Performance will be presented to Chen during the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on EMC+SIPI in Dallas, TX, during the annual Awards Luncheon on Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 12:00pm.