Alexander Lidow, Ph.D., CEO of International Rectifier Corporation, will give a talk focusing "on the key role of energy in our standard of living," he said, "and some major changes occurring soon in the efficiency of our energy use." Lidow will look at the connection between standard of living and energy consumption, and how new technologies can allow Americans to save energy and still maintain high living standards.

"In just the U.S.A., we can save 8 quadrillion BTUs a year in electrical energy and 13 quadrillion BTUs a year in fuel for transportation-23 percent of our total energy budget-by applying a basketful of technologies to cars and electric motors," he said. (The British Thermal Unit (BTU) is a measure of energy.) "As a nation, we could be energy independent." Lidow's goal for the talk is "to inspire the listeners to be contributors to these changes."

Lidow joined International Rectifier (IR), headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., in 1977 as a research and development engineer. He then went on to be vice president of R&D. At IR, he served as executive vice president of Manufacturing and Technology, president of the Electronic Products Division, and executive vice president of Operations before becoming CEO. A co-inventor of the HEXFET® power MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor), Lidow holds nine patents on power semiconductor technology and has written numerous publications on related subjects.

Lidow earned a B.S. degree in applied physics from Caltech and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University. His professional associations include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Electrochemical Society and Tau Beta Pi.