This post is an adaptation of the article by the University of Washington Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.
For those of us who have ever watched TV, talked on a cellphone, enjoyed listening to AM/FM radio broadcasts, or received an MRI scan, we can confidently do so with the understanding that these entirely commonplace and daily sorts of activities are safe for our bodies.
For this, we can credit Dr. Chung-Kwang Chou, an IEEE Life Fellow, with helping to determine the safe levels of exposure to these types of electromagnetic-emitting technologies.
Through years of rigorous, evidence-based experiments, Chung-Kwang, or “C-K.” as many people know him, devoted his career to researching and measuring the effects of human and animal exposure to the electromagnetic field (EMF) energy emitted by such devices. Equally as important, he was also an instrumental figure in pushing for the worldwide adoption of IEEE safety standards related to their use.
In recognition of this critically important work, Chou was honored on January 5, 2021 with the 2020 IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) Lifetime Achievement Award for his “continued energy, persistence and dedication to inclusiveness of scientific thought through participation and leadership in the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES) across almost five decades.”
“It is a great honor to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award,” Chou acknowledged in his acceptance speech. “Thank you to the IEEE Standards Association for developing technological standards for the benefit of humanity, and for the privilege that I can play a small part in it. Thank you.”
As part of the IEEE SA Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to individuals who have dedicated over 15 years to standards development within IEEE and other national and international standards activities, and provided significant technical contributions to a standards committee or in their field of interest.
Pioneering Safety Standards
Dr. Chou is perhaps best known for his research on the elusive auditory effect of radio-frequency (RF) exposure, or RF hearing, in which pulses of RF energy can cause a bizarre phenomenon of sounds such as clicks, buzzes, hisses, knocks, chirps, or even voices to be perceived inside of one’s own head under specific conditions.
Over the course of his nearly 50-year-long and hugely prolific career, Chou also contributed to the understanding of several other RF and microwave biological effects on humans, animals, and cells, as well as RF dosimetry, MRI safety, exposure systems, and hyperthermia, and electrochemical cancer treatments.
Chou’s education and training in the engineering and physiology sciences began with earning a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from National Taiwan University, Taipei (’68), followed by a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis (’71) and a doctorate at the University of Washington, Seattle (’75). He then spent a year as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) post-doctoral fellow in the regional primate research center at the UW Department of Physiology and Biophysics.
The IEEE acknowledged Chou as “a pioneer in both research and standardization related to human exposure to electromagnetic energy, or EME. He was deeply involved in early IEEE efforts to create EME exposure safety guidelines as a leader of the IEEE international committee on electromagnetic safety. He has been involved in its activities for nearly half a century, and has been a major contributor to the scientific foundation upon which safety standards for human exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic fields are based. Additionally, he was instrumental in the creation of IEEE C95 standards on radio-frequency safety, both as a working group member and in leadership roles.”
From Academia to Industry
In the mid-1980s, Chou was recruited to direct the Department of Radiation Research at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA, bringing with him the years of expertise he’d fostered at the UW. Trading one sunny state for another, however, Chou was recruited once more in 1998, this time to join Motorola’s Florida Research Labs in Fort Lauderdale, FL. There, he became Chief EME Scientist and the Director of the Corporate EME Research Laboratory, responsible for RF product safety, until his retirement in 2013.
“It is ultimately important to develop standards, especially safety standards, based on solid scientific evidence.”
– Chung-Kwang “C-K.” Chou
“In my many years of laboratory experience during my three jobs at the University of Washington, City of Hope National Medical Center, and Motorola, I learned the difficulties in conducting high-quality research in this field involving both biological and physical complexities,” said Chou, reflecting on his career. “Therefore, it is ultimately important to develop standards, especially safety standards, based on solid scientific evidence.”
Receiving the IEEE SA Lifetime Achievement Award is not the first time that Chou’s illustrious career in bioelectromagnetics has been recognized. In 2006, he was honored as the tenth recipient of the prestigious D’Arsonval Medal from the Bioelectromagnetics Society (BEMS) — the organization’s highest recognition of scientific excellence in the field.
“Over the decades, I have worked with and learned from many brilliant minds and committee members with a wide variety of engineering, scientific, and medical expertise. The happy collaborations with my colleagues made my research and my committee work very enjoyable,” Chou acknowledged.
Continued Activities in Energy and Engineering
With arguably even more energy than the technologies he researches, Dr. Chou continues to be a highly active figure in the field well into his retirement, working as an independent consultant on EMF safety issues.
In addition to being an IEEE Life Fellow, Chou has served as the Chairman of TC 95 of the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety since 2006, responsible for exposure standards from 0 to 300 GHz; and he has served on the Advisory Panel of Non-Ionizing Radiation of NCRP and as a Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE Broadcast Technology Society since 2016.
Additionally, Chou served as Co-Chairman of IEEE Scientific Coordinating Committee 28, Subcommittee 4 on RF Safety Standard (1997- 2005); was Vice Chairman of Committee 89-5 of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (1996-1999); was Council Member of NCRP (1998-2004); and from 1994 to 1999 he served as Vice-Chair, Chair and Past Chair for the Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR) of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, a group of experts on health and safety issues related to electromagnetic fields, from power line to microwave-frequency ranges.
After retiring from Motorola in 2013, Dr. Chou and his wife of nearly fifty years, Grace, moved back to California to be closer to their two children and grandson. They currently reside in the Bay Area.
Dr. Chou is among other outstanding individuals, IEEE SA members, and/or member organizations that IEEE SA awards recognize every year for their standards development participation. View a full list of the 2020 IEEE SA Awards categories and winners. Nominations for the 2021 IEEE SA Awards are now open until 31 July. Submit your nomination today.
