Michael W. Howard Celebrated as Swanson School 2025 Distinguished Alumnus in Industrial Engineering
Above (L - R): Lisa Maillart, Michael Howard, and Michele Manuel
On April 10, 2025, the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering held its Distinguished Alumni Banquet at the University Club. Dr. Michael W. Howard, MSIE '83, was recognized at the event as the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus in Industrial Engineering.
“It’s a great honor to celebrate Michael Howard and his impressive career,” said Lisa Maillart, Interim Department Chair of Industrial Engineering. “Michael received his master’s degree in engineering management here at Pitt while working at Westinghouse, and he credits the experience with developing his leadership and managerial skills. He has gone on to cofound and lead companies from startups to venture capital firms to a power electronics organization. A consummate leader and innovator, Michael has earned numerous accolades, including a 2019 Distinguished Energy Award for the many ways he has advanced global energy innovation.”
About Michael W. Howard
Dr. Michael Howard is dedicated to fostering a sustainable and equitable energy future. He blends his business acumen with extensive technical knowledge and deep experience in the electric utility industry. With over four decades of global executive leadership, he is known for his collaborative, entrepreneurial, and innovative approach across organizations of all sizes, from startups to large public companies.
Most recently, Howard served as CEO of EPRI, a $500 million global organization headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with several offices across the U.S. and internationally. For ten years, he led EPRI in developing technological innovations related to electricity production, delivery, and consumption, including advancements in nuclear power, renewable energy, energy storage, and electric vehicles.
Howard began his career at Westinghouse after earning a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee. He was selected for a four-year management trainee program at Westinghouse while completing his MS in engineering management from the University of Pittsburgh. He later earned his PhD from the University of Tennessee's College of Engineering, focusing his dissertation on advanced artificial intelligence.
Following a decade at Westinghouse and its subsidiary, Howard cofounded a technology company specializing in advanced image processing systems for automated microscopic material and biological image analysis. After three years, the company merged with an affiliated firm in Pittsburgh, creating a roll-up of related companies. Post-merger, Howard led a venture capital firm that provided equity and debt investment to early-state tech companies. He was also an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, teaching various master's and PhD courses in industrial and systems engineering.
During the mid to late 1990s, Howard was the president and CEO of a technology-driven power electronics company that offered power quality solutions to large industrial customers and electric utility companies. EPRI acquired the business in 1999, after which Howard held several leadership positions within EPRI. In 2010, the EPRI Board of Directors appointed him president and CEO, a role he held until his retirement at the end of 2020. He was then honored with the title of CEO Emeritus by the board.
Howard is an advisor to a private equity firm and serves on the board of four technology-based, energy-focused companies. He is also a Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute advisory council member and Chair of the World Energy Council based in London. Howard recently contributed to a technical committee at the U.S. National Academies of Sciences. In 2019, he received the Distinguished Energy Award in Washington, D.C., recognizing his lifetime contributions to global energy innovation and leadership. Additionally, Howard is an active member of IEEE.