Dr. Tom Van Doren
Professor Emeritus, Missouri S&T · IEEE Fellow · IEEE EMC Hall of Fame
For over 40 years, Dr. Tom Van Doren has taught engineers how to diagnose and solve electromagnetic compatibility problems. More than 19,000 engineers and technicians at over 100 companies and government agencies have taken his courses on grounding, shielding, and PCB layout for EMC.
Awards & Recognition
2022
IEEE EMC Society Hall of Fame Award
The highest honor bestowed by the IEEE EMC Society, recognizing a “lifetime of exemplary achievement in EMC education.”
2002
IEEE Fellow
A distinction held by less than 0.1% of IEEE members, recognizing extraordinary accomplishments in engineering and technology.
Richard R. Stoddard Award
The highest technical award of the IEEE EMC Society, for outstanding contributions to EMC technology and education.
Honorary Life Member
A rare distinction from the IEEE EMC Society granted for exceptional service over an extended period.
Career & Impact
Dr. Van Doren spent his entire academic career at Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla), earning his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees there between 1962 and 1969. He joined the faculty in 1967, was promoted to full professor in 1982, and retired as Professor Emeritus in 2000.
He was a founding member of Missouri S&T's EMC Laboratory — one of the world's most respected university EMC research facilities, with 23 active research projects, 26 graduate students, and a $1.5M annual budget funded by 17 corporate sponsors including Boeing, Caterpillar, Intel, and Sun Microsystems.
In 1985, Dr. Van Doren created Missouri S&T's first EMC course, titled “Grounding and Shielding.” He went on to develop and teach this course hundreds of times to more than 19,000 engineers and technicians over 35 years. His last live, on-site seminar was in November 2016.
He also serves as faculty for Johns Hopkins University's Engineering for Professionals program, bringing his practical EMC expertise to working engineers pursuing advanced education.
By the Numbers
19,000+
Engineers trained
40+
Years teaching EMC
100+
Organizations served
4
IEEE awards
Trusted by Industry Leaders
Dr. Van Doren's EMC training has been used by engineers at NASA, Boeing, Intel, Caterpillar, the U.S. Air Force, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and hundreds of other organizations worldwide. When NASA needs to train engineers on EMC for spacecraft and mission-critical systems, they use Dr. Van Doren's course material through the NESC Academy.
“Dr. Tom, as he likes to be called, was one of my very first teachers when I was starting to learn EMC back in 1988. And he's still at it! His seminars are taught at a very practical level and you'll come away really understanding the basics.”
“Nice combination of theoretical and practical stuff.”
Teaching Philosophy
Dr. Van Doren's approach is built on logical engineering principles rather than trial-and-error experimentation. His courses combine theoretical foundations with real-world demonstrations, emphasizing practical techniques engineers can apply immediately on the job.
“It's far more important to get in the lab and measure these curves than it is to work on the computer with equations. You will see things in the lab that surprise and instruct you that simulations will never catch.”
“A failure to recognize the importance of the current return path is one of the major causes of electrical interference problems.”
Learn from Dr. Van Doren
His courses are now available online as self-paced EMC training. Start with a free lesson.