IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - June 2019 - 95

Washington, D.C. He received his
electrical engineering degree in 1961
from Lehigh University, Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, and his M.B.A. degree
in 1972 from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. His first
job was as a project engineer at Aero
Geo Astro Corporation in Maryland.
Later, he became a senior staff engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company in
Torrance, California. While at this
company, he authored many papers
on switching regulator stability analysis, and he patented a high-efficiency power supply topology. In 1983,
Dean introduced the K-factor method for stabilizing power supply control loops. The K-factor method is
still widely used today.
Before relocating to Boston, Massachusetts, he moved to Austin,
Texas, where he started the company
Venable Instruments. Veneable Instruments was the first company to make
frequency response analyzers and
software designed specifically for
measuring and stabilizing power supply control loops. These instruments
were a big step ahead of the generalpurpose analyzers offered by companies, such as Hewlett-Packard. The
Venable analyzer was quite successful, and the company he founded continues to make a wide range of frequency response analyzers for power
supply designers. After moving to
Boston, he consulted for Acumentrics
and Doble Engineering Company.
Jon Clare of Nottingham University, United Kingdom, a power electronics professor, said, "I had the
pleasure to meet Dean at the APEC
conference many years back in Austin. We had a nice chat about his
classic paper on simplifying closedloop control design for switching regulators. He was pleased that we were
putting that to good use here on the
undergraduate program at Nottingham University-and we still are."
Likewise, Prof. Prasad Enjeti, an
associate dean of academic affairs,
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, stated, "I had
the pleasure of meeting Dean at his

Austin headquarters. I was always
impressed by his knowledge on simplifying closed loop control design
for switching regulators." Br yce
Hesterman, a senior avionics engineer at Aerojet Rocketdyne, noted, "I
remember attending one of Dean's
training seminars. He was able to
simplify complex ideas and make
them understandable."
Dean was the beloved husband of
Anna Jean, the devoted son of the
late Elmer Bryan and Grace Venable, the father of Bryan Louis Venable, the father-in-law of Lyubov
Venable, and the grandfather of
Michael Venable of Boulder Creek,
California. He is also survived by
his stepchildren and their families.

Charles Edwin Mullet

the Los Angeles Chapter of PELS and
served as the IEEE Applied Power
Electronics Conference and ExposiCharles Edwin Mullet
tion chair in 1996. His magnetic
On 18 March 2019, Charles "Chuck"
amplifier postregulation design led
Edwin Mullett of Santa Paula, Calithe industry in the mid-1990s.
fornia, passed away peacefully at the
For 50 years, Charles was the
age of 80 years. He was born in Bufbeloved husband of Vivian. He is surfalo, New York, to the late Sarah
vived by his daughter, Jennifer (Mul(Hill) Mullett and the late Charles
lett) Andrews; son-in-law, Ryan
Beatty Mullett.
Andrews; two grandchildren, Klaudia
Charles grew up in Bremerton,
and Marta; his son, Kevin Mullett; his
Washington, where his father was a
daughter-in-law, Shanaval officer. He gradron Glancz; many
uated from the Uninieces and nephews;
versity of Illinois at
Charles was known for
and his dog, Belle.
Urbana-Champaign,
his optimism, drive,
He enjoyed playing
receiving his B.S.
enjoyment of people,
clarinet and saxodegree in electrical
and zest for life.
phone, playing localengineering in 1960
ly in six bands.
and his M.S. degree
Charles was an
in 1962. In college,
active member of the Rotary Club of
he was the president of his fraternity,
Santa Paula, California, and he
Alpha Chi Rho, and he was in several
enjoyed sailing and amateur radio.
music bands. Soon after graduating,
He was known for his optimism,
he moved to Southern California,
drive, enjoyment of people, and zest
where he had a long and rewarding
for life.
career designing power electronics.
For more than 20 years, he owned
and operated Mullett Associates, a
Our Condolences
design consulting firm, and he evenProf. Manfred Depenbrock, Prof. Robtually worked at ON Semiconductor,
ert Donald Lorenz, H. Dean Venable,
and Charles Edwin Mullet surely will
from where he retired in 2013. He
be missed. Our sincere condolences
was granted nine patents, and he
go to the families of these four devotwas a speaker of note in several proed professionals who dedicated their
fessional organizations, including the
lives to power electronics engineering.
Power Sources Manufacturers Association, of which he was once the
president and chair. He also founded
June 2019

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IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - June 2019

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