Background: Alex Severinsky was born and educated in the Soviet Union. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from Kharkov College of Radioelectronics in Kharkov, Ukraine, in 1967, and his PhD in electrical engineering from the Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics in Moscow in 1975.  He emigrated to the United States in 1978.

An Idea is Born: During the oil crisis of 1979, Dr. Severinsky figured there had to be a better way to power an automobile and began looking at alternative approaches to gasoline-powered engines. After studying the possibility of pure electric and fuel cell vehicles, he began developing ideas for a hybrid gasoline/electric powertrain that could help reduce America’s dependence on oil. As a newcomer to the United States with little knowledge of how to raise funds for a business, Dr. Severinsky didn’t pursue his vision right away. Several years later, while lecturing at the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering, Dr. Severinsky began to actively focus on developing his ideas for creating commercially successful hybrid vehicles.

The Creation of Paice: Dr. Severinsky founded Paice (Power Assisted Internal Combustion Engines) in 1992 as part of a small company incubator program at the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering. Later that year, he filed a patent application covering his concepts for a hybrid vehicle and was issued U.S. Patent No. 5,343,970 (the ‘970 patent) in 1994.

Recognition for Dr. Severinsky: Dr. Severinsky was awarded the prestigious Thomas A. Edison Patent Award from the American Society for Mechanical Engineers in 2009. This award recognizes the creativity of Paice’s invention as having the potential of significantly enhancing an aspect of mechanical engineering.  In addition, Dr. Severinsky was inducted into the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering’s Innovation Hall of Fame in 2008 for his “pioneering work in the development of the Hyperdrive power-amplified internal combustion engine power train for hybrid vehicles.”

Severinsky Today: Dr. Severinsky served as CEO and chairman of Paice until 2006.  He has continued to pursue entrepreneurial ventures related to alternative energies.

Dr. Severinsky created commercially-viable hybrid vehicle technologies because he believed in the development of highly fuel efficient, clean and cost-effective hybrid electric vehicles. He wanted to reduce America’s dependence on oil and protect our environment.