American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a global power technologies company, announced the appointment of John W. Wood Jr. as chairman of the Board, effective August 16. He replaces former chairman and company founder, Gregory J. Yurek, who retired as chief executive officer earlier this year. Wood, 67, has been an independent director of AMSC since 2006. Prior to joining AMSC’s Board, Wood was chief executive officer of Analogic Corporation, a leading designer and manufacturer of medical imaging and security systems. Before joining Analogic, he held senior executive positions over a 22-year career at Thermo Electron Corporation. Wood is a director for FLIR Systems, Inc. and ESCO Corporation.