APEC

he PSMA Annual Meeting, traditionally held in person during APEC, was held virtually for a second year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 60 PSMA members and guests attended the meeting to elect four individuals to the Board of Directors, to get an update on  the current activities of PSMA, to ask questions and to join in the open discussion.

Ajay Hari	Tim McDonald
George Slama	Renee Yawger

Mike Hayes opened the meeting at 10 a.m. CDT welcomed all attendees andintroduced the other members of the Executive Committee - Fred Weber, President; Trifon Liakopoulos, Vice-President; and Tim McDonald, Secretary/Treasurer.

The first item of business was the approval of the minutes from the 2020 Annual Meeting. This was followed by the election of four people to the Board of Directors. Each candidate nominated introduced themselves and provided a brief summary of their background and reasons for wanting to serve on the board. Ballots had been distributed in advance of the meeting to the designated representative from all Regular Member companies and additional votes were accepted during the first half of the meeting.

After all ballot were received. the following candidates were elected to the Board of Directors for the three-year term (2021-2024):

• Ajay Hari, ON Semiconductor
• Tim McDonald, Infineon Technologies
• George Slama, Wurth Electronics
• Renee Yawger, Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

Mike Hayes and the meeting attendees congratulated Tim McDonald who was elected for his second term and congratulated and welcomed the three new directors and thanked nominee John Bultitude of KEMET Corporation for his continued contributions to the Packaging & Manufacturing Committee and to PSMA.

The Chair recognized the contributions of Alexander Gerfer and Kevin Parmenter whose terms as Director expired at the meeting.

Chair's Report

On behalf of the Executive Committee, Mike Hayes briefly reviewed and discussed his vision and objectives that had been presented last year and outlined the 4 pillars for sustenance and smart growth, each championed by a member of the Executive Committee:

• Keeping and Nurturing the Good Stuff – Tim McDonald,
• Becoming more Applications and Problems oriented – Fred Weber,
• Define and integrate metrics to monitor the parameters that matter – Trifon Liakopoulos,
• Engage more with stakeholders – Mike Hayes

The PSMA Strategic Direction continues to include focus on IoT, Energy Storage and Smart Mobility. Mike highlighted the importance of providing educational resources to encourage students to enter the industry and inform and motivate professionals, especially younger professionals and thanked everyone who is involved with expanding the Industry-Education Committee initiatives.

In his summary Mike Hayes discussed some of the major Next Steps for the Association which include careful planning and financial monitoring to get back to stability from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic; further building links with other Industry Associations, including iNEMI, IPC, IEEE PELS, EPSMA and CPSS; focusing on KPIs; and using the Pillars to build  growth, succession planning  and sustainability Mike highlighted the great progress that has been made in the past year and the opportunities in the coming year. Mike recognized the contributions of the many volunteers who contribute to PSMA and, welcomed others to get involved.

Power of the Pillars

Fred Weber provided a brief update of the Power of the Pillars by first reviewing the status of the Tiger Team initiatives and giving a brief overview of those that have been accomplished, those that are in progress, and those that are currently tabled. Tiger Teams were introduced in the fall of 2018 by previous PSMA Chair Stephen Oliver and have had great success over the last few years in turning words into actions.

Fred then outlined the longer-term goals which currently include inter-committee interactions, becoming more application and solution focused, and growing the PSMA eco-system. He briefly reviewed the progress and current status of these initiatives.

Financial Update

Tim McDonald, Secretary/Treasurer, presented the Financial Report which included the current financial status of the Association and a seven-quarter financial forecast. Tim reviewed the background and assumptions used in developing the forecastand emphasized the forecast is based on the best-known data available - which may, and probably will, change as more becomes known on the results of APEC2021 and the several workshops scheduled over the next several months.

Tim highlighted the inherent risks in the forecast and the critical need to increase revenue from membership and other activities. All of the events PSMA sponsors over the past year have been postponed or switched to virtual and it is unknown when in-person events will resume. This has had and will continue to have a negative financial impact on PSMA. He set a goal to identify an additional revenue by the end of calendar year 2022 to make up for the losses experienced due to the impact of Covid-19.

APEC 2021

Conor Quinn, APEC 2021 General Chair, provided an overview of the strong Technical Program planned for APEC 2021 with six Plenary speakers lined up, 3 rap sessions, 16 Professional Education Seminars, and a full schedule of Technical and Industry Sessions. Thirteen of the Industry Sessions for APEC2021 have been organized by PSMA Committees.

Conor noted that the APEC Steering Committee and Sponsors are monitoring the ongoing uncertainties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and a final decision on whether the conference will take place in-person or virtually is expected in the coming weeks. The safety of attendees and ability for the international APEC community to attend are key factors being considered. With the unexpected shift to virtual last year, APEC 2020 was a limited virtual event. Planning for APEC 2021 has included virtual contingencies to ensure that the quality of the conference will be maintained in either format. If the conference is held virtually, a platform provider has been selected with excellent capabilities, including live and on demand content and an interactive Expo Hall.

Note: APEC 2021 has since announced that the conference will be held virtually. For more information, see the article on page 1 of this issue.

Committee Reports

Each of the PSMA Committees provided updates on their recent activities. All of the committees are supporting the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap, with most planning to provide at least one webinar for the roadmap webinar series. Nine committees have organized Industry Sessions for APEC 2021. In addition, several committees are collaborating to organize a paid virtual Vehicle Electrification Workshop in the fall of 2021. The full reports are available in the Members Only area of the PSMA web site.

Invited Speaker

The invited speaker at this year's Annual Meeting was Liuchen Chang, Power Electronics Society (PELS) President (2021-2022). PELS is one of the 46 IEEE Societies. He reviewed the organization of IEEE and PELS, membership, list of major sponsored conferences, technical committees, and current initiatives.

Luichen discussed the PELS 5-Year Strategic Plan and their interest in further strengthening the partnership with PSMA. He also identified a number of specific areas for collaboration that would be of benefit to both organizations and the power electronics community.

Mike Hayes thanked Luichen for his presentation and affirmed that PSMA will continue to work with and expand the areas of mutual benefits.

Open Discussion

Chair Mike Hayes then opened the floor for discussion of the major issues facing the Association and suggestions for future initiatives. Several attendees provided ideas and input on the need for PSMA to identify new revenue sources. It was noted that PSMA dues are relatively low when compared to other industry associations but some expressed concern that a large dues increase may result in the loss of members. Suggestions offered included recognizing the largest member companies do receive more benefits than smaller companies based on their number of employees and locations. It was also pointed out that the dues revenue can be increased by expanding the membership. Other suggestions included identifying sponsorship opportunities for webinars and events, as long as it can be accomplished while avoiding commercial influence or the appearance of such on the activities. The Board of Directors will consider all of the suggestions discussed.

Before adjourning, Chair Mike Hayes noted that this was the second year that the meeting was held as a virtual event and expressed hope that we can resume the face-to-face meeting at APEC2022. Mike Hayes thanked all presenters and attendees for their participation and suggestions.

The minutes from the PSMA Annual Meeting have been posted in the Members Only area of the PSMA web site together with the charts from the presentations.

he 2020 PSMA Planning Meeting originally scheduled to be held face-to-face in Phoenix, AZ in conjunction with the APEC Program Planning Meeting was changed to a virtual format due to the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. The PSMA Planning Meeting addresses the future direction of the organization and focuses on the major issues in the industry.  The objective is to identify programs for the next year that will continue to bring benefits to the membership. While it was disappointing not to be able to see everyone in person, the online format did create the opportunity for a strong showing of over 40 attendees.

PSMA President Fred Weber welcomed all attendees and reviewed the mission of the Association and presented the Chair's report on behalf of PSMA Chair Mike Hayes who was unable to attend. He discussed the Executive Committee's Vision for 2020-2025, including the Four Pillars for sustenance and smart growth:

• Keep the good stuff
• Become more applications and problems oriented 
• Define and integrate metrics to monitor the parameters that matter
• Engage more with stakeholders

The 2020-2022 Executive Committee has been very active, holding regular meetings about every 2 weeks. The committee roles have been better defined and expanded, with each Officer championing one of the Four Pillars. They continue to work with the PSMA Office to make sure that activities are aligned with the vision and strategy. A new feature "Message from the PSMA Executive Committee", was added to the newsletter earlier this year, and each quarter one of the Executive Committee members will give a brief update and a more detailed insight into some of their activities.

Fred Weber summarized the general health and status of the organization and recognized the outstanding contributions by the Technical Committees. There have been renewed efforts to increase the relationships and cooperation with other key industry organizations – most notably with IPC, iNEMI.and CPSS.  

Finally, he reviewed the vision to build on the 4 Pillars with strategic focus on IoT, smart mobility and storage.

Financial Forecast
Tim McDonald, Secretary/Treasurer, presented the 6-Quarter financial forecast for October 2020 – March 2022.  The financial forecast recognizes the negative impact of cancellation of the in-person APEC2020 and recognizes the challenges facing APEC2021.

In summary, the forecast projects that the near term will be a challenging time for PSMA. The forecast assumes member dues income and modest revenues from planned workshops and symposia in the coming year as well as the continuation of some of the current and ongoing special projects that promise to bring value to the membership and the industry. To maintain a positive financial position during the pandemic and recovery, PSMA will need to control costs and look for revenue opportunities in the interim.

KPIs-Metrics that Matter
Trifon Liakopoulos, PSMA Vice-President, discussed the work being planned to identify the KPIs – Key Performance Indicators - that are actionable and critical to the success of achieving the goals of the organization. The KPIs will be used to track and improve the activities of the Technical Committees, the effectiveness of the website, workshops, special projects and webinars as well as success in attracting new membership.

This is a work in process with the initial focus to identify and plan for the infrastructure (people, web management and responsibilities) that will enable us to gather the information to improve the performance and effectiveness of the organization.

Committee Updates
There was a report from each of the PSMA committees that summarized their accomplishments over the past year and focused on ongoing programs and projects for 2021. Nine of the committees have submitted proposals to organize Industry Sessions at APEC 2021 and all technical committees are supporting the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap effort. The committee reports each included information on how their activities align with the Four Pillars and strategic focus on IoT, smart mobility and storage.

In addition:

• Fred Weber, Capacitor Committee Co-Chair, reported the committee meets monthly with 10- 12 people attending. Wilmer Companioni is responsible for organizing the Industry Sessions, Pierre Lohrber is responsible for the annual Workshops, and Fred Weber for Webinars. The committee has sponsored a number of webinars in 2020, including the Capacitor Basics Series and for the Workshop and Industry Session planned for APEC2020. They gather feedback from attendees through surveys after each event. Recently the committee, in cooperation with the Energy Management Committee, supported the formation of an Energy Storage Subcommittee.
• Energy Storage Subcommittee Co-Chair Edward Schneider briefly reviewed the formation of the subcommittee. In addition to organizing an Industry Session for APEC 2021, the subcommittee is working with other PSMA Technical Committees to expand collaboration on the effort.
• Energy Harvesting Committee Co-Chair Brian Zahnstecher reported that the committee continues to grow, with almost 50 people on the distribution list and 15 active members. The committee is planning a presentation on IoT at IPC APEX 2021. A White Paper subcommittee has been formed and meets bi-weekly with a target to publish in early 2021. EnerHarv 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19; planning for the next workshop will resume in the coming months.
• David Chen and Edward Herbert, Energy Management Committee Co-Chairs, reported that there are 24 people on the distribution list for the committee with 8 active members that participate in monthly meetings. The committee has increased collaboration with other committees and together with the Capacitor Committee, supports the Energy Storage sub-committee. The presentation included a brief review of the statistics for both the Energy Efficiency Data Base and the Safety and Compliance Data Base.
• John Horzepa reported while the Industry-Education Committee continues to support the student attendance program, the committee could not meet as planned at APEC2020 to continue the efforts to address a number of proposed initiatives to provide additional programs to encourage students to learn about and pursue a career in power electronics. He will be organizing a committee teleconference in the coming months and encouraged everyone at the meeting interested in contributing to efforts to support students who are the future Power Electronics professionals to contact the PSMA office.
• Magnetics Committee Co-Chairs George Slama and Ed Herbert reported that the committee is planning its fifth annual workshop at APEC 2021. The committee continues to collaborate with the Capacitor committee on the demonstration presentations for the workshops. Early this year, the committee presented 2 Magnetics Basics webinars and plans additional future webinars. The committee also recently completed the Phase II Core Loss Special Project, and the report is available to members on the PSMA website.
• Frank Cirolia and Greg Evans, Marketing Committee Co-Chairs, reviewed recent activities of the committee. For the first time, the committee is organizing an Industry Session at APEC 2021 focused on Market Trends. The committee does not plan to sponsor the PSMA/APEC Passport Program at APEC2021 but will reconsider for future events. The committee had been planning programs to celebrate PSMA turning 35 and the announcement of the Chuck Mullett Lifetime Achievement Award at APEC 2020 and are looking ahead to opportunities to promote these at APEC 2021.
• Brian Narveson and John Bultitude, Packaging Committee Co-Chairs, reported the committee has been very active in the past year. Because of the impact of Covid19, all of the planned events for 2020 have been postponed and are being rescheduled for 2021. A PwrSoC Corridor 3 Session Webinar Series is scheduled for November 2020. Projects for 2021 include IWIPP in Aalborg Denmark in April, the rescheduling of 3D-PEIM Symposium in Osaka and PwrSoC Workshop at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Power Technology Roadmap Committee Co-Chairs Dhaval Dalal and Conor Quinn reported that due to the impact of Covid19, the next Roadmap will be delayed for one year and is now planned for 2022. The committee continues to identify volunteers to be co-chairs for select technology segments and will be holding meetings in the coming months to coordinate the content and format for the 2022 Roadmap.  The committee is encouraging the PSMA Technical Committees to identify topics and presenters for the PTR Webinar series.
• Reliability Committee Chair Brian Zahnstecher reported that the committee is looking for a co-chair to replace Tony O'Brien who recently retired. The Power Supply Communication Bus Reliability Special Project begun in late 2019 has been delayed and is being rescheduled. In addition, the committee is working with IEEE PELS to co-sponsor activities and is looking to attract more membership and contributions from Academia, National Labs and Users.
• John Horzepa reported that the Safety and Compliance Committee continues to seek volunteers to serve as co-Chairs and requested the group to suggest individuals from their organization that may be interested in contributing to the work of the committee. He plans to organize a committee meeting in the coming months. The committee continues to support and expand the Safety and Compliance Data Base on the PSMA website which is available to all PSMA members as well as to individuals in the power sources industry.
• Semiconductor Committee Co-Chairs Tirthajyoti Sarkar and Tim McDonald welcomed Reenu Garg as the committee's newest co-chair and reported that the Semiconductor Committee is very active with 5 to 10 members participating in the monthly meeting each month. The Committee had organized 4 industry sessions at APEC 2020 and were able to convert several of these presentations into webinars to support the 2022PTR. The committee is also considering creating a virtual tutorial for the industry.
• Ralph Taylor and Fred Weber, Transportation Electronics Committee Co-Chairs reported that committee is very active with 6-12 attendees at the monthly meetings. The committee has changed its name from Transportation Power Electronics to Transportation Electronics in order to include Autonomous Vehicle Technology. The committee continues to seek additional members from the Automotive industry segment and continues interaction with National Labs and other organizations involved with R&D projects in support of vehicle and transportation technologies.

Planning Exercise
There was a short break after the Committee Reports, and when the meeting reconvened, Fred Weber, PSMA President, led the planning exercise, introducing the "Power of the Pillars". During the first half of the meeting, he tracked the ideas brought up in the reports and split them into quick "Tiger Team" actions and long-term strategic issues. He opened the brainstorming session by reviewing the Four Pillars (Build on Strengths, Become more Applications Oriented, Integrate Metrics, Engage with Stakeholders) and inviting everyone at the meeting to suggest ideas for the coming year.

Building on the plans of the Technical Committees and the focus of the Executive Committee, and incorporating the ideas and suggestions from the brainstorming session, he compiled the following as the major activities for the coming year:

• Increasing Collaboration with iNEMI, IPC and other organizations
• Expanding relationship with PELS
• Refocus of the structure and content of the Power Technology Roadmap
• Focus on Autonomous vehicles and Smart mobility
• Focus on Storage technologies
• Increasing collaboration between Technical Committees

Summary and Close
Fred Weber thanked the attendees for their inputs and participation. PSMA members can view the minutes from the Planning Meeting in the Members Only section of the PSMA web site.