APEC

Attendees of the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) will converge in Orlando, FL, March 19-23, 2023. It's been 11 years since APEC was last held in Orlando and it should be great to return to this mecca of family fun and entertainment.

Preparations for our annual world-class, global power electronics conference are well underway. The conference committee is tasked with selecting the nearly 600 peer-reviewed papers from all of those submitted for presentation. A full suite of Industry Sessions as well as a complete schedule of half-day Professional Education Seminars are also being assembled. The Plenary Session Committee is lining up a great selection of industry luminaries to keynote our conference. The Tuesday evening Rap Sessions will again provide entertaining and informative debates.  And, of course, the Exhibit Hall, starting with the hosted reception on Monday evening and continuing Tuesday and Wednesday, will provide attendees with opportunities to speak to manufacturers about their latest product advances. 

Remember, you need to register to get access to the discounted hotel reservations. These special hotel blocks will sell out well before March.

On the Saturday prior to the start of APEC2023, PSMA and PELS will again be sponsoring two workshops, the eighth High Frequency Magnetics Workshop and the sixth Capacitor Workshop. For more information see the articles on each workshop in this issue of the UPDATE.

Speaking for all of us on the APEC Conference Committee, I invite you to come to Orlando to be part of our annual gathering. You really don't want to miss it.  Check the APEC website for details
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If you haven't already made plans to attend, don't wait any longer. Be sure you have it in your 2023 budget to attend this exceptional event – truly The Premier Event in Applied Power Electronics™

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2023 Publicity Chair

Planning is underway for APEC to return to Orlando, March 19-23, 2023. It will have been 11 years since APEC was last held in Orlando and a lot has changed over that time. APEC 2012 was one of the last to be held in a "hotel environment" as the event has since grown ever larger and now requires a "convention center" venue. APEC attendance has steadily increased from around 2,000 to over 5,000 in 2019.  Because of the COVID pandemic the APEC events have gone through a very difficult period as we strove to support our industry's need for information and education while not being able to meet in person. This year, APEC 2022 finally allowed us to get back together at an in-person event in Houston. While attendance was lower than in 2019, APEC 2022 still exceeded the attendance for the 2012 conference, and there was a palpable sense of excitement about finally returning to a face-to-face environment.

The expectations for APEC 2023 in Orlando, now that we better understand how to deal with this new environment, is that we will be back to increasing attendance. Exhibitors have already booked 80% of the exhibit hall space and the Conference Committee is planning for a full and exciting program.  Please visit https://www.apec-conf.org/ for the latest program updates. You can also see the latest list of exhibitors and have an opportunity to book one of the remaining exhibit booths.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Technical Sessions - Opens June 15

Submissions of technical papers for consideration are due by mid-August. Prospective authors are asked to submit a digest explaining the problem that will be addressed by the paper, the major results, and how this is different from the closest existing literature. Technical Papers presented at APEC must be original material and not have been previously presented nor  published. The principal criteria in selecting digests will be the usefulness of the work to the practicing power electronic professional. Reviewers also value evidence of completed experimental work. 

Professional Education Seminars – Opens in Early July

Professional Education Seminars at APEC2023 will address the need for in-depth discussion of important and complex power electronics topics. Submissions are due by early September. Professional Education Seminars are three-and-a-half hours (including breaks) in length, the scope can range from broad to narrow, and can vary from introductory to advanced technical levels. Topics should address the practical issues of the specification, design, manufacture and marketing of power electronic components, products, and systems.

Industry Sessions – Opens in Early July

The Industry Sessions are run in parallel with the Technical Sessions and have proven to be very popular. Submissions are due in early September. Interested Speakers are not required to submit a formal paper – only a PowerPoint presentation. The target audience for the Industry Sessions include system engineers/designers/architects as well as business-oriented individuals such as purchasing agents, information technologists, regulatory agencies, and others who support the power electronics industry.

Make your plans now to be part of APEC2023. Be sure to mark this important event on your calendar and to include it in your budget for next year. You are also invited to consider volunteering to be on the peer-review panel in areas where you are technically qualified. 

See you in Orlando!

Provided by Greg Evans,
APEC 2023 Publicity Chair

ver 40 PSMA members and guests attended the PSMA Annual Meeting, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX. The buffet breakfast before the meeting start provided attendees an opportunity for networking and meeting colleagues. The outgoing Chair Mike Hayes officially opened the meeting by welcoming all the attendees and asked each to briefly introduce themselves. Among those present were many of the recipients of the APEC Student Attendance Support. This is the eleventh year the support was provided jointly by IAS, PELS and PSMA.

Tim McDonald, Treasurer

After the introductions and approval of the 2021 PSMA Annual Meeting Minutes, Treasurer Tim McDonald reviewed the current financial status of PSMA with the current challenges resulting from the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic impacted on the revenue from PSMA sponsored workshops and conferences. As a result of the reductions in income, the Board of Directors have introduced a number of actions to minimize expenditures and generate additional income.

One new revenue generator introduced in 2021 is an Underwriting Program for the Power Technology Roadmap Webinars. To date the program has had moderate success and will be continued for the next Power Technology Roadmap Webinar series that will begin in third Quarter 2022. Meanwhile there has been a hold on financial support for Special Projects by the Technical Committees until the financial situation improves. In addition, the Board is considering an increase in Member Dues starting in 2023 as a way to increase revenues to support Special Projects.

Tim McDonald presented the assumptions for the six-quarter financial forecast and included two scenarios, with and without a dues increase, to show the potential financial impact to the Association. He emphasized that it is important to have the funding to support Special Projects for the benefit of the membership and industry.  

Next on the agenda was the election of four people to the Board of Directors. The following candidates were elected to the Board of Directors for the three-year term (2022-2025):

• Thomas FoulkesPacergy LLC (Affiliate Member)
• Reenu GargMicrochip Technology (Regular Member)
• Trifon LiakopoulosEnaChip Inc. (Regular Member) – second term
• Llew Vaughan-EdmundsNavitas Semiconductor  (Regular Member)

Mike thanked outgoing board members Stephen Oliver, Ralph Taylor and Matt Wilkowski. Mike Hayes and the attendees congratulated and welcomed all four members to the board.

Mike Hayes, reflected on the actives and progress of the Executive Committee over the past two years including more clearly defining the roles of each Executive Committee member, implementing the Power of the Pillars and strengthening our relationship with other industry organizations.
 
Mike then reviewed some of PSMA's major successes over the past year including:

• The 2022 Power Technology Roadmap publication
• Improved branding (new logo, new web site, new PowerPoint templates)
• Creation of the Energy Storage Committee and additional focus of the Industry-Education Committee
• Successful conferences and workshops (APEC, 3D-PEIM, PwrSoC, WiPDA, and EnerHarv coming soon)
• Publication of the Energy Harvesting White Paper
• Prudential financial management that allowed PSMA to weather the Covid-19 storm to date.

Mike then discussed PSMA's strategic direction – IoT, Energy Storage and Smart Mobility. Mike underlined that PSMA's success comes mainly from the efforts of the technical committees. Volunteers are the greatest assets of PSMA and Mike thanked everyone for their contributions.

After his presentation, Mike introduced the newly elected Executive Committee for the term 2022-2024:

• Chair                           Fred Weber
• President                     Trifon Liakopopolos
• Vice President             Renee Yawger
• Secretary/Treasurer     Tim McDonald

Fred Weber and Mike Hayes

Fred Weber, Incoming Chair, thanked Mike for his excellent leadership during the difficult period of the pandemic and his innovations and expanded roles of the Executive Committee. Fred expressed his desire to continue the growth and progress made over the last two years. In his remarks, he highlighted that a number of the Technical Committees need additional leadership support going forward especially the Reliability and Safety & Compliance Committees that currently do not have chairs. He also discussed the need for increased cross collaboration between the Technical Committees.

Fred then briefly reviewed the Power of the Pillars noting that this will be continued as a key focus of the Executive Committee with Trifon Liakopoulos, President, leading the effort for the next 2 years.

Trifon Liakopoulos reported on the current efforts to create and track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Focus areas include Membership Growth, with a target of 3% or more annually, Market Share to help to understand what areas should be targeted for increased growth, and member and industry engagement with PSMA Special Projects, Workshops and Webinars. Trifon reviewed membership trends since 2017, broken down by membership category. Renee Yawger, Vice-President, will be leading the KPI effort for the new Executive Committee.

The Chair recognized the contributions of Steve Carlsen, Frank Cirolia, Ed Herbert and Matt Wilkowski for their outstanding leadership and contributions to Technical Committees over the past several years and presented each with a plaque to express the appreciation of PSMA for their service and continued contributions to the Association. He also recognized and presented a Recognition Award to Stephen Oliver for his contributions and more than 10 years of service on the PSMA board. Finally, Mike Hayes was recognized and received a Special Recognition Award with Gavel for his contributions and leadership as the outgoing PSMA Chair.

Steve Carlsen and Fred Weber

 
Frank Cirolia and Fred Weber

 
Ed Herbert and Fred Weber

Matt Wilkowski and Fred Weber 

Stephen Oliver and Fred Weber

Each of the PSMA Committees presented their report for the past year and future plans. You can read more about these in the separate article.

Omer Onar, General Chair for APEC 2022, provided an update on the overall conference. APEC 2022 marks the return to an in-person conference, the first one since 2019. APEC 2022 has a full program of events. Paper submissions were down from previous years due to both that APEC 2021 was held in June rather than March and the continued impact of COVID-19.  The schedule includes 45 Technical Sessions, 30 Lecture Sessions and 15 Poster Sessions, 25 Industry Sessions and a full complement of Professional Educational Seminars as well as 3 Rap Sessions, 215 exhibitors in the Exhibit Hall and a Social Event. As of Sunday, there were 2600 total registrations with around 950 paid registrations, this represents about 60% of the most recent pre-pandemic attendance numbers. Pradeep Shenoy will be the General Chair for APEC 2023 which will be held at the March 19-23, 2023 in Orlando, Florida.

Omer Onar, APEC 2022 General Chair

The invited speaker at this year's Annual Meeting was Matt Kelly, Chief Technologist of IPC. The title of his presentation was "Factory of the Future and Advanced Packaging for Power Electronics: Needs and Collaboration Opportunities."  Matt introduced IPC to the attendees and highlighted their work in standards and how IPC and PSMA can work together for the betterment of the industry.  His presentation was very well received with an energetic Q&A session following the formal presentation.

Matt Kelly, IPC

Before adjourning, Chair Fred Weber asked the attendees for their comments and any suggestions for the future directions and activities for Association that would increase the value of their membership. A number of areas were discussed and will be considered by the Board. Fred thanked all presenters and attendees for their participation and invited interested individuals to attend the March meeting of the PSMA Board of Directors, which immediately followed.

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.

The Annual Meeting, PSMA Committee meetings, as well as the technical sessions, seminars, Industry Presentations, exhibits and other events kept PSMA members busy all the week. The APEC social event gave everyone a chance to relax and enjoy themselves.

There was a full exhibit hall at APEC 2022. Many of the PSMA member companies exhibiting participated in a "Passport" game in which attendees who visited their booths had their passport booklets stamped. Attendees turned in their completed passports for a chance to win prizes donated by Passport Sponsors Rubadue Wire, Premier Magnetics, Microchip and Navitas Semiconductor as well as bonus prizes provided by Power Integrations. Traffic to members' booths was brisk and the lucky winners were very happy with the prizes.

Each of the PSMA Technical Committees provided updates on the recent activities of their committees at the Annual Meeting that was held at APEC 2022 in Houston, TX. In addition, each Committee also held individual face-to-face meetings during the week of APEC 2022.

Fred Weber, Capacitor Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee meets monthly with 10-12 people attending. The 3 Capacitor Committee co-chairs are each responsible for different activities: APEC Industry Sessions, webinars and organizing the annual Capacitor workshop.

The committee organized and held a successful in-person workshop prior to APEC2022 and has organized a4-Speaker APEC Industry Session The committee made contributions to the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap and to the associated Webinar Series. They plan to restart the Capacitor Fundamentals Educational Webinar series with updated material.

Mike Hayes and Brian Zahnstecher, Energy Harvesting Committee Co-Chairs, reported that committee membership continues to grow, and they now have over 50 members from 4 continents, including adding 8 new members in the past year. One of the key activities for the committee this year was the publication of a White Paper, Energy Harvesting for a Green Internet of Things, which was published  in September of 2021. The White Paper was very well received and has been cited in several industry publications since being released.

The Committee also provided several contributions to the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap Report and associated Webinar Series. For APEC2022 they have organized an Industry Session including both presentations and live demos. Finally, the Energy Harvesting Committee has organized and will host the 2022 EnerHarv Workshop in Raleigh, NC two weeks after the conclusion of APEC.

David Chen, PSMA Energy Management Committee Chair

David Chen, Energy Management Committee Chair, reported that the committee meets monthly and has 35 people on the distribution list, with about 12 active members. The committee supported and contributed a webinar to the 2022 Power Technology Report and has organized a six presentation Industry Session for APEC 2022.

The Committee is currently working on an Appliance Energy Efficiency Regulations Roadmap project which is intended to be a slide-deck presentation with staged releases as part of a 2022 webinar series. Committee collaborations include the PSMA Transportation Electronics Committee and the Emerge Alliance. In addition, the Committee oversees both the Energy Efficiency Database and the Safety and Compliance Database which have had continued growth.

Energy Storage Committee Co-Chair Ed Herbert reported the committee began as a subcommittee of the Capacitor and Energy Management Committees and became an official stand-alone Technical Committee in 2021. The Committee organized Industry Sessions for APEC 2021 and APEC 2022. Committee meetings include participation from IEEE PELS TC 5 and Tyndall National Institute which help strengthen PSMA's relationships with other organizations involved with Energy Storage.

John Horzepa reviewed the objectives of the Industry-Education Committee to promote interaction between students and the power electronics industry, to promote opportunities in power electronics to university and pre-university students, and to support young power electronics professionals entering the industry. The committee has been very active over the past year with activities including the APEC Student Attendance Support Program and providing resources on the PSMA website including Student Resumes, University Resources, and Educational courses. The committee initiated a Seminar Series in 2021 with IEEE PELS, with 3 sessions held to date focused on providing helpful information geared to young professionals and more planned for 2022. The Committee will also participate in Young Professionals outreach at APEC 2022 including the IEEE PELS and IAS Young Professionals Social Event and the Women in Engineering Breakfast sponsored by IEEE PELS. 

Ed Herbert, Magnetics Committee Co-Chair, reported that the committee has held monthly meetings this past year with an about 15 committee members attending. The Committee provided several contributions to the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap Report including 3 webinars. The committee has organized an Industry Session for APEC 2022. 

Under the leadership of Matt Wilkowski, George Slama and Ed Herbert, the committee, with technical support from IEEE PELS, organized the seventh pre-APEC high frequency magnetics workshop. The workshop returned to an in-person format in 2022 after holding virtual workshops the past 2 years. An eighth workshop is being planned for APEC 2023.

Greg Evans, PSMA Marketing Committee Co-Chair

Greg Evans, Marketing Committee Co-Chair, provided an overview of the committee and highlighted some of the activities on its current agenda. The main focus of the committee recently has been to increase PSMA membership. Chris Whaling, Committee Co-Chair, is leading a sub-committee focused on this effort. The Committee has been leveraging social media to promote PSMA events and activities without incurring the expense for press releases. The committee has also been involved in giving input and review for the new PSMA website. The committee updated and printed a new PSMA Membership Brochure and continued the Passport Program for Exhibitors at APEC2022.

Power Packaging and Manufacturing Committee Co-Chair, John Bultitude, reported that the committee has about 25 active members, with 10-15 attending each monthly meeting. The Committee has organized a seven presentation Industry Session for APEC 2022 and is also supporting several upcoming Workshop events, including IWIPP 2022, 3D-PEIM 2023 and PwrSoC 2023. Committee members continue to participate in the collaborative efforts between PSMA and IPC and iNEMI. The Committee also contributed to the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap Report and Webinar Series.

The Packaging and Manufacturing Committee sees a need in the industry for a Special Project Technology Report focused on Integrated and Embedded Magnetics for Power Sources. This Special Project could be a done in conjunction with the Magnetics Committee when financial resources become available.

Dhaval Dalal and Conor Quinn,
PSMA Power Technology Roadmap Committee Chairs

Dhaval Dalal and Conor Quinn, Power Technology Roadmap Committee Co-Chairs, reported that the committee has completed work on the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap Report which has been published and will be distributed to the membership. In support of the Roadmap, the committee organized a record 22 Technical Webinars with excellent attendance. The 2022 Report includes a new section on DC-AC inverters and some existing sections were revamped.

At APEC2022, there will be a Plenary Presentation presented by Ritu Sodhi on the evolution of the PSMA Power Technology Roadmaps. Conor and Dhaval extended their appreciation to all who helped make the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap a success. The committee will be meeting during APEC2022 to discuss plans for the next Roadmap effort.

Brian Zahnstecher, Reliability Committee Chair, reported that the committee meets monthly with 17 members on the committee distribution list. Brian announced that he is stepping down as Chair and a new Chair is needed.  He thanked everyone on the Committee and the PSMA Board for their support during his time as Chair. The Committee recently sponsored an EPSMA webinar that was very well attended and has facilitated the collaboration with IPC for a new Standard (IPC 2701) with and in person meeting scheduled for the week of APEC. The Committee also contributed to the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap Report and Webinar Series.

John Horzepa reported that the Safety & Compliance Committee is currently dormant and in need of new leadership. The Committee hosted two webinars in 2021on EMC that were presented by Recom Power which were well received with excellent attendance.  A Committee meeting is scheduled during APEC to see if there is interest in reviving the committee.

Reenu Garg, PSMA Semiconductor Committee Co-Chair

Reenu Garg, Co-Chair of the Semiconductor Committee, reported the committee meets monthly and has been very active this past year. The committee has organized three Industry Sessions for APEC 2022, "Integration in WBG Semiconductors: Increased Power Density and Advanced Functionalities at Application Level," "SiC and GaN Product and Technology Reliability, Robustness and Qualification" and "Power Devices – Performance, Achievements and Road Ahead" The sessions include a total of 18 presentations.

The committee has also provided support to the 2022 Power Technology Roadmap including organizing a component section and contributing several webinars to the Roadmap Webinar Series. The committee supports the Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA) which was held virtually in 2021 and plans an in-person workshop in Redondo Beach, CA in 2022.

Fred Weber, Transportation Electronics Committee Co-Chair, reported the committee meets monthly with 12-15 people attending each meeting. The committee has been very active this past year and has organized an Industry Session for APEC 2022 "Transportation Electronics, Faster, Cheaper, Lighter." The Committee is currently planning a virtual Workshop on Vehicle Electrification to be held in 2022. The workshop is collaborating with IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference (ITEC) to cross promote both events. A critical focus for the Committee is to extend their reach into Autonomous Vehicle Technology.

More information about the PSMA committees was made available during the week at the individual committee meetings. PSMA members and guests were encouraged to attend these meetings to learn more about the committees and to help plan activities for the coming year.

All PSMA Technical Committee meetings are held via a monthly one hour webconference and are open to individuals interested in learning about and participating in the work of the committees. You can see the schedule of upcoming meetings at https://www.psma.com/news/meeting-schedule. This is an excellent way to network with others and to influence the technical direction of the committees.

APEC 2022 marked a return from the pandemic to an in-person event, and PSMA partnered with IEEE PELS and IEEE IAS to engage with Young Professionals and Women in Engineering during the conference. On Tuesday, March 22 representatives of several PSMA Technical Committees and the PSMA Office attended the IEEE IAS/PELS Young Professionals Reception.  The event provided an opportunity for IAS, PELS and PSMA committee representatives to interact with young professionals excited to attend the in-person conference. PSMA was represented by Mike Hayes, Energy Harvesting Committee; Frank Puhane, Capacitor Committee; Jaume Roig, Semiconductor Committee, Brian Zahnstecher, Reliability Committee; and John Horzepa, PSMA Office.  On behalf of PSMA, Mike Hayes provided attendees with an introduction to PSMA at the beginning of the event.  After the introductions of each organization, the reception provided the Young Professionals an informal opportunity to network and mingle. All of the PSMA representatives were impressed by the Young Professionals they met and felt they had good conversations with this next generation of Power Electronics Professionals. They look forward to future engagements in the PSMA committees with these Young Professionals.

The next morning, March 23, PSMA was invited to attend the Women in Engineering (WiE) breakfast sponsored by IEEE PELS.  John Horzepa of the PSMA office and PSMA Vice President Renee Yawger represented PSMA.  Stephanie Watts-Butler, WiE Steering Committee Member, introduced the various organizations represented and encouraged the attendees to talk to as many groups as possible.  John and Renee had several good conversations with the women (and men!) attending the breakfast and encouraged all of them to become active in PSMA committees and activities.  There was a lot of interest in what PSMA is doing and how the attendees can engage.

Both events were a welcome opportunity to be out and interacting with new potential members in a live face-to-face setting instead of via a Zoom call.  There was a lot of excitement from the attendees to understand what PSMA is doing and how PSMA can help them advance their careers.

We look forward to continuing the interactions with these groups during APEC2023.