ECE and WISER Joint Lecture: Energy and Power Electronics
Join the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for the Distinguished Speaker Seminar co-hosted by Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER). The event will feature Dr. Fred C. Lee, Member, National Academy of Engineering; Member, Chinese Academy of Engineering; Fellow, IEEE; Director, Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES); University Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, who will present his lecture, Energy and Power Electronics.
Abstract
Today, only 40% of the energy is in the form of electrical energy. According to the US Department of Energy, for a sustainable society, 80% of the energy consumption must be in the form of electricity. This presents an enormous potential in the development of power electronics to be driven by such emerging technologies as smart power grids, effectively integrating various forms of renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar power and energy storage systems.
Power electronics is the engineering discipline utilized to convert electrical power from one form to another. The technology is manifested through the increased energy efficiency, and through higher industrial productivity results from the ability to precisely control the electrical power for manufacturing operations. According to the US Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), power electronics solutions can save 1/3 of the world’s electrical power consumption. However, the full potential of power electronics has not yet been realized due to its high initial installation cost. To realize its full potential a paradigm shift in power electronics systems and design practice is eminent. This talk is attempted to capture some of the significant development events and trends in power electronics technologies, and highlight some challenges and opportunities.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Lee is currently a University Distinguished Professor and Founder and Director of the NSF ERC for Power Electronics Systems (CPES), a preeminent academic center in power electronics research at Virginia Tech. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an academician of Academia Sinica, and a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. As CPES Director, Dr. Lee leads a program encompassing research, technology development, educational outreach, industry collaboration, and technology transfer. CPES focuses its research to meet industry needs and allows industry to profit from the Center’s research and outputs. The CPES program enables its principal industry members to sponsor graduate fellowships and provides the opportunity to direct research in areas of mutual interest, as well as the ability to access IPs generated collectively by all industry-funded fellowships on a royalty-free and non-exclusive basis. To date, more than 150 companies worldwide have benefited from this industry partnership program. The center has been cited by NSF as a model ERC for its industry collaboration and technology transfer, education, and outreach. Dr. Lee has served as major advisor to 83 MS and 76 Ph.D. students. He holds 74 US patents, and has published 270 journal articles and over 660 refereed technical papers. According to Microsoft H index, he is rated among the top three best cited authors for more than 2.5 million engineering authors in the world. He has received numerous awards, including the IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000 and the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering in 2015. His research interests include high-frequency power conversion, magnetics and EMI, distributed power systems, renewable energy, power quality, high-density electronics packaging and integration, and modeling and control
For more information regarding this seminar, please contact Dr. Qing-Chang Zhong, Max McGraw Endowed Chair Professor in Energy and Power Engineering and Management, IIT, zhongqc@iit.edu, Tel: 312.567.5785.