Event
Booz Allen Hamilton Distinguished Colloquium - Lee
Friday, February 27, 2015
3:00 p.m.
1110 Kim Engineering Building
Jasmine Cooper
301 405 3114
cooperj@umd.edu
http://www.ece.umd.edu/events/colloquium
Booz Allen Hamilton Distinguished Colloquium in Electrical and Computer Engineering
"Energy and Power Electronics"
Prof. Fred Lee
Virgina Tech
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.
Biography:
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 Academic of Engineering, an academician of Academia Sinica, and a foreign member of the Chinese Academic 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 programs.
