uilding upon the very successful APEC2019 in Anaheim, the APEC2020 will take place for the first time since 1988 in New Orleans. Our initial return visit, planned for 2005, was undermined by Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, we were able to relocate that year's event to Dallas.  A lot have things have changed since that APEC in 1988.  Back in the 1980s, APEC took place in hotel meeting rooms with a small ballroom exhibit. Since then, APEC has grown to be the unrivaled venue for the Power Electronics Industry and our industry has emerged to its rightful place as enabling many of the advances in electronics technology. Back in 1988, a competitive power supply had an efficiency of maybe 85%, today we are discussing supplies with 98% efficiency.  Back then, we had APEC attendance that numbered in the hundreds. In 2019, we had over 6,000!

Technical Sessions - Now Open

Submissions of technical papers for consideration are due by late July. (Right now, the date is July 19, but this is subject to change.) 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. 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 value evidence of completed experimental work.  Go here for more information and submission details: https://www.apec-conf.org/callfortechnicalsessionpapers

Professional Education Seminars – Opens in Early July

Professional Education Seminars at APEC2020 will address the need for in-depth discussion of important and complex power electronics topics. Submission are due by early September. Seminars are three-and-a-half hours (including breaks) in length, can range from broad to narrow in scope, and can vary from introductory to advanced in technical level. Topics selected are to address the practical issues of the specification, design, manufacture and marketing of power electronic components, products, and systems. Visit the APEC website to find out more information when available.

Industry Sessions – Opens in Early July

The Industry Sessions run in parallel with the technical sessions and have proven to be very popular. Submissions are due by early September. Speakers are invited to make a presentation only without submitting a formal paper. The target audience for these sessions differs from the engineers in typical technical sessions and may include system engineers/architects and business-oriented individuals such as purchasing agents, information technologists, regulatory agencies, and others who support the power electronics industry. Visit the APEC website to find out more information on the program when available.

Make your plans to be part of APEC2020. Be sure you have this important event on your calendar and included in your budget for next year. And do your part to make it an even better conference by volunteering to be on the technical paper peer-review panel in areas where you are qualified. 

See you in New Orleans – Laissez Bon Temps Roule.

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2020 Publicity Chair

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