reparations for the 7th Annual IEEE / PSMA Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA ) are well underway.  This year's event will be held at the Marriott Stateview Hotel, which is located on North Carolina State University's campus in Raleigh, North Carolina.  From October 29 to 31, the workshop will offer one day of tutorials and two days of technical presentations that include plenary speakers, panel discussions, 12 technical tracks consisting of 48 oral presentations, and a poster session. 

There will be five 80-minute tutorials on October 29, 2019. Two happen during the morning session after breakfast; one covers the design of silicon carbide (SiC) circuit breakers and the other discusses using simulation while designing power modules and its impact on development time in the laboratory.  Three sessions will take place after lunch.  The first presents SiC and gallium nitride (GaN) based Switched-Tank Converters for data centers and electric vehicles.  The second tutorial describes best practices for using voltage acceleration to determine the reliability of GaN devices.  The final presentation covers the application of 10 kV to 15 kV SiC power devices in soft and hard-switching medium voltage converters.  More information about the tutorials is available on the workshop's website (https://wipda.org/tutorials/). 

The Welcome Reception follows the tutorials. It will be a casual evening with drinks and hors d'oeuvres open to all the WiPDA attendees.

The workshop formally begins on October 30, 2019 with two plenary presentations in the morning.  These are followed by two panel sessions: "GaN Power Device Market Adoption – What is the Status and What are the Barriers and Accelerators to Market Penetration," and "Challenges and Opportunities for SiC in High Power Applications."

After a lunch break, three more plenary presentations take place.  Subsequently, the day's technical sessions begin. Each session comprises three parallel tracks, with each track consisting of four presentations. The topics are SiC applications, GaN devices, and SiC devices.  The evening wraps up with the poster session, which is supported by JEDEC, and the workshop's banquet that is supported by Wolfspeed.

The last day of the event, October 31, 2019, begins with the final three plenary presentations.  Then there will be three more technical sessions covering nine tracks.  Three focus on SiC applications, two on GaN applications, two on SiC devices, one on GaN devices, and a special track on emerging technologies.

Sponsors and Exhibitions:

This year's workshop is made possible thanks to our three Platinum Sponsors: Applied Materials, Infineon Technologies, and Wolfspeed.  Additional support is provided by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), the Power Supply Manufacturer's Association (PSMA), the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), and PowerAmerica.  The workshop is also happy to host eight exhibitors along with our sponsors.  The exhibition runs during the conference.
There are still opportunities for companies to participate in the workshop.  Exhibition booths are available for showcasing products and networking with potential clients and customers.  Sponsorship opportunities are still available for businesses that want to be affiliated with the event.  More information is on the workshop's website at: http://wipda.org/exhibition-sponsorships/.  E-mail inquiries to exhibitsatwipda2019@gmail.com.

Registration:

Attendees can register at the workshop's website (https://wipda.org/registration/).  The advanced registration period ends September 20, 2019.  Afterwards, regular rates apply.  A block of rooms is set aside for attendees at a preferred rate of $159 per night plus taxes and local fees.  More information is available at https://wipda.org/venue/. 

For additional questions about the workshop, please contact wipda2019@gmail.com.  We look forward to seeing you in Raleigh at WiPDA 2019 this October.

Provided by Mark Scott, WiPDA 2019 Publicity Chair

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