New For APEC 2004

MORE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE

The APEC Committee has worked hard this year to bring you more of the content that you want to see. The paper review process was overhauled to better guide the reviewers to select papers with a more applied and practical focus. All of the papers in the Plenary Session were specially solicited to bring you the latest information on several important areas in power electronics. A special task force, the APEC OEM Initiative Working Group, sought out leaders in power electronics to bring you seminars and presentations of current interest. The APEC Committee is excited about these innovations and believes you will be also. As you attend the conference, please let us know if we have succeeded in bringing your more of the information you want and need-and don't hesitate to let us know how we can do better!

MORE PAPERS THAN EVER BEFORE!

This year the APEC program committee accepted 297 high quality papers - a 50% increase from previous years. The technical program consists of 33 oral Presentation Sessions with 206 papers on a wide range of topics including ac-dc power supplies, dc-dc converters, motor drives, inverters, lamp ballasts, magnetics, EMI/EMC, modeling and control and applications on automotives and energies. Furthermore, in response to the record number of quality papers submitted this year, 7 Dialogue Sessions have been added on Thursday to accommodate additional 91 papers. These Dialogue Sessions are of equal quality but more appropriate for face-to-face discussions, providing attendees with greater breath of published materials plus a lively dialogue environment.

BEST PLENARY EVER

The APEC Committee has planned the Plenary Session to bring you important information on the latest development in several areas of power electronics. With presentations like:

• The PSMA's report on the power electronics technology roadmap for the next five years,
• A review of developments in digital control,
• A call to action from a leading OEM to meet the ever more demanding power needs of electronic equipment,
• A forecast of how the power electronics business will look in the future,
• The role of power electronics in alternative energy supplies, and
• How the need to conserve energy will drive requirements for higher and higher power supply efficiency.

You can't afford to miss the best APEC Plenary Session ever.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION SESSIONS

There are three special presentation sessions to address issues of current interest. One session will look at how the changes in semiconductor and IC technology will affect the power requirements for new devices. This is your chance to get an early warning on the power challenges that will arrive in the next three to five years.

Another session gives a broad look at current research in power electronics at leading power electronics research institutions. This session will offer a fascinating look into seven different laboratories working on power from microwatts to megawatts.

In the third session, six leading suppliers of semiconductors to the power electronics industry review how changes in silicon technology will offer improved discrete and integrated devices in the next three to five years. After hearing about the challenges the IC makers will be bringing, here is the chance to learn about the new devices that will help us meet those challenges.

EXPANDED SEMINAR PROGRAM

For years, APEC has offered fifteen Professional Education Seminars. This has been the best and broadest seminar program available at any power electronics conference in the world.

This year, APEC takes the Seminars to a new level, adding two tracks-six seminars-for the power electronics professional who is not a designer. Topics include:

• An introduction to the power supply business,
• A seminar on alternate business models for the power supply business,
• An overview of worldwide regulatory requirements with an emphasis on knowing what your product has to meet and how to get it approved,
• A look at what "lead free" means for power electronics manufacturers,
• Four leading OEMs discussing the best practices for qualifying power supplies and power suppliers (this is a rare opportunity to learn from the best of the best and is not to be missed!) and
• A seminar on quality that emphasizes getting right in production in order to minimize failures in the field.

With a total of 21 seminars, there is certainly something for everyone in the power electronics business. And APEC charges less to attend any and all of these seminars than most conferences charge to attend just one. This makes the APEC Professional Education Seminar program a value that can't be beat!

NEW CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

The Conference Committee has also made some slight changes to the conference schedule. The net effect is that Tuesday evening is now open time and our Exhibitors are encouraged to host hospitality events after the Rap Sessions. Be on the lookout for the chance to talk with your favorite Exhibitors in depth on Tuesday evening in their hospitality suites. To make sure the overall time you have in the Exposition Hall is not reduced, the Wednesday morning sessions have been shortened and the Exhibit Hall will open at 10:30 AM.