IEEE Power Electronics Specialist Conference Beginnings

Henry Oman on the beginnings of the IEEE Power Electronics Specialist Conference
As I Remember It
.
"...November 11, 1986..."

... "The idea for the conference came up in a meeting of the Energy Conversion committee of the IEEE. This group later became part of the Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society. The Chairman of the committee was A. F. Forestieri, who was with NASA Lewis Research Laboratory in Cleveland."

"In 1969 electrical power conversion was being achieved with motor-generator sets and solid-state converters build with discrete transistors and SCRs. Integrated circuits were being developed for computers and radios. We could see that linear integrated circuits could also be used in power converters, and that specialized integrated circuits could replace complex and costly circuit boards being used to control the current-carrying components. It seemed appropriate to bring together the pioneer converter designers, such as (schwarz.htm) Francisc C. Schwarz and Daniel S. Golden, with the integrated-circuit designers."

"We had no "seed money," so we decided to hold a low-cost conference. The late Bill Cherry of NASA Goddard offered without cost his laboratory's auditorium, so we scheduled the conference there. By telephoning potential authors and session chairmen we organized a two-day meeting. I typed the program on my own typewriter and mailed it to potential attendees."

"Two weeks before the conference I broke my leg while skiing. Tom Wilson, the Vice Chairman, kindly took over the running of the conference, and Joe Voss was our representative from Seattle. Enthusiasm permeated the first Power Electronics Specialists Conference, and the second conference was organized on the spot."

"A search for an inspiring name for the conference took up much time in organizing meetings. The experimental approach was obviously successful, with the third title being permanently adopted. Dave Dobson, who represented IEEE in publishing the proceedings, was very vocal with his frustrations. Dave had to explain to libraries all over the world that the new proceedings, with a different title, were really the current year's issue of the the Power Conditioning Specialist's conference!"

"I though that you might find these early anecdotes amusing. If someone in 1970 had told us that an engineer would fly across the ocean to attend our conference, we wouldn't have believed him!"

"Very truly yours, /s/ Henry Oman"

Source: Excerpt from a letter by Henry Oman, Boeing Aerospace Co. to Jerrold Foutz. The letter provides background on the first IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, then called the Power Conditioning Specialists Conference held April 20-21, 1970 at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. Power Electronics Society Historical Archive 0000 0002

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