January 1997 Volume 9, Number 1
The President's Message
Happy new year to everyone! I would like to extend a hearty greeting to the members of the Power Electronics Society, and, in particular, to welcome all new members. You can be proud of your membership in IEEE and in this Society. There are many volunteers that work hard at providing services and intellectual products for the good of our profession. The mission of all the PEL Society officers, administrative committee members, conference organizers, and staff is to provide the highest quality service to our members by adding value to your professional and personal relationships with this Society. In short, this Society exists solely to serve you, the member. I invite anyone that has ideas about or is interested in the operation and improvement of the Society to please contact me or any member of the Administrative Committee. I can be reached electronically at hudgins@ece.sc.edu, by FAX at +1-803-777-8045 or by voice mail at +1-803-777-5174 in the US.
Technical Interest Survey
This past year a number of conference attendees and Society members responded to a technical interest survey. A compilation of these responses indicated that there was a clear interest in establishing more technical activity within the PELS. The absolute number of respondents was 78 (62 of whom are PELS members), a small number compared to the Society membership and attendees at Society-sponsored conferences and workshops. Nonetheless, I believe the response is a good indicator of the interest in the growth of professional activities of the Society. The table below summarizes the main interest areas with the corresponding percentage of total respondents, where respondents often chose several areas.
Interest Area Percentage of Total Respondents
Analysis and Control of Power Converters 65%
DC Power Supplies 51%
Computer-Aided Design 49%
Motor Controls and Drives 47%
Power Quality 43%
AC Power Supplies 43%
Semiconductor Devices and Power ICs 43%
High Power Applications 42%
There is significant interest in telecommunications applications, magnetics, and packaging, in all of which PELS already has an active technical committee or subgroup. Twentyfour percent of the respondents also were interested in becoming involved in standards development.
There are many opportunities to be involved in the existing technical committees and subgroups, help in the formation of new technical committees, work with conference committees and workshops, review papers for the Transactions on Power Electronics, develop standards, and become involved in administrative activities. I urge each of you to take part in the Society's activities in some way. It exists for your benefit and works better when you are involved.
As a final note, a caucus of the PELS Administrative Committee and the Executive Board of the IEEE Industry Applications Society will occur in conjunction with the 1997 Applied Power Electronics Conference in Atlanta. The purpose is a continuation of the dialogue between the two Societies to further cooperative ventures in areas of mutual interest and benefit to our members. I fully intend to carry on the efforts toward cooperation and inclusion started by my predecessors. I hope to see many of you in Atlanta in February.
Jerry Hudgins, PELS President, hudgins@ece.sc.edu
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