Australia Chosen as Site for PESC 2002

By Dean Patterson

At the PELS Meetings Committee meeting at APEC '97 in Atlanta on February 22, the results of the site selection process for PESC 2002 were announced. The winning bid came from a group of Australians led by Dean Patterson, who is an at-large member of the PELS Administrative Committee, and currently Educational Activities Chair. He was delighted with the announcement, and said that the bid was from a group of Australians with strengths in power electronics spread right across the country.

Since the bid is not from one particular geographical group in Australia, it was able to choose the most attractive site in Australia, and has chosen Cairns, on the coast of far north Queensland. Cairns is the "tropical capital" of Australia, lying 17 degrees south of the Equator, and on the same parallel as Tahiti and Fiji. The conference will be held from Sunday, June 23rd to Thursday, June 27th, 2002, and whilst June is wintertime in Southern Australia, its the tropical dry season in Cairns with perfect weather, almost no rain, minimum temperatures of 17 degrees Celsius, and maximums of around 26 degrees (63 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit). The minimum seawater temperature at this time is 23 degrees Celsius. (73 F)

There are at present ten international airlines operating 184 scheduled international aircraft each week at Cairns International Airport. There are daily flights from/to Japan, the UK and Europe, and several flights per week to and from the United States and Hong Kong. Daily flights connect Cairns with all major cities around Australia.

Cairns boasts two World Heritage Listed areas, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests. It is also within easy reach of the Queensland "outback", a popular destination for overseas visitors looking for a uniquely Australian experience.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world, and is a must for visitors to Cairns. There are many ways of seeing the reef, from full-day excursions on high-speed catamarans or sail boats, to helicopters or seaplanes. Most tours allow visitors to view the reef from glass bottom boats, submarines, snorkeling or scuba diving, and generally include lunch out on the reef.

The new Skyrail gondola railway (the longest in the world) allows visitors to ride just meters above the rainforest in a spectacular journey from Smithfield to Kuranda up on the Atherton Tableland. Cairns is a very compact city, reminiscent of Baveno, Italy, the site of PESC '96, with everything in easy walking distance. The conference will be held in the new Cairns convention centre, and there are a range of hotels all within a few hundred metres of the centre.

The speciality of power electronics has a core of researchers in Australia who are developing genuine collaborative links. Dean said that the awarding of this conference at this time will indicate a significant level of confidence and support from the international community to the development of Power Electronics in Australia.

Dean Patterson

Faculty of Technology

Northern Territory University

Darwin, NT 0909 Australia

TEL: +61-8-89-466389

FAX: +61-8-89-466993 (paper)

FAX: +61-8- 89-466994 (pc, if running)

e-mail patterson@darwin.ntu.edu.au

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