NSF Workshop on Power Electronics. To be Held at National Science Foundation in the fall of 2016.

电力电子学是一种电路，它经常结合快速开关动作、滤波和先进的控制方法，以便将一种电压形式转换为另一种电压形式，目标是100%的功率效率和低成本。这通常意味着将较高的交流或直流电压转换为可以为设备供电的低得多的直流电压，例如电器、平板电脑、手机等。然而，有时需要增加直流输入电源(如太阳能电池板)的电压，以便它可以为120伏的交流负载供电或连接到该电源。几乎所有家用电器和消费电子产品都需要电源转换器来连接电源和负载设备，因此电源转换器对几乎所有电子设备的效率和成本都至关重要。因此，电力电子技术的进步对全国都有很大影响。它们与材料科学、计算机和通信工程、热和可靠性工程、集成电路和封装、工业设计和许多其他领域的进步相结合。从历史上看，电力电子有时被视为为技术和应用的主要功能提供动力的“补充”构件。然而，最近人们意识到，这种设计观点会导致能源利用效率低下，并往往会限制最终产品的性能和功能。通过将系统中的能量处理视为其功能的核心部分，系统的能力、形状因数和能量需求通常可以得到极大的增强。在跨越这一设计边界的过程中，必须重新评估电力电子的传统概念和定义。此外，需要建立一个基础设施，以培训具备支持外地新需求的技能的下一代劳动力。本次NSF研讨会汇聚了电力电子研究领域的领导者和工业界人士，共同探讨电力电子研究的未来方向。NSF研讨会的一个目标是确定和讨论电力电子领域的新理念，这些新理念将对现代电子、家电、智能负载和能源供应设备等应用的功能、高效能源利用和性能产生重大影响。人们特别感兴趣的是能够极大地提高能源来源和利用率的进步，和/或能够实现造福社会的重要新功能的进步。研讨会将为推进电力电子及相关应用的基础和实用知识制定路线图。将特别关注：1)电力电子新兴应用的机遇，如计算和通信、机器人、能源生产和利用、交通运输和生物医学应用；2)新兴技术及其在电力电子中的影响，如半导体器件和磁学的进步；3)电力电子新兴设计技术，如多目标优化设计方法、面向可靠性的设计、小型化和集成化的超高频设计以及封装和模块化方法；4)对该领域有重大影响的悬而未决的问题和挑战，如可再生能源的高渗透率造成的电网振荡和不稳定，以及磁性部件铁损的准确建模。此外，研讨会将为来自工业界和学术界的研究人员之间的建设性互动提供机会，以讨论行业挑战并确定该领域面临的主要障碍。该研讨会预计将对电力电子的研究和教育产生重大影响。

Power electronics are electric circuits that frequently combine fast switching actions, filtering, and advanced control methods in order to convert one voltage form into another voltage form, with a goal of 100% power efficiency and low cost. Often this means converting a higher AC or DC voltage into a much lower DC voltage that can power devices, such as appliances, tablets, cell phones, etc. However, sometimes it is necessary to increase the voltage of a DC input power source, such as a solar panel, so that it can power or become connected to an AC load that is at 120 Volts. Virtually all appliances and consumer electronics require a power converter to interface between the power source and the load device, and therefore power converters are vital to the efficiency and cost of virtually all electronic devices. Advancements in power electronics, therefore, have high national impact. They are synergistic with advances in materials science; computer and communications engineering; thermal and reliability engineering; integrated circuits and packaging; industrial design; and many other fields. Historically, power electronics have sometimes been viewed as "supplemental" building blocks to power the main functions of technologies and applications. However, it has recently been realized that this design view leads to inefficient use of energy and can often limit the performance and functions of the final product. By treating the energy processing in a system as a core part of its functionality, the capabilities, form factor and energy requirements of a system can often be greatly enhanced. In crossing this design boundary, the traditional concepts and definitions of power electronics must be reassessed. Furthermore, an infrastructure needs to be established for training the next generation workforce equipped with the skills to support emerging needs of the field. This NSF workshop brings together leaders in the power electronics research and industrial communities to discuss future directions in power electronics research.A goal of this NSF workshop is to identify and discuss the new ideas in power electronics that can have a significant impact on the functionality, efficient energy utilization and performance of applications encompassing modern electronics, appliances, smart loads, and energy supply devices, among other areas. There is a particular interest in advancements that can greatly enhance energy sources and utilization, and/or which enable important new functions that benefit society. The workshop will create a roadmap for advancing fundamental and practical knowledge in power electronics and associated applications. Special attention will be given to: 1) Opportunities in emerging applications of power electronics, such as computation and communications, robotics, energy generation and utilization, transportation and biomedical applications; 2) Emerging technologies and their impact in power electronics, such as advances in semiconductor devices and magnetics; 3) Emerging design techniques for power electronics, such as multi-objective optimization design approaches, reliability oriented design, ultra-high frequency design for miniaturization and integration, and packaging and modularization methods; 4) Unsolved problems and challenges having large implications for the field, such as oscillations and instabilities in the grid that are caused by high penetration of renewable energy, and accurate modelling of core loss in magnetic components. Additionally, the workshop will provide an opportunity for constructive interactions among researchers from both industry and academia to discuss industrial challenges and identify major obstacles facing the field. The workshop is expected to have significant impact on research and education in power electronics.