IEEE Power Electronics Society History

January 1, 1983 - IEEE Power Electronics Council

February 2, 1988 - Name change to IEEE Power Electronics Society

Are you a member of this society? Please help expand the article by using the edit tab.

The IEEE Power Electronics Society was founded in 1988, after a few years of operation as the Power Electronics Council. This followed the gradual emergence of power electronics as a distinct discipline in the 1970s and 1980s. Many of the early society leaders had been involved in the IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference (PESC) which began in 1970, and the IEEE International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC) which began in 1978. The Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), which began in 1986, was an early response to growing Council interests. Today, the society sponsors a wide range of international conferences and workshops across many application areas and topics within the field, in addition to broad conferences such as INTELEC, APEC, and the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), the successor to PESC. The society has grown from a few active committees to a global organization with more than 8,000 members.

The Power Electronics Society (PELS) is one of the fastest growing technical societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). For more than twenty years, PELS has facilitated and guided the development and innovation in power electronics technology. This technology encompasses the effective use of electronic components, the application of circuit theory and design techniques, and the development of analytical tools toward efficient conversion, control and condition of electric power. Our members include preeminent researchers, practitioners, and distinguished award winners. IEEE PELS Publishes the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, a top referenced journal among all IEEE publications.

PELS is dedicated to upholding the vital scientific and educational aspects of power electronics and its applications, and keeping its members around the world up to date on state-of-the-art technological developments and advances in power electronics research.

In striving to build knowledge and awareness of the latest technologies and other advances in power electronics, PELS's goal is to keep members current and competitive in the workplace, and provide them with the tools necessary to help them grow both personally and professionally.

The objectives of PELS are scientific, literary, and educational in character. The Society seeks to advance the theory and practice of electrical and electronics engineering and of the allied arts and sciences and promotes a high level of technical excellence among its members. PELS promotes close cooperation and exchange of technical information among its members and affiliates by holding meetings for the presentation of papers and their discussion, sponsoring periodicals and special publications, and through its committees, providing for the needs of its members and affiliates.

The field of interest of the Society are the development and application of power electronic systems and technologies, which encompass the effective use of electronic components; the application of circuit theory and design techniques; and the development of analytical methods and tools toward efficient electronic conversion, control and conditioning of electric power to enable the sustainable use of energy.

Applications of Power Electronics include computer and telecommunications equipment; data centers; consumer electronics products; automobiles; mass transportation; industrial and commercial systems; medical devices; lighting; space and military systems; utility power and Smart Grids; and renewable energy systems.

Presidents of the Power Electronics Society

2017 - 2018 Alan Mantooth

2015 - 2016 Braham Ferreira

2013 - 2014 Dong Tan

2011 - 2012 Dushan Boroyevich

2009 - 2010 Deepak Divan

2007 - 2008 Hirofumi Akagi

2005 - 2006 Rik DeDoncker

2003 - 2004 Dean Patterson

2001 - 2002 Thomas Habetler

1999 - 2000 Philip Krein

1997 - 1998 Jerry Hudgins

1995 - 1996 Thomas Jahns

1993 - 1994 Fred C. Lee

1991 - 1992 Thomas G. Wilson, Sr.

1989 -1990 Pierre Thollot

1987 (Council) 1988 (Society) John Kassakian

1983 - 1986 (Council) Trey Burns