July 1999

NEWSLETTER of the IEEE Power Electronics Society

InThis IssueThe President’s Message.....................1Society Awards at PESC® ’99................1Award Named for Dick Bass..................1Wester New Newsletter Editor..............2Report from Outgoing Editor..................2In Memoriam - Richard M. Bass............2Bass Educational Trust Fund................2APEC® 2000 Call for Papers..................4PESC® ’99 in Charleston, SC................5Photos from PESC® ’99.........................5Changes in PELS Constitution.............5Time for AdCom Nominations..............6Tricks of the Trade...................................6TELESCON® 2000 Call for Papers......7PESC® ’00 Call for Papers..............8, 9Our Publishing Obligations................10Meetings of Interest...............................12

Volume 11, Number 3

Continued on page 3

Continued on page 11Continued on page 10

Thomas M. Jahns 23rdWm. E. Newell AwardeeThomas G. Wilson, Sr. andSteven B. Leeb Also Honored;Prize Paper Awards Announced

Dr. Thomas M. Jahns (M’78-SM’91-F’93) of the Electrical and Computer Engi-neering Department, University of Wiscon-sin-Madison, received the William E. Newell

Power Electronics Award at the AnnualAwards Banquet on July 1 at the 1999 PowerElectronics Specialists Conference inCharleston, South Carolina. The award hasbeen presented annually since 1977 for out-standing achievement in the field of powerelectronics.

Professor Jahns received his bachelor’s,master’s and doctoral degrees, all in electri-cal engineering, from MIT where he com-pleted his studies in 1978. He joined GE Cor-porate Research and Development (GE-

Society DedicatesRichard M. Bass Award

Those members who knew Dick Bass werestunned by his recent death. Immediatelyfollowing the news, the Society Administra-tive Committee (AdCom) voted unanimouslyto rename the Outstanding Young PowerElectronics Engineer Award to honor hismemory. At the Society Awards Luncheonat PESC ’99, the award was dedicated. ThePresident made the following remarks.

“Our field is a fast-changing and highlytechnical endeavor. I believe that one of themost important aspects of our awards is thatthey help put a human face on the activitiesand efforts of all who work so hard forprogress and improved quality of life.

“Each year, we gain many new friendsthrough meetings like this one. We also losesome. One of my saddest experiences asPresident this past year has been the tragicloss of Richard M. Bass. Many of you knewDick Bass well, and I know most of you havemet him at one of these conferences andother places.

“Dick was a renowned educator, a re-spected researcher, and an outstanding en-gineer. Above all these, he was one of thefinest people you could hope to meet. Weworked together for many years, and it is ahigh privilege to claim him as a student, as acolleague, and as a friend. It was a great shockand sadness to all of us when we learned ofhis untimely death in an accident in April.”

(A minute of silence was requested at thispoint.)

“Dick Bass was a young man, and in histoo-brief career, he made a wide range ofmajor contributions to power electronics. Hisefforts included drives for wheelchairs, thetheoretical underpinnings of averaging, elec-tric vehicle charging and interface systems,continuing education programs, nonlinearcontrol approaches, and a host of others.He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees fromGeorgia Tech, and the Ph.D. degree from theUniversity of Illinois. He was Associate Pro-fessor in the School of Electrical Engineer-ing at Georgia Tech, and had won awards forexcellence in teaching as well as recognitionfor his research.

“Dick was an active volunteer in his com-munity and in his church. He was also very

The President’s MessageRemembering the human

side of engineeringThe loss of our Treasurer, Dick Bass, in

an automobile accident in April was a stun-ning blow. The Societyand the IEEE workedquickly to dedicate oneof our major awards inhis memory. Dick’s lossshould remind all of usthat dedicated peopleare behind every ac-tion, every new idea,

every product, and everything that is usefulin power electronics. Often, we don’t getenough opportunity to thank the men andwomen who make our profession interest-ing and rewarding. In the next severalmonths, Society leaders will be seeking newways to recognize personal contributions.We also hope to get involved in some newopportunities for students. Think about yourown teachers, colleagues, and mentors. Isthere someone who deserves a public awardor major recognition? For every award, adedicated person is needed to prepare anomination and make a case. An award isjust a small part of how we should thankthose who have made power electronics soimportant, but it is a vital and public way tosay “Thanks.”

Power electronicsin the developing world

In May, I had the opportunity to partici-pate in a power electronics education work-shop, sponsored primarily by the U. S. Na-tional Science Foundation, in Amman, Jor-dan. The enthusiasm and interest of the Jor-danians made this an incredibly positive ex-perience. Power electronics is considered akey component of the electrical engineeringcurriculum there, and is even a requiredcourse at the major universities. At present,the Society is assisting with the formationof an IEEE Jordan Section. We have heardabout similar enthusiasm elsewhere in theMiddle East, and also in Eastern Europe andLatin America. It seems clear that through-out the developing world, power electronicshas become an essential infrastructure tech-nology for electrical energy. The Society

ISSN 1054-7231

2 NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999

IEEE Power Electronics SocietyOfficers

Philip Krein, PresidentThomas Habetler, V. P., OperationsKevin Fellhoelter, V. P., MeetingsArthur Witulski, Treasurer

http://www.pels.orgThe IEEE Power Electronics Society News-

letter is published quarterly by the Power Elec-tronics Society of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers, Inc., 445 Hoes Lane,Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA. Sent automati-cally at a cost of $1.00 per member per year(included in Society fee) to each member ofthe IEEE Power Electronics Society. Printed inthe U.S.A.

News items should be sent to: Gene Wester,Editor, PELS Newsletter, Jet Propulsion Labo-ratory, M/S 303-300, 4800 Oak Grove Drive,Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 USA; TEL: +1-818-354-3489; FAX: +1-818-393-4272; e-mail:gwester@ieee.org. Deadlines for copy areMarch 15, June 15, September 15 and Decem-ber 15. Submission of items by e-mail in plain-text format is preferred. Plain-text (straightASCII) submissions on diskettes of either sizeare welcome. A backup printout should bemailed with a diskette. Fax submissions areacceptable, but are least desirable. Full-pagecalls for papers and announcements of PELS-sponsored conferences are welcome andshould be sent as high-quality hard copy.

©1999 IEEE. Permission to copy without feeall or part of any material without a copyrightnotice is granted provided that the copies arenot made or distributed for direct commercialadvantage, and the title of the publication andits date appear on each copy. To copy materialwith a copyright notice requires special per-mission. Please direct all inquiries or requeststo the IEEE Copyright Manager, IEEE CustomerService TEL: +1-732-981-1393, FAX: +1-732-981-9667.

In Memoriam

The IEEE Power Electronics Societynotes with great sadness the loss of Dr.Richard M. Bass, PELS Treasurer and As-sociate Professor at the Georgia Instituteof Technology, in an automobile accidentnear Valdosta, Georgia on the night ofApril 13, 1999.

Dr. Bass was born in Jacksonville,Florida in 1959. He received the B.E.E. andM.S.E.E. degrees from the Georgia Insti-tute of Technology in 1982 and 1983, re-spectively, and the Ph.D. (E.E.) degreefrom the University of Illinois, Urbana in1990. From 1981-1983 he was employedby the Georgia Tech Office of Interdisci-plinary Programs developing adaptiveaids for persons with disabilities.

From 1984 to 1987, he was employed bythe Veterans Administration Rehabilita-tion R&D Unit in Atlanta, where he par-ticipated in the development of an im-proved motor drive for powered wheel-chairs. At the University of Illinois , hisdoctoral studies were in power electronicsystems. His Ph.D. thesis was entitled“Large-Signal Tools For Power Electron-ics: State-Space Analysis and AveragingTheory.” In 1994, Dr. Bass was a visitingscholar with the Electricite de France elec-tric vehicle research program.

He is survived by wife Cathy and sonAustin who were also in the accident butnot seriously injured.

A Memorial Service was held SundayApril 25 at the Oakhurst PresbyterianChurch in Decatur, Georgia.

Educational Trust FundSet Up for Dick Bass’ Son

The following information comes from Dr.Tom Habetler, colleague of Dr. Bass at Geor-gia Tech.

A trust fund which has been set up forDick Bass’ son, Austin. Many thanks aredue to Teddy Puttgen and Susan Fitzgeraldof Georgia Tech for setting up the AustinGuillaume Bass Education Trust. The trusthas been set up at the Wachovia Bank in

Continued on page 6

New Editor Namedfor the Power ElectronicsSociety Newsletter

Starting with the October 1999 issue ofthe Newsletter of the Power Electronics So-ciety, Dr. Gene Wester will take over as its

Editor. Gene is nostranger to the So-ciety, having beenan active partici-pant over the yearsin our conferences,even those existingbefore the Societywas organized.

Gene is a member of the technical staffat NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasa-dena, California. His address appears belowin the masthead.

Please give him your wholehearted co-operation by providing him in a timely fash-ion with items of interest to our Society mem-bership.

A Review of the PELSNewsletter OperationJanuary 1989-July 1999by Harry Owen, Outgoing Editor

(This article was derived from the 1998annual report of the Newsletter Editor tothe Administrative Committee (AdCom) ofthe Power Electronics Society (PELS)).

For the record, and to sing a kind ofswan song, here is a brief history of how thecomputer editing and composing system for

the Newsletter has de-veloped over the years.Included are some finan-cial details and descrip-tions of the hardware/software systems usedto produce the newslet-ter. My editorship offorty-three quarterly is-sues has been a valu-

able and enjoyable experience. Following myrequest to to Society President Krein to endmy tenure as editor, Gene Wester (see articleat left) was recruited to take over the editor’sjob with the October issue.

Prior to 1989, the PELS Transactions wasthe only publication of the Society. In 1988,some members of the PELS AdCom expressedthe view that a nonarchival-type publicationwas needed that could contain informationof timely interest to Society members Inworking to establish the post of NewsletterEditor, the Society, through PELS PresidentJohn Kassakian, offered to provide the edi-tor with a computer and necessary periph-eral equipment and software for editing andcomposing the newsletter. In addition, in lieuof any compensation in the form of a salaryor fee, reimbursement of travel expenses forthe editor to attend AdCom meetings thatwere held in conjunction with a PELS con-ference was offered. An initial budget of$3,580 was used for the equipment and soft-ware. Over the years, at times when it be-came apparent that software upgrades wouldbe helpful in the newsletter production, theeditor has requested and has received ap-proval from the AdCom to purchase theseupgrades.

The first newsletter, Volume1, Number1, January 1989, was produced before thecomputer system was in place. It was fourpages long and was composed with a ver-sion of the text formatting program LaTeX,using Duke University resources. Once thecomputer equipment and software were onhand, the newsletter was edited and com-

Continued on page 11

NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999 3

CRD), Schenectady, NY, in 1983 where hepursued new power electronics and adjust-able-speed machine drive technology for fif-teen years. His technical efforts at GE in-cluded pioneering work in the developmentof interior permanent magnet (IPM) synchro-nous machine drives for high-performanceapplications including machine tools andaerospace surface actuators.

Dr. Jahns served as a senior projectmanager for several years at GE leading largeinterdisciplinary R&D projects to developnew machine drive technology for a widerange of commercial and military applicationsextending from household appliances to air-craft generators. These major developmentinitiatives included a new generation of largeindustrial ac drives for process lines and low-cost brushless permanent magnet motordrives for commercial/residential applica-tions. Dr. Jahns earned eleven US patentsduring his industrial career.

During 1997-98, Dr. Jahns was granteda two-year research sabbatical at MIT where

he pursued research activities in the area ofadvanced automotive electrical systems andaccessories. Working closely with Prof. JohnKassakian, he served as codirector of an in-ternational industrial consortium of automakers and automotive suppliers focused oninvestigating the introduction of higher volt-ages into the next generation of automotiveelectrical systems. The work of this consor-tium has been instrumental in establishing42 Vdc as the unofficial international stan-dard for future high-power automotive elec-trical accessories.

In October 1998, Dr. Jahns joined thefaculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madi-son as a Grainger Professor of Power Elec-tronics in the Department of Electrical andComputer Engineering. At UW-Madison heis an Associate Director of the WisconsinElectric Machines and Power ElectronicsConsortium (WEMPEC), an internationalconsortium of approximately sixty companiesand institutions. He is also undertaking anactive role in the new Center for Power Elec-

tronics Systems (CPES) funded by the USNational Science Foundation (NSF) wherehe is leading the research thrust focused ondevelopment of integrated power electronicmodules (IPEMs).

Dr. Jahns has been active in IEEE pro-fessional activities throughout his career.His service to PELS includes APEC GeneralChair (1992), PELS Meetings Committee Chair(1993-94), At-Large AdCom member (1992-94), and PELS President (1995-96). He hasalso been a member of the Industry Applica-tions Society (IAS) Executive Board for thepast seven years, where he is now leading acommittee aimed at improving inter-societycooperation within IEEE. Dr. Jahns waselected to IEEE Fellow grade in 1993. He hasbeen recognized as a Distinguished Lecturerby IEEE-IAS for 1994-95, and by IEEE-PELSin 1998-99.

Dr. Jahns presently lives in Madison,Wisconsin, with his wife, Peg, and two chil-dren.

Power Electronics Society Awards Made to Jahns, Wilson and LeebPrize Paper Awards Announced, from page 1

Dr. Thomas G. Wilson (M’50-SM’92-LF’94) has been named as awardee for the1999 Power Electronics Society’s Distin-guished Service Award which he received atthe Awards Banquet at PESC ’99. The awardis made annually to honor long and distin-guished service to the welfare of the PowerElectronics Society at an exceptional levelof dedication and achievement.

Dr. Wilson is Professor Emeritus of theDepartment of Electrical and Computer En-gineering at Duke University, Durham, NCand Vice President and cofounder of WilmoreElectronics Company, Hillsborough, NC. Hereceived the A.B. (’47), S.M (’49), and Sc.D.(’53) from Harvard University, Cambridge,Massachusetts, and the honorary degree

Docteur Honoris Causa from Université PaulSabatier, Toulouse, France in 1986.

He served in the U. S. Army from 1943to 1947. From 1949 to1953 he was employedat the U. S. Naval Re-search Laboratory inWashington, DC doingresearch on magneticamplifiers. From 1953 to1959 he was with Mag-

netics Inc., Butler, PA, as Associate Directorof Product Development. He joined the De-partment of Electrical Engineering of DukeUniversity, Durham, NC in 1959 and servedas Chairman of the Department from 1964 to1968. In 1961 he initiated one of the first

university programs in power electronicswhich continued until his retirement in 1994.

Professor Wilson is the author of morethan 100 technical papers in power electron-ics, magnetics, and nonlinear systems, andthe holder of five U. S. patents. He was amember of the Organizing Committee andVice Chair of the first PESC in 1970. In 1979he was awarded the IEEE M. Barry CarltonAward and in 1981 the William E. NewellAward. He has been actively involved withand served as a member of the Administra-tive Committees of the Magnetics Societyand the Power Electronics Society. Heserved a two-year term as President of thePower Electronics Society.

Power Electronics Society Distinguished Service Award

Steven B. Leeb (S’89-M’93) received theRichard M. Bass Outstanding Young PowerElectronics Engineer Award at PESC ’99 atthe Annual Awards Banquet. This award wasrenamed earlier this year to honor the memoryof Richard M. Bass, PELS Treasurer, whodied tragically in an automobile accident.

Dr. Leeb received his Bachelor of Sci-ence and Doctoral degrees from the Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and1993, respectively. He has been a member ofthe MIT faculty in the Department of Electri-cal Engineering and Computer Science since1993. He currently serves as an AssociateProfessor in MIT's Laboratory for Electro-

magnetic and Electronic Systems.From 1987 - 1991 he was a reservist in

the US Air Force. In this capacity he assistedthe microelectronicsbranch of the WrightResearch and Develop-ment Center at Wright-Patterson AFB with thedesign of high fre-quency switchingpower supplies for ad-vanced avionics appli-

cations. At MIT, he is concerned with thedesign, development, and maintenance pro-cesses for all kinds of machinery and

servornechanisms with electrical actuators,sensors, or power electronic drives. Some ofhis current research interests include ad-vanced lighting ballast design to provideoptical wireless communication networks forthe disabled, inductively-coupled powertransfer systems, adaptive tracking controlschemes for power electronic drives, elec-tric utility system monitoring, and the devel-opment of actuators and sensors using novelor custom materials including gel polymer.He teaches a broad array of classes at MIT,and is especially concerned with instillingstrong technical literacy and a passion tobuild in engineering students.

Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award

Awards story continued on page 6

NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 19994

NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999 5

Notice of Changes in thePower Electronics Society Constitution

Recent changes in the Constitution of the Power Electronics Society made by the Society AdministrativeCommittee (AdCom) and approved by the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) eliminate the positionof Society Secretary. The secretarial function for the Society will be performed by the Society Adminis-trator, Robert Myers of Myers/Smith, Inc. The changes take place 60 days after publishing in the SocietyNewsletter unless at least five per cent of the Society members object in writing within 60 days. Theoriginal version of the Constitution is in the left column with the changed version in the right column

OLDSection 4. The Officers of the Society shall be thePresident, Vice-Presidents, the Secretary and theTreasurer, each having a term of one year as de-fined in the Bylaws.

Section 6. The incoming President shall appoint aSecretary and Treasurer on or before the first ofJanuary in the year in which each takes office. Allappointments shall be made with the advice of themembers of the new Administrative Committeeand subject to ratification at its first meeting. TheSecretary and Treasurer appointment need not bemade from among members of the AdministrativeCommittee. The Secretary and Treasurer will havevoting privileges on the AdCom.

NEWSection 4. The Officers of the Society shall be thePresident, Vice-Presidents, and the Treasurer, eachhaving a term of one year as defined in the Bylaws.

Section 6. The incoming President shall appoint aTreasurer on or before the first of January in theyear in which each takes office. All appointmentsshall be made with the advice of the members ofthe new Administrative Committee and subject toratification at its first meeting. The Treasurer ap-pointment need not be made from among membersof the Administrative Committee. The Treasurerwill have voting privileges on the AdCom.

PESC ’99 in Charleston,South Carolinaby Jerry Hudgins, Conference Chair

The 30th Annual Power ElectronicsSpecialists Conference was held in Charles-ton, South Carolina, USA during the weekof June 27. The meeting was attended by

over 370 industry andacademic professionalsalong with over 40 ac-companying guests. Theweek began with threetutorials provided byleading experts in the ar-eas of power quality,

modeling, and magnetics design. Over 160engineers attended one or more tutorial.

Sunday evening the conference openedofficially with a reception at the conferencehotel. The technical sessions began the fol-lowing morning in the Plenary with a key-note paper, given by Professors Daan vanWyk and Fred Lee, summarizing the past andlooking into the future of power electronics.The remainder of the technical program be-gan Monday after lunch and continuedthrough Thursday with four parallel ses-sions each morning and afternoon. All told,192 papers were presented in the 29 techni-cal sessions. Twenty-seven different coun-tries were represented by the authors, with70 per cent residing outside the USA. Thisagain points to the fact that PESC is truly aninternational forum for leading-edge powerelectronics technology.

Tuesday evening included the tradi-tional Rap Sessions along with munchies andbeer, followed Wednesday evening with aSouthern Banquet. The weather did not co-operate with the event planned to be heldoutside at a nearby plantation. However,thanks to quick work by the hotel staff,horse-drawn (mule-drawn in some cases)carriage tours through the historic area ofCharleston, were arranged. A reception fol-lowed by a large banquet dinner was servedto the attendees. Live entertainment wasprovided by a local Dixie-land band, an Afri-can-American singing group showcasing amixture of African, Gospel, and old South-ern songs and rhythms, and a group of CivilWar re-enactors in detailed period dress. Thesoldiers went so far as to haul one of theircannon upstairs to guard the guests duringthe party.

The annual Society Awards Luncheonwas held on Thursday, July 1. Significantwas the dedication of the renaming of the

Continued on page 10

PESC ’99 photos: Top - PELS President Phil Krein congratulates Conference ChairJerry Hudgins and Technical Program Chair René Spée for a great conference; CivilWar re-enactors enliven the banquet. Middle - Society awards are made to TomJahns, Tom Wilson and Steven Leeb by Awards Chair Chris Riddleberger and Sub-committee Chair Piero Maranesi. Bottom: President Krein dedicates Richard M.Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award in memory of Trea-surer Dick Bass and presents a commemorative plaque to his wife Cathy.

6 NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999

Call for Nominations forAdCom Membersby Jerry Hudgins, ChairPELS Nominations Committee

Each year, six of the eighteen electedmembers-at-large of the AdministrativeCommittee (AdCom) of the IEEE Power Elec-

tronics Society are ro-tated off the AdCom.The Nominations Com-mittee is now acceptingnominations for six mem-bers-at-large of the Ad-Com, each to serve aterm of three year start-

ing January 1, 2000. A nomination petitionsigned by a minimum of 25 Society members,including Students and Affiliates, should besubmitted no later than August 25, 1999, tothe Chair of the Nominations Committee, Dr.Jerry Hudgins, Department of Electrical andComputer Engineering, University of SouthCarolina, Columbia, SC 29208 USA.

In addition to nominations by petition,the Chair of the Nominations Committee so-licits additional nominations from all mem-bers of the existing AdCom by letter. Fromthe nominations received, the NominationsCommittee will prepare a list of at least threenames for every two vacancies among themembers-at-large. The election will take placeprior to the October 3, 1999, AdCom Meet-ing in the form of a written ballot by AdCommembers.

Nominations by petition from the Soci-ety membership provide an opportunity formembers of the Power Electronics Societyto assist in the identification of talented per-sons who are willing and able to take an ac-tive part in this important volunteer activityof the Society.

Tricks of the TradeThe Missing Impact of Drain-Source Capacitance.

Contributed by P. T. KreinUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Recently, I was checking the design of anFET circuit for a forward converter applica-tion. The manufacturer reported a lower effi-ciency than expected. When the engineersadded parallel FETs to try to bring the ON

resistance down, the efficiency actuallydropped even more. The culprit in the endwas related to drain-source capacitance inthe parts. I won’t try to draw up anFET bridge here. You can draw itout on paper. Keep in mind thateach part has internal capacitancesbetween gate and source, drain andsource, and drain and gate. In a for-ward converter, a substantial volt-age is present across drain andsource when each FET is off. This voltagestores energy in the drain-source capaci-tance (and also in the drain-gate capacitance,which in effect appears in parallel). When anFET turns on, this energy will discharge in-side the device. When the FET turns backoff, part of the turn-off dynamics are gov-erned by flow of energy back into these ca-pacitances.

The effects can be substantial. In a for-ward converter with a PFC (power-factor cor-rection) front end, a bus voltage of 400 Vmight be typical. A suitable MOSFET mightbe something like an IRF840, with a 500-Vrating. For this part, the relevant capacitanceis the “output capacitance,” C

oss, with a typi-

cal value of about 300 pF at low voltage.The capacitance effect is nonlinear in V

ds,

and Miller charge from gate to drain has aneffect, but the value of C

oss still gives a basic

way to consider the problem and make somecomparisons. In this case, the output capaci-tance stores 1/2 C

oss V2, or about 24 µJ each

time one of the FETs shuts off. At a switch-ing frequency of 250 kHz, this implies a lossof about 6 W in each device — no matterwhat the ON-state resistance value might be.Even though this analysis is very much an

approximation, we notice that iftwo parallel parts are used, thisloss would be expected to double.

A big challenge with output ca-pacitance loss effects is that theycan be hard to measure. The dis-charge is internal, so the fast dis-charge current pulse is not picked

up with conventional probes. The chargeaction can be equally fast, but will be hard tosee if there are external clamps. The loss ef-fects are important when devices must blockhigh voltages, but they can also be impor-tant in lower voltage circuits in which verylarge FETs (with high values of C

oss) are com-

mon. Many manufacturers are working onways to reduce capacitance values in powerMOSFETs. In the meantime, bigger is notalways better when choosing a powerMOSFET for a specific circuit.

Editor’s noteYou are invited to send your own favorite

Trick of the Trade for publication in thePELS Newsletter. Just send it in any conve-nient medium, spelling out symbols such asGreek letters. Also, send along a recentphoto, color or b/w of any size, for insertionalong with your favorite Trick.

Transactions Prize Paper AwardsEach year a selection committee com-

posed of the PELS Transactions Editor andAssociate Editors nominate and select threepapers from those published in the Trans-actions during the previous year. Each As-sociate Editor nominates one paper and thethree winning papers are selected by a pri-ority-ranking ballot procedure. The prizewinning papers from the 1998 Transactionson Power Electronics are:

“An Active Circuit for Cancellation ofCommon-Mode Voltage Generated by a

PWM Inverter”The authors are Satoshi Ogasawara

(SM), with the Department of Electrical En-gineering, Okayama University, Okayama,

Japan; Hideki Ayano, with Hitachi, Ltd,Hitachi, Japan; and Hirofumi Akagi (F), withthe Department of Electrical Engineering,Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.

“Inductor Commutation Soft-SwitchedPWM Inverter Driven by Frequency-

Modulated PWM Signal”The authors are Michihiko Nagao (M)

and Koosuke Harada (F), both with the En-ergy Electronics Laboratory, Kumamoto In-stitute of Technology, Kumamoto, Japan.A Three-Phase Multilevel Converter for

High-Power Induction MotorsThe authors are Nikolaus P. Schibli,

Tung Nguyen and Alfred C. Rufer, all withthe Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,Lausanne, Switzerland.

PELS Annual Awards, from page 3Atlanta

Contributions may be made by designat-ing the check for:

Catherine Damm Bass Custodianfor Austin Guillaum Bass Education Trust

Acct # 21 829 933

It is important that all of this information beon the check which should be mailed to:

Wachovia Bankc/o Jason Conn

31 Pharr Road, N.W.Atlanta GA 30305

Mr. Conn’s telephone number is:404 842-2886

Bass Trust Fund from page 2

TELESCON® 2000 is a satellite conferenceto INTELEC® and is an international forum, whereexperts appreciate the exchange of informationon the state of the art of telecommunicationspower supply systems. State of the art lectureon installation, modernisation and operation ofpower supply systems for telecommunicationsnetworks will be held.

The motto for TELESCON 2000East and West Grow Together

Therefore the call for papers is taking intoaccount the specific conditions of the fast grow-ing telecommunication networks in Easter andWestern Europe. The presentations given in theconference and poster sessions, or the prod-ucts and components exhibited in the exhibitionarea will demonstrate the expertise and kno-whow in telecom power supply systems includ-ing latest developments. Experts from East andWest will participate and contribute with lecturesand presentations about now strategies, devel-opments, system design and operational prob-lems including their technical solutions. In addi-tion young engineers are invited to give oral pre-sentations or present posters about their projectsand studies.

About 100 papers in plenary sessions, oralpresentations, poster sessions and discussion/forums will be presented. Up to 500 International,European and National representatives are ex-pected to attend.

Scope of the Conference

1. AC/DC Power Supplies• Power systems for telecommunication equip-ment• Requirements for power supply systems un-der observation of local general power supplyconditions• Behaviour of power supply systems in distrib-uted or faulty networks• Decentralised power supply systems• Mechanical design and requirements• Powering cable TV, internet and wireless ap-plications

2. UPS and Converters• Concepts, technology and application of UPSsystems• Classic UPS-systems and Compact UPS-sys-tems• Equipment technology: - thyristor controlled - switchmode technology - compatibility and ability for extension• Component groups in scale of power stan-dards. pre-assembled groups

3. EMC in Telecommunication Equipment• Specifications and standards

4. Batteries and other Energy StorageSystems• Battery technology• Characteristics, advantages and disadvan-tages of vented and valve regulated lead acidbatteries• Battery management and monitoring• Small equipment batteries in telecommunicationapplications• Alternative energy storage systems• Safety requirements

5. Powering Fiber In The Loop• Concepts of powering (fiber to the curb, build-ing, home)• Equipment for powering• Batteries for backup-powering6. Conversion Technology and Design ofPower Supplies• Components and topologies• DC/DC conversion

• Voltage levels in power supply systems (24V,48V, 60V ... )• Redundancy and reliability• Safety requirements• Power supplies for mains connected or cordless

7. Alternative Power Sources for Telecom• Technology and design of -photovoltaicsystems winddriven generators fuel consuminggenerators hybrid systems• Experience with alternative power sources

8. Thermal Management of indoor or out-door installation• Cooling concepts• Air conditioning• Free convection9. Operation and Maintenance• Power and facility management concepts regarding maintenance and supervision

Poster Session

Proposals for posters will be appreciated.Especially students are invited to send their work(e.g. dissertabon, ...) for poster presentation forthe following areas of interest:• DC and AC power supply systems, stand-bygenerators and related subjects• Building design, heat dissipation and related

subjects• Powering Fiber in the Loop

Call for PapersIf you plan to submit a paper or poster please

note: Abstracts must accurately reflect the con-tent of the manuscript. Acceptance will be ontechnical merit or on special aspects like spe-cial situation in a country or of organizing themaintenance of power supply and building ser-vices.

The length of thei abstract should be limitedto but not smaller than one single-spaced type-written page including data, tables, figures, etc.

Abstracts, manuscripts and oral presenta-tions shall be in English only. Detailed instructionswill be mailed to those authors whose abstractshave been accepted. In case of multiple authors,please, indicate to which author mail should bedirected. Manuscripts and posters of acceptedpapers will be included in the Conference Pro-ceedings which will be distributed at the confer-ence. The manuscript is limited to a maximumlength of eight single-spaced typewritten pagesincluding figures, charts, tables, etc.

Accepted papers must follow the typing in-structions, which can be downloaded from thefollowing internet address: htpp://www.vde.dechoosing the button “Typing instructions.”

Important deadlines:September 30, 1999 for abstractsNovember 15,1999 notification of paper ac-ceptanceJanuary 31, 2000 for complete manuscripts .

The exhibition program will include the lat-est in products and technologies on the markettoday. There will be an extensive social programoffered, which will provide an opportunity to eni0ymany of the outstanding attractions available inDresden and the surrounding area.

Abstracts and enquiries concerningpapers or posters should be directed to:

Mr. Wilfried SchulzDeutsche Telekom AGTochnologiezentrum Darmstadt, EK45-12Goslarer Ufer 35D-10589 Berlin, GermanyPhone: +49 30 3497 4164Fax: +49 30 3497 4990E-mail: wilfried.schulzd@telekom.de

Please complete in capital letters[ ] I am interested in TELESCON 2000 and requirecopies of the programme and registration.[ ] I am interested in exhibiting at TELESCON 2000and require details.[ ] I intend to submit a paper/poster.Provisional title of the paper/poster:__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Name––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

First Name––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Company/Organizzation____________________

No.____Street______________________________

Postal Code and City_______________________

Country________________________________

Phone___________________________________

Fax______________________________________

E-mail__________________________________

Please send copy of this page to:VDEConference DepartmenStresemannallee 15D-60596 FrankfurtGermanyFax: +49-69-96 32 52 13

NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999 7

8 NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999

Prospective authors please note:Please use the Abstract Submission form on the opposite page or go to the

PESC ’00 web site at http://pesc00.nuigalway.ie/ to download a copy

9NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999

One of the most important functions ofthe Power Electronics Society is to promoteopen exchange of technical informationthrough publications. High-value publica-tions depend on earnest effort on the part ofauthors, reviewers, and readers. Each ofthese groups takes on certain obligations,and it might be useful to mention them briefly.

Authors are obligated to present origi-nal work in a clear and useful manner, and toconsider ways to make the information mosthelpful to others. The expectations for origi-nality and quality mean that a given papershould not be submitted to multiple confer-ences or journals. In the Power ElectronicsSociety, conferences are an excellent way toget feedback and discussion, and confer-ence paper authors should address this in-put in their manuscript before journal sub-mission. Literature review is an importantaspect to justify original work. In some topicareas, the relevant work is fifty years old ormore; we need to avoid “reinventing” meth-ods and ideas when the work already exists.

This past year, some of our conferencecommittees have been dismayed to encoun-ter papers that were submitted to multipleplaces (perhaps in hopes that extra submis-sions mean extra chances for acceptance),papers that were assembled from prior pub-lications, papers that represented small stepsbeyond the prior knowledge base, or papersin which the literature review seemed to go

Our Publishing ObligationsFrom the PELS Publications Committee, Franco Profumo, Chair

back only two or three years. The obliga-tions of authors are for high ethical stan-dards and high quality, and valuable publi-cations ultimately rely on our authors.

Reviewers are obligated to support theconcept of peer review, which is the distin-guishing feature of our journal publications.Proper peer review requires effort on the partof our volunteers. This “hidden” job is onewe appreciate highly, yet one in which thepeople remain anonymous. Reviewers con-ducting peer review need to give each papercareful and objective consideration, andmake every effort to respond in a timely man-ner. Our reviewers need to make special ef-fort when papers outside the mainstream aresubmitted. Often, papers that address unfa-miliar concepts and issues will help stretchour thinking and open up new lines of re-search and engineering practice. Our powerelectronics technologies of the future willdepend in large part on adapting technol-ogy from other areas to the unique problemsof power conversion. Our ability to addresscurrent issues and to publish truly originalcontributions relies on our reviewers.

Readers are obligated to make the bestuse of publications. Be sure to make refer-ence to those papers you have found usefulwhen you prepare reports, presentations,and your own future submissions. In addi-tion, we value written discussion of specificpapers and constructive feedback about all

our publications. In many cases, our read-ers are the expert users with the broad expe-rience necessary to establish directions forresearch. We have also had valuable sug-gestions on ways to enhance our publica-tions. If you as a reader see something ofspecial merit, or something needing clarifi-cation or correction, in our Transactions, anappropriate letter to the editor is encouraged.If you know of key pre-1950 references orhave literature reviews or tutorial materialsto share, these are of potential interest to awide audience. Ultimately, our publicationsexist to meet the needs of readers, and wehope to encourage more feedback.

Publishing PlansAt PESC, issues of publication quality,

timeliness, and reader value were discussedin several meetings. During the coming year,you can expect to see better use of electronictools for paper review and submission. Wewill be considering a “Letters” section in theTransactions for fast publication of briefsubmissions. Other major publication initia-tives are being discussed as well.

In 1999, Dick Hoft, who has been theEditor of our Transactions for many years,will be retiring. We are grateful for his longand dedicated service to our publicationsand to the profession. The new editor for2000 will be Arthur Kelley of North CarolinaState University. He will be managing newpaper submissions starting this month.

President’s Message from page 1would be pleased to help form any new IEEEentities, or to help support Sections andChapters in all parts of the world. At ourrecent Administrative Committee (AdCom)meeting, the Distinguished Lecturer Programwas extended to IEEE Section meetings aswell as to our Chapters. This is a great pro-gram, as the Society pays travel expenseswhile the local group picks up just the localaccomodation and meal costs. Our Lectur-ers are selected by the Awards Committee

as outstanding contributors to the field. TheSociety also encourages local conferencesand workshops. Today, we cooperate withregional meetings in Southeast Asia, Brazil,Mexico, and other places. In the future, thereare plans for a biannual international Work-shop on Power Electronics Education. Meet-ings tend to be a lot cheaper when they“come to the participants,” instead of ask-ing everyone to travel overseas. If you or aChapter in your area are interested in orga-

nizing a meeting or regional conference, letus know.

Philip Krein, PELS PresidentUniversity of IllinoisDept. of Elec. and Comp. Engrg.1406 Green StreetUrbana, IL 61801 USATEL: +1-217-33-4732FAX: +1-217-333-1162e-mail: krein@ece.uiuc.eduhttp://power.ece.uiuc.edu

Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young PowerElectronics Engineer Award. ProfessorBass’s widow, Cathy, and his mother were inattendance as honored guests. The top So-ciety award, the William E. Newell Power Elec-tronics Award was given to Professor Tho-mas Jahns. The Society Distinguished Ser-vice Award was given to Professor ThomasG. Wilson, Sr., and this year’s Richard M.Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics

Engineer was selected to be Professor SteveLeeb. Other awards for best 1998 Transac-tions papers were also given.

Friday was the final day of the confer-ence with 31 engineers participating in toursof local industry at the co-generation facil-ity of Westvaco or the adjustable drivesmanufacturing plant of Square D-GroupeSchneider. During the week, guest tours werealso available to local historical venues in-

cluding the original settlement of CharlesTowne Landing, and Fort Sumter, site of theopening battle of the American Civil War.

On behalf of all the conference organiz-ers and workers, I would like to thank thoseof you who attended and participated inPESC ’99. I look forward to seeing you againat next year’s PESC at the National Univer-sity of Ireland in Galway, Ireland.

PESC ’99 Hosted in Charleston, South Carolina from page 5

NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 199910

11NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999

A Review of the PELS Newsletter Operation January 1989-July 1999 from page 2posed with this system. The newsletter con-tinued as a quarterly issue of four pages untilthe April 1993 issue when its length was in-creased to eight pages. The additional pagespermitted the inclusion of calls for papersreduced in size by one-third. The size of theApril 1995 and succeeding newsletters wasincreased to twelve pages, with more spaceallocated for full-page calls for papers andfor photographs.

For those interested in the technicalaspects of creating the newsletter, here is adescription of the hardware and softwaresystems used over the years. In December1988, the first system purchased consistedof a Sanyo 80286 computer with I MB; RAM,5.5-inch diskette drive, 40 MB hard disk drive,80287 math coprocessor, VGA graphicsadapter card and 14-inch analog color moni-tor, mouse with Windows 286 PresentationManager, and Aldus (now Adobe)PageMaker 3.0 desktop publishing software.No printer was purchased at this time and adot-matrix printer owned by the editor wasused for printing drafts and a laser printer atDuke University was used to print the cam-era-ready copy. Photographs were pasted upas mechanicals after being sized andscreened by Duke University photographicservices.

In 1993, the PELS AdCom authorizedthe acquisition of a new computer withgreater capacity, additional peripherals, andupdated software with a purchase budget of$3,500 as proposed by the editor. The itemspurchased were a Gateway 2000 computerwith 66 MHz 486DX2 Intel processor, 8 MBRAM, 64 KB cache, 3.5-inch and 5.25-inchdiskette drives, CD-ROM drive, 340 MB harddisk drive, 15-inch color monitor, MS-DOS6.0, Windows and mouse, HP ScanJet IIPblack-and-white scanner, HP LaserJet 4Lprinter, and PageMaker 5.0 for Windowsdesktop publishing software upgrade.

The final cost of the new system wasapproximately $1,500 over budget. At myrequest to the AdCom, I paid the overagefrom my own funds, pointing out that thecomputer system was a valuable asset to me

for other activities. Some time later, it becameobvious that a printer with Postscript capa-bility was needed to produce the camera-ready hardcopy with the quality needed byIEEE. I then purchased at my expense an HPLaserJet 4ML Postscript printer for approxi-mately $325 more than the cost of the origi-nal HP 4L printer and disposed of the HP4L.I also added 16MB RAM to the computersystem to make the larger programs run moresmoothly. The addition of the scanner tothe editing and composing system permit-ted me to scan photographs and full-pagecalls for papers for insertion in the newslet-ter. The images of line art and text from callsfor papers were inserted directly into thePageMaker publication file. Scanned photo-graphs also were inserted directly into thePageMaker publication file. A file on disketteof the newsletter pages containing photo-graphs was given to a local pre-press ser-vice bureau for electronic screening at 85lines per inch of the photographic elementsand for printing paper masters of these pagesat 1270 dots per inch (dpi) on an image setterdevice.

Camera-ready copy of the newsletteris sent to the IEEE Magazine and NewsletterDivision in New Jersey for printing and mail-ing to all Society members. The copy con-sists of those pages containing photographsthat are produced from an image setter by alocal service bureau, and the remainingpages with only text and line art that areprinted at 300 dpi on the laser printer.

In late 1997, while the January 1998 is-sue was being worked on, the Gateway 2000computer system purchased in 1993 devel-oped some serious hard disk drive and moni-tor problems, and I purchased a replacementGateway 2000 computer system at my ex-pense.

In addition to providing IEEE with thefinal camera-ready copy for printing, for thelast several years, I have provided HypertextMarkup Language (HTWIL) files of thenewsletter articles to the Webmaster of theSociety web site for publishing on the web.More recently, I started providing the

Webmaster with a Portable Document For-mat (PDF) replica of the newsletter for post-ing on the web in that format.

Based on my experience over mote thanten years, and considering the advancementsin computer technology and in software de-velopment, a reasonable system for editingand composing a newsletter of this type ona PC machine would consist of aWindowsbased 300 MHz or faster PC withat least 64 MB RAM, a hard disk drive withat least 6 GB storage, 17-inch color monitor,3.5-inch diskette drive, CD-ROM drive andinternal fax/modem. External peripheralsshould include a PostScript black-and-whiteprinter of at least 300 dpi resolution, and ascanner with at least 300 dpi resolution.Adobe PageMaker desktop publishing soft-ware is recommended, but one should checkto see what publication files local pre-pressservice bureaus can handle. A higher reso-lution scanner and printer might eliminatethe need to use a pre-press service bureaufor pages with photographs. Some kind ofphotographic manipulation software is oc-casionally helpful. Often there are adequatetools for resizing, cropping and sharpeningin the scanner software. Optical characterrecognition software, sometimes bundledwith a scanner, is essential in eliminating typ-ing text items in by hand that are receivedfrom correspondents in hard-copy form.

An e-mail account is absolutely essen-tial for maintaining contact with correspon-dents around the world. Occasionally it isnecessary to fax material to a correspondent.Using a fax/modem allows files to be sentdirectly to the fax/modem driver, or hard copycan be scanned, then sent to the fax/modem.

I leave the office of Newsletter Editorin the capable hands of Gene Wester and Ihope that the task of creating the newsletterwill be as meaningful and fulfilling for him asit has been for me. I want to thank all of themembers of the AdCom who over the yearshave enthusiastically supported the news-letter operation. I also want to thank all ofyou loyal contributors who have helpedmake your publication useful to our Society

Young Enginer Award named for Dick Bass from page 1

active in our Society as a volunteer, withmany years of service on the PESC Organiz-ing Committee. Most recently, he was Trea-surer of the Society.

“We believe these contributions are ex-emplary, and any young person starting inpower electronics would do well to consider

Dick Bass as the model for what an engineershould be.

“I would like to announce that the Soci-ety is dedicating today the Richard M. BassOutstanding Young Power Electronics En-gineer Award in memory of our good friend.Dick’s wife, Cathy, and his mother, Pinky,

were able to join us today for this occasion.His son Austin is also at the conference. Onbehalf of the Power Electronics Society, Iwould like to present this plaque, which com-memorates the naming of this award, toCathy and to Dick’s family.”

See related articles on page 2.

The INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS, Inc.445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331 • Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, USA

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Make your plans nowfor

Fairmont HotelNew Orleans, Louisiana USA

Febraury 6-10, 2000visit www.apec-conf.org

Meetings of Interest to PELS MembersISIE ’99,1999 IEEE International Sympo-sium on Industrial Electronics, will be heldin Bled, Slovenia, 12-16 July 1999. The sym-posium is sponsored by the IEEE IndustrialElectronics Society and the Slovenia Minis-try of Science and Technology. Paper sum-mary submissions were due by 1 December1998. Visit web site http://www.ro.feri.unimb.si/ISIE99/ for additional information.PEDS ’99, Power Electronics and Drive Sys-tems, is scheduled for July 26-29, 1999 inHong Kong. It is organized by the IEEE HongKong Section and the Joint Chapter of theIEEE Power Engineering, Industry Applica-tions and Power Electronics Societies, incooperation with the IEEE Singapore Sec-tion and the IEEE Power Electronics Society.EPE ’99, 8th European Conference on PowerElectronics and Applications, sponsored bythe European Power Electronics and DrivesAssociation, and in cooperation with theIEEE Power Electronics Society, is scheduledfor September 7-9, 1999, in Lausanne, Swit-zerland.COBEP ’99, 5th Brazilian Power Electron-ics Conference, will take place September19-23, 1999, in Foz do Iguaçu, State of Paraná,southern Brazil. It is organized by the Brazil-ian Power Electronics Society (SOBRAEP)and by the Federal University of Paraná andFederal University of Santa Maria, Brazil. Formore information, visit the conference website at http://www.sobraep.ufsc.br/cobep99.AFRICON ’99, “Electrotechnical Servicesfor Africa,” sponsored by Region 8 of theIEEE, is scheduled for September 29 to Oc-tober 1, 1999. Visit the conference web siteat http://www.ieee-sa.sun.ac.za/africon.APEC® ’00, 15th Annual IEEE Applied Power

Electronics Conference, sponsored by theIEEE Power Electronics and Industry Appli-cations Societies and the Power SourcesManufacturers Association, is set for Feb-ruary 6-10, 2000 at the Fairmont Hotel, NewOrleans, Louisiana USA. Contacts for APEC’00 are TEL: +1-202-973-8664, FAX: +1-202-331-0111, e-mail: apec@courtesyassoc.com,web site: www.apec-conf.org. Also see page4 of this newsletter.IPEC-Tokyo, International Power Electron-ics Conference, will be held April 3-7,2000at Keio Plaza Hotel, Tokyo, Japan in coop-eration with the IEEE Power Electronics So-ciety. The deadline for prospective authorsfor five copies of an extended summary isSeptember 15, 1999. Send summaries to Sec-retariat of IPEC-Tokyo-2000, c/o InternationalCommunications Specialists, Inc., Sabo-Kaikan Annex, 2-7-4 Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda,Tokyo 102-8646, Japan. For more informa-tion, visit the conference web site at http://www.iee.or.jpfias/ipee/ or contact GeneralChair Professor Ohnishi, e-mail:ohnishi@sd.keio.ac.jp.Intermag 2000, International MagneticsConference, sponsored by the IEEE Mag-netics Society, is set for April 9-13 in Toronto,Canada. Papers are solicited in all areas ofapplied magnetics, magnetic recording tech-nologies and related fields. For informationon submitting a two-digest of a proposedpaper, visit www.intermageonference.com.TELESCON 2000, Third International Tele-communications Energy Special Confer-ence, will be held May 7-10, 2000, at the Ho-tel Westin Bellevue, Dresden, Germany. Theconference is organized by the InformationTechnology Society of the VDE Association

for Electrical, Electronic and InformationTechnologies in cooperation with the Tele-communications Sub-Group (INTELEC) ofthe IEEE Power Electronics Society. See page7 of this Newsletter for more details.PESC® 2000, 31st IEEE Power ElectronicsSpecialists Conference, sponsored by thePower Electronics Society, will be held June18-23, 2000, at the National University of Ire-land, Galway, Ireland. See pages 8 and 9 ofthis newsletter for the Call for Papers. Foradvance information of this conference visitthe conference web site at http://pesc00.nuigalway.ie/.IPEMC 2000, 3rd International Power Elec-tronics and Motion Control Conference,sponsored by the China ElectrotechnicalSociety and the National Nature ScienceFoundation of China, in cooperation with theIEEE Power Electronics Society and the IEEEBeijing Section, is set for August 15-18,2000,at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.35th IEEE Industry Applications SocietyAnnual Meeting, organized by AssociazioneElettrotecuica ed Elettronica Italiana and theIEEE Industry Applications Society, andcosponsored by the IEE, IEEJ and IEEEPower Electronics Society, will be held inRome, Italy, October 8-12, 2000. For addi-tional details visit www.aei.it/ias2000.htmlCIEP, International Power Electronics Con-gress, sponsored by CENIDET and the IEEESection Morelos-Power Electronics Chapter,in cooperation with the IEEE Power Electron-ics Society, will be held in Acapulco, Mexico,October 15-19, 2000. For details on submit-ting an abstract, visit http://www. cenidet.edu.mx/ciep2000/.

12 NEWSLETTER of the IEEE PELS, July 1999