Virtual Event
United States
Join PowerAmerica for a free upcoming webinar on November 4, 2026 at 12 pm EST
Where: Online via Zoom
When: Wednesday, Nov. 4, from Noon to 1 p.m. (EST)
Topic: High-Efficiency, Cost-Optimized Hybrid ANPC Power Module Using SiC and IGBT Technologies
Presenter: Dragan Maksimović, UC Boulder
The rapid growth in the capabilities of artificial intelligence platforms opens a multitude of questions about the future of engineering processes and practices, and power electronics is no exception. In this talk, rather than attempting to provide definitive answers to any of the questions, challenges, or opportunities brought about by the proliferation of AI, the goal is to provide a perspective on the current and potential future impact of AI based on recent research and educational activities in the Colorado Power Electronics Center (CoPEC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. A distinction is made between interactive uses of “generative AI” and rapidly emerging “agentic AI” systems. In the former, chat-style interactions with an AI platform target specific research or educational tasks. A toy investigation of a converter synthesis problem is discussed as an example of pushing generative AI into corners of power electronics often considered to require greater creativity or inventiveness. Agentic AI systems, in contrast, can plan, use tools, and execute multistep tasks with a degree of autonomy and are likely to yield more radical changes in the power electronics engineering practice. The talk concludes with a perspective on education, considering what and how we should teach and learn to prepare future power electronics engineers and researchers for a profession affected by AI.