"Power Supply Systems for Energy Efficiency"

José A. Cobos, Technical University of Madrid, Spain

March 24, 2014, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, 442 DANA

Abstract:

Energy efficiency aims at “reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services”. Power electronics provides the capability to “control” the electrical energy, and therefore it is a key enabler to reduce the required energy, at different levels: adoption, power management at system level, power conversion efficiency, and power management at load level. The talk will address how power supply systems help replacing a combustion engine by an electric motor supplied by a fuel cell in a plane; how to increase the autonomy of deaf people with cochlear implants and how to power remote devices wirelessly; how to reduce the size and weight of power converters, and how to reduce the energy needed by RF amplifiers and digital systems. Bi-directional and multi-port power converters, combined with high frequency rectifiers and inverters, are essential instruments for energy storage and for the deployment of Distributed generation, renewable energy and DC grids.

Bio:

José A. Cobos is a Full Professor at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), and Director of the “Centro de Electrónica Industrial, CEI-UPM”, Spain. His contributions are focused in the field of power supply systems for telecom, aerospace, industrial, automotive and medical applications. His research interests include energy efficiency, magnetic components, piezoelectric transformers, transcutaneous energy transfer and dynamic power management. He also works on the influence of EM fields on water super cooling and biomedical effects.

Since 2003 he is serving as Associate Editor of the Transactions on Power Electronics. From 2002 to 2005 he served as AE of the IEEE-PELS letters. From 2001 to 2006 he was Chair of the Technical Committee on DC Power Supply Systems of the IEEE-PELS. He is member-at-large (2012-2014) of the Administrative Committee of the IEEE Power Electronics Society and member of the Steering committee of IEEE-APEC. He has been involved in the management team of the Engineering School (ETS Ingenieros Industriales, ETSII) at UPM, from 2000 to 2009, serving as “Vice Dean for Research and Doctorate” and as “Vice Dean for Academic Affairs”, adapting the engineering degrees to the Bologna declaration. He also served from 2006 to 2009 as President of the “Alumni Association” and from 2006 to 2010 as Executive Director of the “Sociedad de Amigos” of this school, which coordinates the patronage of the top Spanish companies to ETSII. He has been Principal Investigator in contracts with ABB, Agere Systems, Airbus, Alcatel, Ansoft, Ansys, Astrium-Crisa, Boeing, Cochlear, EADS, Enpirion, Fagor, General Electric, Indra, Intel, Philips Hearing Implants, Premo, Sedecal, Sener, Siemens and Tecnobit.