Miniaturized and Advanced Power Electronics Laboratory (MAPEL)

Power electronics are a cornerstone technology of the modern world, and their advancement is fundamental to improving the size, efficiency, and capability of our electrical systems and devices.

In 2021, 79% of the energy consumed in the U.S. was derived from fossil fuels, much of it burned to drive internal combustion engines and provide heating. Similarly, 58% of the electricity we generated came from burning natural gas and coal. To avoid catastrophic changes in our climate, the use of fossil fuels must be greatly curtailed, and we must fundamentally redefine the nature of our consumption to make much more effective use of cleanly generated electrical energy. Achieving this demands advances in how we process and control electrical energy.

In concert, we are also demanding that the power electronics we currently use become, broadly speaking, “better”. This includes making them smaller, more efficient, capable of accommodating wider input and output specifications, and providing/supporting new system functionality.

Power electronics research has a critical role to play in this evolving landscape, serving as the environment where new applications and leaps in performance can be proposed, nimbly investigated, and commercialized through appropriate partnerships. This is what our group works to achieve.