PowerAmerica Holds First Ever Virtual Summer Workshop to Rave Reviews

PowerAmerica hosted its first virtual summer wide bandgap workshop Aug. 4-5 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Nearly 270 attendees logged on to participate, marking our largest audience to date! 

Highlights included a keynote address from Balu Balakrishnan, president and CEO of Power Integrations, as well as a SiC and GaN market update by Ezmi Dogmus of Yole Developpment. Engaging panel discussions focused on challenges and opportunities for wide bandgap technologies in grid/microgrid applications; and university-led wide bandgap programs. The audience tuned in for presentations on projects initiated and funded by PowerAmerica members, in addition to an array of student posters and technical presentations which are still accessible on our workshop YouTube channel. 

One of the most engaging components of the event were the virtual networking sessions. While nothing replaces the value of meeting face to face, PowerAmerica utilized a video conferencing platform that successfully replicated the experience of in-person networking. We are deeply appreciative of our audience’s willingness to engage with this technology platform that made valuable networking sessions possible. We received some great feedback, with one attendee from a major corporation telling us, “I thought your networking events were exceptional…it felt almost like being there. I’ve attended 10 virtual conferences in the last 3 months and you guys honestly were the top one.” 

Additionally, we wanted to thank the more than 30 prospective members that attended this event. We hope to see many of you at our annual meeting in February, which will also be held virtually. Dates and agenda are forthcoming.