New energy and power research centre launched

Principal Tom Williams has announced the opening of a new centre which will enhance Queen's reputation for leading-edge energy and power electronics research and innovation.

Principal Tom Williams has announced the opening of a new centre which will enhance Queen's reputation for leading-edge energy and power electronics research and innovation. The Queen's Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research (ePOWER) will also attract a wide range of academic and industrial researchers and collaborators as well as talented and motivated graduate students.

ePOWER's interim director is Praveen Jain, Canada Research Chair in Power Electronics. Researchers include Yan-Fei Liu, Paresh Sen and Alireza Bakhshai of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as Steven Harrison, director of the Solar Calorimetry Lab and professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

"Fundamental and applied research conducted at ePOWER will develop new energy-efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly power electronic technologies," says Dr. Jain. "Energy costs are growing, and power electronics play a significant role in conserving energy and protecting the environment."

Centred at the Communication Power Laboratory and the Energy and Power Electronics Applied Research Laboratory, ePOWER will bring researchers together to develop a broad range of applications and expertise. These range from power transmission (generator to main distribution transformer) to alternative energy (including fuel cells, solar power and wind power) to power consumption (such as that found in communications and computer power systems) to power application-specific integrated circuits.