Solid state power Electronics had its genesis in 1959 with the invention of the SCR at GE. The development of the 2N3055, one of the earliest and most ubiquitous Si power transistors followed shortly. Power electronics became an explicit focus of the IEEE in 1983 with the formation of the Power Electronics Council. The launching of APEC in 1986, and the creation of PELS in 1988 solidified its role in the Institute. Applications have grown rapidly, as have component and manufacturing technologies. Today we are challenged to meet requirements of evolving applications that demand multidisciplinary thinking, high levels of integration, very high efficiencies, high gravimetric and volumetric specific power, and significant cross-field collaboration. Industrial processes, electric vehicles, robotics, decreasing logic voltages, electric aircraft, attention to energy conservation and global warming, and even 5G, are providing power electronics with a fertile and exciting future.
