The NSF Center for GRid-connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems (GRAPES) in the Department of Electrical Engineering hosted its Spring 2016 Industrial Advisory Board meeting on May 23-25 in Columbia, South Carolina. The GRAPES meeting drew together faculty and students from four universities, including one international university, and industry leaders from 12 of the 16 membership companies.

The meeting kicked off with center updates, an industry presentation, a National Science Foundation presentation, and technology and project roadmap updates. A poster session followed, during which students and faculty presented project posters to industry members and faulty. All agreed this dedicated time spent together allows them time to connect and learn from each other. 

GRAPES facilitates close research interactions between university faculty and students and the industrial members of the center. This relationship gives researchers a direct tie to today's power industry, allowing them to research topics that are closely aligned with industry interests. It also gives the involved companies a clear voice into what the students are learning, and so directly improves the quality of the employees they will hire in the next few years. Nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate students have worked within the center. Many of these students have gone on to work for member companies, while others have continued their educations or gone to work for other companies in the power and power electronics industries.

The meeting, open to all GRAPES industry members, invited guests, and faculty and students from partnering universities, was a success.

The fall 2016 meeting will be held in November in Fayetteville. 

GRAPES is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. At this center, engineering faculty from the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina collaborate with members of industry to develop new technologies for advanced power electronic systems, develop new software and tools for controlling embedded- and grid-connected power electronics, and to educate engineers who understand the power electronic technologies that are important to our members. GRAPES' 16 member organizations come from commercial and government sectors of the economy.

For more information on GRAPES, contact T.A. Walton, GRAPES Managing Director, tawalton@uark.edu, 479-575-4487. For more information the upcoming fall conference, contact Karin Alvarado, karina@uark.edu, 479-575-4958.