The Power and Energy Conference at Illinois (PECI) has come and gone with its 16th iteration, on April 11th.  PECI 2025 checked all the boxes: attracting folks from the Midwest and across the nation, heavy-hitting speakers, and wonderful conversation.  The event started with a thought-provoking address from ECE Department Head Jennifer Bernhard.  With all the “giants” in attendance, it was wonderful to reflect on the unfolding events and pondering the day to make the most of our time together.

The events consisted of 2 keynote speakers, 2 paper talks, 20 posters, a tech talk and a panel discussion, complemented by breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  With the gamut being covered in the agenda, we had wonderful talks from “Imagining Energy Conversion Systems as Circuits,” by alum, Dr. Brian Johnson of UT-Austin, to “Entrepreneurial Experiences in Renewable Energy Startups” tech talk from former Professor, Dr. Patrick Chapman.  The panel discussion really took some blinders off folks, me included, in understanding the “Emerging Challenges in Data Center Power Delivery” in what is an immediate challenge and opportunity to apply their technical expertise to the realities in the field.

There were some mixed feelings about the events; some folks could question whether this is a regional conference, whether the Program catered to our local audience or more broadly, could we draw more from our local midwestern neighbors, should we have extended our reach within our collaborative network to have more participating members.  These are all wonderful thoughts to hold for shaping and growing PECI into the future and you can be certain that the team is reflecting on this.

There was a good presence represented by people from across the country.  With speakers from UT Austin, MIT, UC-Berkeley and Wisconsin and attendees from across campus and the nation, critical mass was achieved, making the experience of the 16th Annual PECI 2025 an event that will be more than a memory.  Those folks who contributed to the planning and execution of the event and participants have an experience and knowledge they can take with them wherever they go.

Mubarak Hossein of University of Albany SUNY sharing his poster: “Cybersecurity Risk Estimation in Power Generation Operational Technology (OT): a User-Centric Methodology”

Dhruv Birla (Miami University) speaking on his paper, “Additive Manufacturing to Improve Efficiency of High-frequency Magnetics in Power Electronics

Dr. David Perreault (MIT) speaks on “Advances in High-Frequency Power Conversion for industrial Applications “

Panelists weigh in on “Emerging Challenges in Data Center Power Delivery.”

The PECI 2025 Team: Left to Right – T.G. Roberts, Nicole Stokowski, William Vavrik, Ryan Billings, Aria Delmar, Anuj Maheshwari, Anubhav Bose, Aidan Rodgers, Grant McKechnie, Ryan Horvath, Listowell Appiah, Soumil Chabal, Andrew Freeman, Parag Bajaj, Sebastian Armstrong, Dennis Chen Butts, Yaokun Shi, Brian Wolhaupter, and Nina Ayar.