BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Power Electronics - A Mechanical Engineering Problem - Bryn Parry\ , VP Corporate Development\, Amantys DTSTART:20140211T183000Z DTEND:20140211T203000Z UID:TALK50787@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:Publicity Officer\, IMechE Beds &\; Cambs area DESCRIPTION:Bryn Parry\, VP Corporate Development\, Amantys\, will introdu ce the audience to the world of Power Electronics and discuss why an elect ronics company like Amantys needs mechanical engineering resources and ski lls in the development of its products.\n\n_What is Power Electronics?_\n\ nElectronics is the application of solid-state electronics for the efficie nt control and conversion of electrical power. Whereas more familiar elect ronics and microelectronics is used to carry communications or data\, with Power Electronics it is power that is handled and controlled. It is used from the very low milliwatt levels needed to operate a mobile phone throug h to multi-gigawatt powers for high-voltage energy transmission lines betw een countries. Wherever there is a need to modify a form of electrical ene rgy - i.e. change its voltage\, current or frequency - then Power Electron ics comes into play.\n\nPower Electronics is a £135 billion direct global market\, growing at a rate of 10% per annum. It is an enabling technology that often determines the performance of\, and provides the competitive a dvantage for\, much more expensive devices or systems.\n\nFor example\, ch oosing a mobile phone or lap-top computer for its battery life is actually a Power Electronics decision\, with the battery performance itself just o ne part of that.\n\nOn a bigger scale\, Power Electronics typically repres ents only 6% of the total cost of passenger elevators\, yet it is largely responsible for their performance and efficiency. The importance of Power Electronics to the economy is consequently very much greater than its dire ct market value.\n\nIt can be seen that Power Electronics is rarely seen a s an end product by the general public\, but it does play a critical role in almost all aspects of our daily lives:\n* Renewable energy and the low- carbon economy are very dependent on Power Electronics\n* It is responsibl e for ensuring the reliability and stability of the whole power-supply inf rastructure\, and critical to the ‘Smart Grid’ linking all generation and end use\, making electricity networks easier to connect into.\n* Our t ransport system is ever more heavily dependent on Power Electronics\, in r ailways\, ships and increasingly cars and aeroplanes\n* Our industrial pro cesses rely upon the control and energy efficiency facilitated by Power el ectronics\n* The environment\, access and transportation within our buildi ngs are controlled and managed using Power Electronics\n* And our homes ar e proliferated with Power Electronics - in TVs\, washing machines\, fridge s\, freezers\, cookers\, vacuum cleaners\, computers\, mobile phones and e ven energy-efficient lighting.\n\n*Bryn Parry*\, VP Corporate Development\ , AmantysBryn Parry\, VP Corporate Development\, was previously General Ma nager of the Development Systems Division at ARM Ltd. Prior to this role h e managed the IP licensing business unit for six years. Bryn has previousl y worked in engineering and application roles at AMD and Mars Electronics. Bryn was one of the founders of Amantys in 2010. The company was formed t o commercialise technology from the University of Cambridge and bring it t ogether with intelligent processing techniques from the world of mobile ph ones.\n\n*Amantys Ltd* (www.amantys.com) was established in Cambridge in 2 010 as an independent power electronics company\, Amantys specialises in t he delivery of scalable\, cost effective solutions to meet the challenges of designing reliable and efficient power conversion in medium and high vo ltage applications.\n\nTime: Refreshments served from 18.30. Talk starts a t 19.00. Ends around 20.30 following questions and discussion.\n\nVenue: L ecture Room 5 (upstairs)\, Cambridge University Engineering Department\, T rumpington Street\, Cambridge CB2 1PZ ("directions":http://www.eng.cam.ac. uk/visitors/). There is limited parking available on site.\n\nFree to atte nd. Registration not required. All welcome.\n\nThis talk is open to the pu blic and is suitable for students and engineers. You are encouraged to bri ng with you colleagues\, friends and family who are interested in engineer ing and electronics.\n\nThis talk is organised by the Institution of Mecha nical Engineers Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire area. LOCATION:Lecture Room 5\, Cambridge University Engineering Department\, Tr umpington Street\, Cambridge CB2 1PZ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR