Despite the prevailing wisdom that professional conferences would be one of the many victims that succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) will once again be holding its annual gathering as a live, in-person event from June 9-12, 2021 in Phoenix, Ariz. It's great to welcome back the power electronics industry's premier event back after the pandemic forced it to move its 2020 conference from colorful New Orleans to the sterile void of cyberspace.
The APEC committee is moving forward with the clear understanding that although the June dates should be past the time that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, they’re prepared to update their plans if necessary. For now, however, event registration will open on February 25, with housing registration going live around the same time. The conference program hasn’t been posted yet, but the organizers are promising it will offer the usual wide range of professional education seminars, technical sessions, industry sessions, and other activities, as well as a large, lively exhibit hall.
If APEC can successfully rise from the ashes in Phoenix, it may mark the beginning of a new, more hopeful time for our industry and, hopefully, the world.
I certainly hope so. After attending many conferences a year for most of my career, I'd begun to approach them with a bit of reluctance at the inconvenience of travel, the crowds and lines, and the crazy pace it took to get to all of the people, products, and events I had to cover. Now, after a year of working via Zoom from my COVID bunker, I can't wait for the chance to attend seminars in person, walk the aisles of a real exhibit hall, meet face-to-face with old friends and colleagues, and savor the contents of their hotel mini-bars again.
Speaking of old friends, I hope to see you at APEC where I'll be holding a reader meetup where you and others from the ED reader community can swap news, ideas, and industry gossip over a comforting beverage. Heck, you won't have to be a reader to join us, so you might find a few exhibitors, speakers, or other surprise guests there. I'll find a quiet spot where we can all catch up on what we've been doing, how things have been going and where we think the industry is headed—and, depending on what I can arrange, the coffee, beer, or other adult beverage will be on me. Details to follow, so stay tuned!
Comments? Questions? Suggestions for a good beer to talk tech over?
Write me at lgoldberg(at)green-electronics(dot)com.