Outreach activities – EPSRC Centre for Power Electronics

New Scientist Live

The Centre showcased power electronics technology applications from across the UK at New Scientist Live, London in 2016. Exhibits included an electric superbike, a green taxi aircraft wheel, demonstrations of wireless energy transfer and a fuel cell car. Centre partners also took part in a panel discussion about Cars of the Future, chaired by renewable energy advocate, Robert Llewellyn.

Science Museum event

Representatives from the Centre took part in a three-day Antenna Live event at the the Science Museum, London in 2014. The aim of the event was to capture the imagination of future engineers and inspire them to find out more about a career in electrical engineering and power electronics. The world land-speed record holding electric vehicle (itself full of state-of-theart power electronics) was placed at the centre of an exhibition which showcased technologies including ultra high-density power circuits, silicon carbide device wafers, and a wireless charging system.

Kitcar inspires engineers of tomorrow

For three years, the Centre has supported the annual Institute of Engineering and Technology /Greenpower Formula Goblin nationwide competition. This initiative was supported by the Power Electronics Spoke of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) working with the Centre for Power Electronics.

It was encouraging to see the excitement with which the children embraced the project. It’s been fantastic working with them. The car was easy to build, lightweight, low cost and massive fun and it’s been a great way to explain the science behind the driving.

Dr Liliana De Lillo
Senior Research Fellow, University of Nottingham

The Centre supported a number of schools to take part in the competition giving youngsters of primary school age the opportunity to see what a career in engineering is really like. From January to June each year, researchers from CPE helped pupils and their teachers to experience first-hand an engineering challenge. Teams from the UK then took part in races over the summer.

Cheltenham Science Festival

The Centre took part in the Cheltenham Science Festival in 2016. Attracting visitors of all ages, this was a fantastic opportunity to promote electronic engineering to the scientists and engineers of the future.