From April 20 to 22, the 2026 Annual Conference of the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech, USA, was held in Blacksburg. Professor Wang Xiongfei from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA), Tsinghua University, was invited to deliver a plenary keynote speech. Four doctoral students including Hu Jialiang, Ma Yiqing, Zhao Boyuan and Zhu Xuanyi attended the conference and presented posters at the laboratory exhibition session.
Focusing on the key challenges faced by power electronics technology in the transition toward a more efficient and electrified world, the annual conference featured 3 plenary keynote speeches and 2 special lectures delivered by experts from industry and academia, along with 21 technical presentations given by CPES students. In addition, two laboratory exchange sessions were specially arranged, where graduate students from CPES and EEA, Tsinghua University displayed a total of 58 academic posters. During the conference, EEA faculty and students conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions with experts, scholars and American students on cutting-edge power electronics technologies.
On the morning of April 22, Professor Wang Xiongfei delivered a plenary keynote presentation entitled Challenges and Solutions for Control Stability of Power-Electronic-Based Power Systems . Centering on the stability issues of power-electronic-based power systems, the speech illustrated new challenges such as oscillation, instability and system vulnerability arising from the large-scale integration of inverter-based power sources, DC transmission systems and actively controlled loads. It also shared the latest research progress in relevant modeling and analysis methods as well as robust control of grid-connected converters. Professor Wang’s speech was highly praised by participating experts and scholars and triggered heated discussions.
Professor Wang Xiongfei Delivering Online Keynote Speech
In the laboratory exchange sessions on the afternoons of April 21 and 22, the four EEA doctoral students shared their latest research achievements with professionals from all walks of life via electronic posters and engaged in intensive academic discussions. Their presentations covered cutting-edge research hotspots including flexible DC transmission technologies, medium-frequency transformer design, grid-connected control stability, and hybrid energy storage for DC microgrids. The specific topics are as follows:
1. Hu Jialiang: Optimal Design and Experimental Verification of 4.1 MVA/1 kHz Medium-Frequency Transformer for High-Power DC Transformers
2. Ma Yiqing: 1.5 kV/30 kV/10 MW Series Resonant DC Transformer Based on IGCT and Medium-Frequency Isolation for PV DC Collection Application
3. Zhao Boyuan: Limit Cycle and Large-Signal Stability Boundary Induced by Outer-Loop Controller of Grid-Connected VSC
4. Zhu Xuanyi: Learning-Enhanced Hierarchical Control for Hybrid Energy Storage Systems in DC Microgrids
Ma Yiqing, Hu Jialiang, Zhu Xuanyi and Zhao Boyuan Presenting Posters and Exchanging with Experts Including NAE Member Professor Dushan Boroyevich
NAE Member & Foreign Member of CAE Professor Fred C. Lee Taking a Group Photo with Participating Students beside Conference Posters
NAE Member & Honorary Professor of Tsinghua University Professor Dushan Boroyevich Taking a Group Photo with Participating Students in Laboratory Exchange Session
This offline participation has built a sound platform for academic exchanges and cooperation between Tsinghua University and Virginia Tech in the field of power electronics. It enabled EEA to showcase and share its latest research achievements on an international platform, and allowed participating students to fully access frontier information of disciplinary development, further promoting the advancement of power electronics science and technology.
Virginia Tech is a world-renowned institution in engineering education, with its electrical engineering discipline (power system and power electronics) consistently ranking among the global leading universities. Its Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) boasts 4 Members of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and 29 IEEE Fellows, and hosts two world-top research platforms: the Power and Energy Center (PEC) and the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES).
As the first Engineering Research Center (ERC) in the field of electrical engineering approved by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), CPES has grown into the most prestigious power electronics research institution worldwide over more than 30 years since its establishment, and has long led the development of power electronics science and technology.
Professor Fred C. Lee, Founder of CPES, NAE Member and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), is a distinguished global scholar in power electronics. He has long cared for and supported the development of power electronics discipline at Tsinghua University. Appointed as Chair Professor of Tsinghua University in 2017, he taught the postgraduate course Modeling and Control of Power Electronic Converters at Tsinghua, which was well received by faculty and students.
Professor Dushan Boroyevich, NAE Member, once served as Director of CPES for a long time and has been committed to cooperation and exchanges with Tsinghua University. He facilitated the signing of a cooperation agreement between EEA, Tsinghua University and Virginia Tech ECE in 2018, and was appointed Honorary Professor of Tsinghua University in 2024.
In addition, Professor Richard Zhang (Zhang Xiaosong), current Director of CPES, is an alumnus of Tsinghua University. He took office as CPES Director in November 2025, further reflecting the profound and long-standing cooperative ties between Tsinghua University and Virginia Tech CPES in the field of power electronics.
Held every April annually, the CPES Annual Conference is an academic symposium with important international influence in the discipline of power electronics.
