On November 11, Professor Thomas M. Jahns visited the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (SEEE) of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), an IEEE Fellow and the Co-Director of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium. Renowned worldwide as a leading academic in electrical engineering, he was a former president of the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and was awarded the IEEE Nikola Tesla Award, the IAS Outstanding Achievement Award, and the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering.

At the beginning of his visit, Prof. Jahns gave a presentation titled “The Impact of the Weill Business Gateway (WBG) Switch on the Future of Integrated Electric Motor Drives”.

Prof. Jahns reviewed the critical applications and motivating factors that propel the integration of power electronics with motor physics. He discussed the future prospects of integrated motor drives and outlined significant technological barriers to the adoption of WBG switches within the current motor drive landscape.

In his presentation, Prof. Jahns highlighted the potential of WBG switches to revolutionize Current Source Inverter (CSI) systems, addressing EMI, temperature management, voltage overshoot, and failure mode limitations prevalent in current Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) machines. He illustrated the application of these advanced technologies in industries and electric vehicles ranging from kilowatt-scale machinery to megawatt-scale systems.

Additionally, Professor Jahns provided insights into the potential of emerging technologies to achieve integrated motor drives in the coming years, as well as the promising opportunities they could bring to the motor industry.

Following the presentation, teachers and students engaged in an interactive discussion with Professor Jahns. Many teachers posed questions aligned with their research interests, sparking a lively and insightful exchange of ideas.

Moreover, Prof. Jahns visited the Center of Advanced Electrical Machines & Drives, and the Graduate Studio of SEEE, HUST. Overall, he spoke highly of the school’s scientific achievements.

Written by: Zhang Zhihan

Edited by: Han Leyao, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng