IEEE Power Electronics Society has been recognized by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) with a Power of Associations Silver Award for its successful MagNet Challenge initiative. The MagNet Challenge is an ambitious initiative orchestrated by the IEEE Power Electronics Society. This initiative seeks to forge connections between power electronics and machine learning, aiming to explore innovative and efficient utilization of measurement data for modeling power magnetics. Enhanced models hold the potential to shrink the size of solar inverters, trim the weight of electric vehicle drive trains, and mitigate electronic waste within energy systems.
The MagNet Challenge is crafted with an exceptionally low entry threshold and an exceptionally high potential for achievement, ensuring that students worldwide, regardless of their educational backgrounds or hardware resources, stand an equal chance of triumph. Conducted entirely online, the competition provides open access to data and software tools. Solutions are expected to demonstrate scalability, repeatability, and broad applicability across diverse power magnetics designs in the realm of power electronics. With ongoing competition cycles, a continuous learning trajectory unfolds, enabling successive cohorts of competitors to draw from past experiences, embrace emerging technologies, and showcase their prowess and influence in real-world scenarios.
The software’s open-source nature within the MagNet Challenge underscores its pivotal role in community development. Through this platform, the IEEE Power Electronics Society cultivates an environment where students with interests in software engineering and machine learning collaborate closely, sharing insights and expertise. Moreover, it provides an avenue for companies like Google and Enphase to interact with and recruit talented individuals skilled in power electronics, energy systems, and software engineering.
Participating teams refine their solutions throughout the judging process and offer valuable feedback, acknowledging the indispensable guidance provided by IEEE members, who are leaders in business and technology. Several research teams have volunteered to spearhead ongoing initiatives to perpetuate and amplify the MagNet Challenge’s impact.
The convergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning with power and energy systems engineering presents a significant challenge to the IEEE Power Electronics Society and the broader global energy and power industry. To date, the IEEE Power Electronics Society has awarded $35,000 in prizes, supplemented by generous donations of $10,000 each from Google and Enphase. Thus far, the IEEE has embarked on outlining the model and conducting the pilot phase of this challenge. In October 2024, the MagNet Challenge II is set to commence, with expectations of a substantial increase in the number of initial proposals, at least doubling from previous rounds.
“Congratulations to IEEE Power Electronics Society for exemplifying the impact associations have on the industries and professions they represent and on society at large,” said ASAE President and CEO Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE. “It’s always so incredibly satisfying to see associations going above and beyond their everyday mission to change the world. We’re very proud to spotlight this award-winning initiative.”
To learn more about IEEE Power Electronics Society’s 2023 MagNat Challenge, visit https://minjiechen.github.io/magnetchallenge/.
About The Power of Associations Awards
ASAE’s Power of Associations Awards recognizes the association community’s economic and societal contributions locally, nationally and globally. ASAE will celebrate The Power of Associations Award recipients during its annual Summit Awards Dinner on September 24, 2024, at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.