Event
Power Electronics Seminar: Dr. Jungwon Choi, University of Washington
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
2460 A.V Williams OR Virtual
Zoom Link: https://umd.zoom.us/j/94095734545
Meeting ID: 940 9573 4545 / Passcode: M-SEM
Speaker: Dr. Jungwon Choi, Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Title: From Device Physics to Intelligent Design: High-Frequency Power Electronics for Next-Generation Energy Systems
Abstract: Power electronics serves as the backbone of modern energy systems, enabling efficient energy conversion across applications such as data centers, renewable energy systems, energy storage, and industrial platforms. As these systems continue to scale in size and complexity, power electronics must simultaneously achieve higher power density, improved efficiency, and robust thermal performance, posing significant technical challenges. In this talk, I will discuss how advances in high-frequency power electronics require a close connection between device-level understanding and system-level design. First, I will present the importance of accurate high-frequency device characterization for wide-bandgap devices such as GaN, where switching dynamics and parasitic effects critically influence efficiency, reliability, and overall system performance. I will then introduce recent efforts in high-frequency magnetic design for wireless power transfer, in which conventional design approaches are increasingly limited by complex electromagnetic interactions. In this context, I will present an AI-driven approach for coupling coil design that leverages underlying physical relationships to improve design efficiency and performance. I will conclude by discussing future opportunities for enabling more efficient, compact, and scalable energy systems through advances in high-frequency power converters.
Bio: Jungwon Choi is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University in 2019, M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2013, and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Korea University in Seoul, Korea, in 2009. From 2019 to 2023, she was an assistant professor in the ECE department at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research interests include high-frequency power converters, wireless power transfer for battery-powered vehicles, industrial and biomedical applications, magnetic designs, controls at high-frequencies, energy storage, and wide bandgap devices. In 2017, she was selected to the Rising Stars in EECS, received Unlock Idea awards from Lam Research in 2019 and 2020, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award in 2021. In 2024, she was selected as a UPWAWRDS faculty.
