Designing the Future of Power Magnetics

On Tuesday, August 19, 2026, the Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development (AMPED) Consortium and the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering will host its fifth annual industry meeting. Held at the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) in Pittsburgh, PA, the full-day event will connect students with industry, utilities, and academic leaders to share research, advance power magnetics technology, and prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

This year’s annual industry meeting will follow the jointly organized Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) / AMPED “Power Magnetics @ High Frequency Satellite Workshop,” an inaugural international workshop held on August 18, 2026, also at the EIC.

“The annual industry meeting provides a unique opportunity for current leaders in power magnetics to engage directly with the future of this industry,” said Paul Ohodnicki, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the Swanson School, RK Mellon Faculty Fellow in Energy, and director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Energy. “That this meeting is paired with the first joint PSMA / AMPED satellite workshop and includes two remarkable keynote speakers represents the important work happening here in Pittsburgh.”

In addition to connecting current AMPED Consortium students with industry partners through student panels and a poster session, the industry meeting will feature two distinguished keynote speakers: Elif Balkas, Chief Technology Officer at Wolfspeed, and Troy Beechner, Mission Leader – Electrification at GE Vernova.

Dr. Balkas brings extensive experience and expertise in research and development of silicon carbide, a wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor. For over 14 years, she held leadership and research positions at Cree (now Wolfspeed) before becoming the company’s chief technology officer, with a current focus on technology strategy, R&D, and commercialization across materials, devices, mechanisms, and reliability. Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, Wolfspeed is a global leader in silicon carbide materials and devices, which drive needs for advanced high-frequency, high-power magnetics at the core of the AMPED Consortium mission.

Dr. Beechner is an expert in WBG power electronics systems and has held engineering leadership and research and development roles at companies including the Navy Nuclear Lab, Mainstream Engineering Corporation, and RCT Systems. He currently serves as Mission Leader – Electrification at the GE Vernova Advanced Research Center, focusing on power electronics and energy systems for large scale commercial and military applications.

“We’re honored to have Dr. Balkas and Dr. Beechner share their experience and insight. Their addresses will motivate students and faculty while underscoring the importance of the AMPED Consortium for the critical challenges of electrification and rapidly increasing electrical energy demand moving into the future,” Ohodnicki said.

Celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Consortium, its leadership team has also organized a workshop featuring AMPED student alumni currently working in relevant areas within industry. These student alumni will discuss their current work and how the consortium prepared them for their current industrial careers within industry.

Panelists include:

• Sneha Narasimhan, ABB.
• Joshua Lubin (BS ECE ’23 MS ECE ’24), Innomotics.
• Mark Nations, CorePower Magnetics.
• Kyle Schneider, CorePower Magnetics.

“This workshop represents more than five years since the AMPED Consortium launched, and it’s exciting to welcome these students back to explore the impact that it has had on their careers,” said Brandon Grainger, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and Eaton Faculty Fellow, director of the Electric Power Technologies Lab, and co-director of the Energy GRID Institute and Pitt AMPED. “Essential to these workshops is the emphasis on student presentations and engagement with industry. They build and strengthen the interdisciplinary community required to solve challenges in advanced magnetics to support electrification and the growing demands for electricity.”

The workshop will also include technical sessions that feature presentations from researchers and industry professionals as well as technology demonstrations. It will end with a networking and poster session.

Registration for the August 19 industry meeting is open. Registrants for the August 18 satellite workshop will receive complimentary access. 

View the Annual Industry Meeting agenda.

About the AMPED Consortium

The Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development (AMPED) Consortium is a University of Pittsburgh-led, industry-engaged initiative based at the Swanson School of Engineering’s Center for Energy. AMPED builds on Pittsburgh’s legacy in the electric power industry, including the original headquarters of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, a pioneer of the electric power grid. Today, the Pittsburgh region and Pennsylvania remain pre-eminent in electric power conversion and grid technologies, spanning soft magnetic materials, distribution and power transformer manufacturers, and the utilities and end users that deploy them. Find more information.