Florida Power Electronics Center
ApECOR is dedicated to helping prepare future generations of engineers through hands on experience, training, and conducive environments for education. This is possible through a relationship with the Florida Power Electronics Center (FPEC). Through this relationship, we are able to offer a number of different internship positions. These paid and free internship positions give the students a unique opportunity to gain experience. Working alongside ApECOR engineers, these students are introduced to some of the most cutting edge technology in the power electronics field. Hard working and self-motivated graduate and undergraduate students are welcome. Currently ApECOR mentors five undergraduate students and seven graduate students.
International Future Energy Challenge
The Future Energy Challenge is an IEEE sponsored international competition that is held every two years involving top universities in power electronics from around the globe. This year the University of Central Florida has a team of four undergraduates and two graduate students. This team will compete against ten other universities, including teams from USA, Germany, Brazil, China, Turkey, and Jamaica. The goal of this year's competition is to build a low cost and highly efficient three-phase AC/DC converter. The converter will take power from a wind turbine and use it to charge lead-acid batteries. The converter must also be light-weight and small. UCF's power electronics division (FPEC) is known for using advanced control algorithms and innovative topologies to achieve the design goals in past competitions. ApECOR has sponsored all previous UCF teams in the Future Energy Challenge and we are proud to sponsor them again. They have done well in the past and we wish them luck as they continue this tradition into this year's 2009 Future Energy Challenge.