Founders’ Message: 35th Anniversary of WEMPEC
The idea of an industrial support organization and the subsequent creation of WEMPEC with the help of people like Norb Schmitz, Ken Phillips, and others has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences of our lives. When we founded WEMPEC in 1981, little did we know that this consortium of companies supporting our research may likely outlive us.
Maybe WEMPEC and the WEMPEC plan was a very good idea at exactly the right time, but the long-term success we celebrate at the 35-year mark owes everything to the dedication and hard work of the faculty, students, staff, and sponsors who have chosen to be part of the WEMPEC family. Over the past 35 years, our students and visiting researchers have contributed to literally every nook and cranny of the power electronics motor drive world. We are extremely proud of them and what they have accomplished both at UW–Madison and at their present places of employment in industry and academia.
The WEMPEC organization has been crucial in providing us the support and incentive to carry out the work we love, and we both are content with the fact that we have left WEMPEC in good hands. We thank all of you for your part in making reality bigger than our dreams. Long live WEMPEC!