IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - December 2015 - 64

White Hot

by Robert V. White

What's Your Elevator Speech?

f you were to ask the average person "What is electronics?" they
would probably respond with
examples of electronic devices like
mobile phones, computers, or televisions. I doubt many would respond in
terms of electronics as the discipline
that creates those devices. If you were
to ask an average person "What is
power electronics?" my guess is that
you would get a blank stare or a shrug,
or "I don't know."
Turning that around, if you were at
a social or other nontechnical event,
and someone asked what you do for a
living, how would you answer? Would
you say, "I am a power electronics engineer" or "I design power electronics"?
The response would probably be something like "That is nice" and the topic of
conversation would change. I claim that
would be a missed opportunity to help
inform the world of the importance of
power electronics in everyday life.
In the business world, everyone is
encouraged to have his or her "elevator speech" ready to deliver on a moment's notice. An elevator speech is a
short-only 15 seconds or so-statement that tells someone else about
you in a way that makes them want to
know more about you. The idea behind
the concept of the elevator speech is
that you never know from where your
next opportunity will come, so be
ready to sell yourself to a prospective
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPEL.2015.2484580
Date of publication: 18 December 2015

IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE

every hybrid and
new manager or emWe, as professionals
electric vehicle uses
ployer at any time.
power electronics to
I am going to enin power electronics,
move power to the
courage all of you
know how important
motors and in and
to prepare your elour work is whether
out of the battery.
evator speech. When
we are helping to tap
Power electronics is
given the chance to
sources of renewable
used in almost every
describe your work,
energy like wind and
solar power instaldon't say, "I am a
lation to convert the
power
electronics
solar or we are
power from the solar
engineer." Say someworking to make
cells into the power
thing like "I design
better use of the
that you can use in
electronics that helps
energy we do
your house. Wind
you save money on
generate.
power turbines can
your energy bill." That
generate more power
will surely get the atfrom the wind using
tention of your listenpower electronics."
er-after all, who does not want to save
Another approach, especially if you
money? This opens the door to "That is
know they have a mobile phone, is to
interesting, how do you do that?"
say, "Your phone uses very sophistiNow you can introduce power eleccated power electronics to squeeze evtronics and yourself as being an imporery drop of energy out of the battery so
tant contributor to the world. Perhaps
you can go all day without recharging.
you start with "Do you know those
I design electronics like that."
high-efficiency lightbulbs? The comWe, as professionals in power
pact fluorescent bulbs with the curly
electronics, know how important
glass tubes? Or the new light-emitting
our work is whether we are helping
diode lighting? Any of those modern,
to tap sources of renewable energy
efficient lightbulbs include power
like wind and solar or we are workelectronics circuits in the base, and I
ing to make better use of the energy
am a power electronics engineer." You
we do generate. We also know that
could continue with "Do you have one
we almost always work behind the
of the new high-efficiency washing
scenes. I encourage you to develop
machines or refrigerators or air condiyour own power electronics elevator
tioners? They all use power electronspeech, not only to promote yourics to reduce the power needed to run
self (which is important to your
their motors, which saves you money."
If you still have their attention, you
can move on to bigger topics. "Also,
(continued on p. 62)

 December 2015

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