The four-member management team of Arkansas Power Electronics International has been named the 2012 Arkansas Small Business Person of the Year, in the team category, by the Small Business Administration.

In this interview, Alan Mantooth discusses the role power electronics will have in Smart Grid. He also characterizes the Smart Grid as a “grand challenge” that requires sustained attention and commitment from industry and all stakeholders.

As 2011 closes, GRAPES is proud to announce that two new industry partners have joined the center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Oak Ridge and the Industrial Technology Research Institute join 18 other industrial partners and one government partner in supporting the research of nine faculty members at the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina in the area of grid-connected power electronics.

In November 2011, the Grid-connected Advanced Power Electronics Systems Center celebrated its two-year anniversary and held a semi-annual meeting on the University of Arkansas campus.