2010 chair welcome

It gives me great pleasure to be able to welcome you to Atlanta for the 2^nd Annual IEEE Energy Conversion Conference and Exhibition. As we hope this is now widely known, this conference is the merging of the PELS Power Electronics Specialist Conference and the Industrial Power Conversion Systems Department sessions of the IAS Annual Meetings. The broad size, appeal and quality of ECCE are a testament to the cooperation and strategic planning of both organizations. Since this is only the second year for ECCE, the conference is still in its “transient” state. We are making every attempt to give ECCE its own “look and feel” that will continue to attract attendees to the very important event for years to come. It is hoped that year´s technical program of around 675 papers from around the world and from many varying organizations will stimulate technical interactions and learning. We are very pleased to have a full program of a large number of oral papers, a much smaller number of poster papers, tutorials, rap sessions, meetings, and an exhibition. The plenary session has been planned to give members the view of industrial and thought leaders in our technology. It is my hope that we can all be proud of ECCE, as it strives to be the preeminent conference in energy conversion technologies.