Thinking outside the power box: Matthias Preindl takes converters virtual

(Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science) Professor Matthias Preindl recently won an NSF CAREER grant to support his work reimagining how power converter technology operates. Inspired by virtualization that has become common in computer science, Preindl is designing virtual power converter systems with interchangeable converter modules and a software layer that controls the converter function. The result should increase reliability and speed up onboard charging for electric