By Dr. Liwu Wang
San Diego, California, Dec 11th, 2023 – A Ceremony of the Establishment of the Caili and Daniel Chang Center for Electric Drive Transportation (CEDT) was held at the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU).
Caili and Daniel Chang are the founders of AEM. They are successful entrepreneurs in San Diego. After success in developing and manufacturing new electronic protection components for A&D and commercial applications, Caili and Daniel made a distinguished contribution to the university. The establishment of the Caili and Daniel Chang CEDT reflects their support for the development of new energy vehicles and future electric transportation.
Guest Speakers at the Ceremony
CEDT was established in 2011 with a grant from the U. S. Department of Energy's Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Program. SDSU is one of seven centers in US that leaded by Prof. Chris Mi. Prof. Mi is a fellow of IEEE and SAE, a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Director of CEDT at SDSU. The center is currently working with the University of California, San Diego on a NASA-funded project with the goal of developing a toolset that will enable industry to rapidly develop air taxis with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. This will shorten commute times, revolutionize cargo transportation and emergency medicine. The scientific research team lead by Prof. Mi is working on designing a lighter and more compact electric drive device to power these future flying taxis.
Caili & Daniel Chang's donation and AEM sponsor to the center have brought strong support to the scientific research project at SDSU.
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, AEM is a designer and manufacturer of high-reliability circuit protection, power conditioning, and radio frequency electronic components. The company's innovative protective products are used in harsh, technical environments with a high cost of failure. Through its industry leading brands of AEM, Renaissance Electronics, and Central Semiconductor, AEM serves niche applications across a diverse array of attractive markets including satellite, aerospace, defense, industrial, automotive and new energy EV & battery, medical, telecom and others. AEM has developed market leading positions in its respective niches due to its outstanding engineering, product performance, and consistent adherence to quality.
AEM currently has a joint project working with Prof. Mi for the circuit protection of a new energy storage system, which is a state supported project. AEM is in partnership with SDSU for R&D of electric drive transportation.
First event at Caili & Daniel CEDT organized by Prof. Mi. More than 60 invited professional guests from universities, research institutes, government agencies and industrial companies around the world joined the workshop and panel discussion for the technologies and future trends on electric drive transportation.
For additional information about AEM and CEDT, Prof. Mi at SDSU, please visit at
AEM: www.aemeee.com & www.aemcomponents.com
CEDT & Prof. Mi: https://chrismi.sdsu.edu/