The 13th International Conference on the Properties and Applications of Dielectric Materials (ICPADM) was successfully held on 12-14 July 2021. The 13th ICPADM 2021 was a virtual conference hosted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia via the Institute of High Voltage and High Current and sponsored by the IEEE DEIS and TNB Labs Malaysia. The theme of the conference was “Emerging Dielectrics for Energy Sustainability”.
The conference began with an opening ceremony on the first day, with the General Chair of ICPADM 2021, Professor Dr. Zulkurnain Abdul Malek, the International Advisory Committee Chair of ICPADM, Dr. Harry Orton, and the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Professor Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail delivering their opening remarks, followed by a video presentation of “Malaysia Truly Asia” by Tourism Malaysia.
From left to right: Professor Zulkurnain, Dr. Orton, and Professor Ahmad Fauzi Ismail delivering their opening remarks
4 plenary lectures were delivered live over the 3-day conference. The first plenary lecture was delivered by Professor Dr. Gian Carlo Montanari (Florida State University, USA) on “Reliability of HVDC and MVDC Electrical Asset: The Challenge of Insulation Design”. The second plenary lecture was delivered by Professor Emeritus Dr. Alun S. Vaughan (University of Southampton, UK) on “Nanocomposites: Pathways to Dielectric Success”. The third plenary lecture was delivered by Professor Dr. Shengtao Li (Xi’an Jiaotong University, China) on “High Dielectric and Energy Storage Polymer Dielectrics”. The last plenary lecture was delivered by Professor Dr. Masayuki Hikita (Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan) on “Electrical Insulation Properties of Innovative Functionally Insulating Material toward Application to Electric Power Apparatus”.
From left to right: Professors Montanari, Vaughan, Li, and Hikita delivering their plenary lectures
A total of 149 participants from 21 countries participated in the conference. 117 papers were presented over 18 oral sessions based on six main tracks, namely, condition monitoring, dielectric phenomena, electrical insulation, general dielectrics, nanomaterials, and others. A virtual tour was also carried out through 5 video presentations prepared by TNB Labs Malaysia, TNB Research Malaysia, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
During the closing ceremony, 5 Best Paper Awards were announced. Professor Zulkurnain and Dr. Orton delivered their closing remarks and thanked the committee members, the sponsors, the plenary speakers, the reviewers, and all the participants for making the 13th ICPADM 2021 a success. A video on the 14th ICPADM 2024 to be held in Phuket, Thailand, was also presented.
Zulkurnain Abdul Malek and Kwan Yiew Lau
ICPADM 2021 Organizing Committee
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia