Power electronics, a critical multidisciplinary enabling technology for solving many energy and environmental issues, is faced with unprecedented growth opportunity and ever-growing public expectations. The absence of a clear technology roadmap and somewhat fragmented research effort hinders more rapid advances. It is important for power electronics researchers and educators around the world to join forces, focusing our limited resources on true challenges and opportunities. Recognizing the opportunity, with the support of the National Science Foundation, CPES initiated an outreach workshop on “Impact of Academia on the Future of Power Electronics”, looking ahead to the future of power electronics, and specifically to the role which academia can play in advancing key technology areas. The workshop, which took place on November 3-4, 2005 in Hilton Head Island, SC, brought together 26 top experts in power electronics from 12 different countries, together with 16 CPES faculty and staff members. The workshop, through invited presentations and breakout sessions, identified key technology areas that must be addressed in order to fuel the advance of the key applications, including power supplies, motor drives, vehicular power systems, appliances, utility power systems, and alternative energy systems. Key technologies identified are: 1) system architecture, power management, and efficiency; 2) integration and packaging; 3) modeling, analysis, and design tools; 4) high power and utility power applications; and 5) intelligent motor drives. The workshop began the roadmap process for these key technology areas, and working groups were established for continuing the roadmap effort for each key technology area in the future. All participants indicated that the workshop was a great step towards defining the future of power electronics, and it accomplished the goal of beginning the process of identifying how academia will impact the future of power electronics, industry, and their role in society.