Kansas State University hosted the 45^th North American Power Symposium (NAPS 2013) in Manhattan, Kansas from September 22 to 24, 2013. This happens to be a very special year in the history of Kansas State University as it is celebrating the 150^th anniversary of its founding in 1863 as the first land-grant university in the nation.  It is also an important year for the future as the university is moving forward to meet the goals of K-State 2025 for becoming a Top 50 Public Research University in the nation. This is the third time Kansas State University hosted NAPS, the previous ones being in 1976 and 1994.

NAPS was created as a venue for graduate students and university professors to share their research in early stages with peers. It continues to be a student-centered conference where student participation both as authors and presenters is encouraged. About 200 participants, out of which 135 were students, engaged in different activities of the symposium. The attendees  represented 37 states of the US and 11 other countries. The opening session featured opening remarks by Dr. Ron Trewyn, VP of Research at Kansas State University, and  two keynote speeches by  Doug Sterbenz, COO of Westar Energy, and Mike Beehler, Vice President, T&D Services, Burns & McDonnell.   They gave a crystal-ball view of the Electric Power and Energy Systems of 2025. A total of 142 papers were presented by the attendees.  All the student papers were entered in a contest to select the best papers based on presentation and the technical content.  Congratulations to Jonathan Donadee of Carnegie Mellon University for the first place, Alexander Borden of University of Wisconsin for the second place, and Samir Dahal of University of North Dakota for the third place in the competition, which included 114 papers. The social part of the program included a tour of the Konza Prairie and pizza social with a mini job fair on Sunday.  Dr. Jim Sherow, Professor of History at Kansas State University and former mayor of Manhattan, gave a presentation on Photographic History of Manhattan during the banquet in the evening on Monday.

The symposium was financially supported by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, and the Office of Vice President for Research, and the Electric Power Affiliate Program (EPAP), all of Kansas State University. Westar Energy, Burns & McDonnell, Omaha Public Power District, Kansas City Power & Light, SEGA, and Schwitzer Engineering Lab were the members of EPAP when support for NAPS was approved. The National Science Foundation and conference technical co-sponsor, IEEE Power and Energy Society, provided financial support for the student programs. Their continued support over the years has been crucial for ensuring large student attendance and success of the conference. Over 100 students were provided free housing for up to three days to attend the conference.