CURENT Faculty and Researchers Recognized at 2019 Innovation Awards

Several CURENT faculty and researchers were recognized for Issued Patents at the 2019 Innovation Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, December 4th, at The Foundry in Knoxville, TN. The awards are given by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) to distinguish University of Tennessee researchers whose innovations better society. 

The following CURENT faculty, research staff and students were honored for issued patents.

• Wei Gao, Yilu Liu, Haoyang Lu, Wenxuan Yao and Lingwei Zhan for Mobile Electric Field Sensor Based Phasor Measurement Unit for Monitoring an Electric Power Grid
• Yilu Liu, Wenxuan Yao and Jiecheng Zhao for Synchrophasor Measurement Method for Power Systems
• Daniel Costinett, Leon Tolbert, Fei “Fred” Wang, Jingxin Wang and Sheng Zheng for DC Current Controller for Continuously Variable Series Reactor

Please join us in wishing all the people above a hearty congratulations for their achievement.   

Read more at TCE

Read about it on the UTRF website.

Dr. Fran Li, Dr. Hantao Cui and Dr. Linquan Bai Receive Highly Cited Paper Award

Dr. Fran Li, CURENT Campus Director; Dr. Hantao Cui, CURENT research assistant professor; and Dr. Linquan Bai, a recent alumnus of EECS/CURENT and now an Assistant Professor at UNC Charlotte, have received the Highly Cited Paper Award from the journal Applied Energy. Li’s visiting scholar, Dr. Jiang Tao (2019-2020), is also a co-author. Li is the corresponding author of this award-winning paper.

With an impact factor of 8.426, Applied Energy is a leading journal in the broad area of energy engineering and science. The award is highly competitive as it is bestowed to only 16 research papers and 13 review papers among 3200+ published papers in Applied Energy in 2016 and 2017. The award was issued during the International Conference of Applied Energy (ICAE), held August 12-15, 2019 in Sweden.

Read more here. 

Earthquake Worries Prompt Oregon Cities to Install Microgrids for Resiliency

Beaverton is the second Oregon city that will embrace microgrids for resiliency, working with utility Portland General Electric (PGE), which says it plans additional partnerships with cities.

PGE’s microgrid projects are designed in part to provide resiliency if and when an earthquake hits the Oregon coast. Scientists have predicted that an earthquake as big as 8.0-9.0 could strike the region soon.

Read the rest here. 

Introduction to eTap Tools – Training Webinar

There will be an eTap Training titled “Introduction to eTap Tools” on Friday, Sept. 20 from 4:00 pm  – 6:00 pm in MHK 121. All interested students and faculty may attend. This training may be viewed remotely as well through WebEx.

Calendar file with WebEx info

WebEx Information

Topic:  Introduction to eTap Tools 

Date: September 20, 2019 
Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00) 
Meeting Number: 629 053 697 
Meeting Password: power
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To join the online meeting (Now from mobile devices!) 
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1. Go here to join. If requested, enter your name and email address. 
3. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: power
4. Click “Join”. 

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To join the audio conference only 
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To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the meeting, or call the number below and enter the access code. 
Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3208 
Global call-in numbers: https://power-eecs.webex.com/power-eecs/globalcallin.php?serviceType=MC&ED=755088502&tollFree=0

Access code: 629 053 697
Meeting Password: power

Dr. Kevin Tomsovic to Kick Off Fall Power and Energy Seminar Series on Aug. 30th

Center Director Dr. Kevin Tomsovic will be the first speaker of the CURENT Power and Energy Seminar Series for Fall 2019. The series will kick off on Friday, Aug. 30th at 12:20pm in MHK 404. The seminar will last from 12:20pm – 1:10pm.  The seminar will be available though ZOOM.  Details follow the bio.

Dr. Tomsovic will give a short welcome to CURENT presentation followed by a CURENT overview. He will give a presentation titled “Definitions of Resilience” during the 2nd half of the seminar.

Who; Dr. Kevin Tomosvic

What: CURENT Power and Energy Seminar

Where & When: MHK 404, Friday, Aug. 30th from 12:20pm to 1:10pm

Title: CURENT Overview and Definitions of Resilience

Abstract: This week’s seminar will be two-fold. The first part will overview CURENT and discuss some efforts the Center is making to improve communications and everyone’s experience in the Center. This is an “all-hands” meeting and it is hoped that everyone will attend.

In the second part, Dr. Tomsovic will overview some concepts of resilience in the power grid. Many countries are facing new challenges in operating critical infrastructures as the number of extreme weather events increases. In addition, there is concern of large-scale state sponsored cyberattacks impacting critical infrastructures. This presentation will emphasize definitions and concepts and contrasts to traditional reliability concepts.

Bio: Dr. Tomsovic is the Director of CURENT and the CTI Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the University of Tennessee. He is also an IEEE Fellow.

He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Michigan Technological University in 1982, and he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of Washington in 1984 and 1987, respectively. He previously was a professor at Washington State University.

Dr. Tomsovic’s areas of interest include intelligent systems and optimization methodologies applied to various power system problems, including distribution system design, electricity market analysis, equipment diagnostics and maintenance, operation of dispersed energy resources, production scheduling, and stabilization control.

Adventures in STEM, our summer camp for middle school girls was last week and very successful. NIMBios, our partner in this program, has published a blog post about the week.

Coffee and Conversation – Grad School – June 20th

Take a break, have some coffee and join our grad students in discussing grad school with the summer REUs.

Date: Thursday, June 20

Where: MHK 124

When: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

See the CURENT calendar for more news and seminars.

Wenxuan Yao wins NASPI award for Outstanding Grad Student

Wenxuan Yao won the 2019 NASPI (North American Synchrophasor Initiative) award for Outstanding Grad Student. The NASPI awards are issued to recognize significant accomplishments and contributions of its members in 2018.  this marks the 3rd year in a row that a UT students has won a NASPI award. 

The award was presented during the The North American Synchrophasor Initiative (NASPI) Work Group meeting in San Diego, California, on April 15-17, 2019. The conference featured technical sessions and presentations that showcased innovative applications of synchrophasor technology, wide-area streaming applications of high-speed (so-called “point-on-wave”) time-synchronized measurements, and issues associated with inverter-based generation and the ability to maintain essential reliability services. Mr. Ali Yari, Director, Electric Grid Operations, from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was the keynote speaker.

Staff Appreciation Coffee Break – Tues., April 9 in MHK 121

Staff Appreciation Coffee Break!!

Tuesday, April 9th in MHK 121 from 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Take a break, have some coffee, have a treat or cake and say thanks to CURENT staff. Hope to see you there!

Dr. Chien-fei Chen Named Fulbright Global Scholar for 2019-20

CURENT’s Director of Education & Diversity Dr. Chien-fei Chen was recently informed that she was among a select group of faculty across the country to be named a Fulbright Global Scholar.

Chen, an environmental sociologist and research associate professor and director of education and diversity for CURENT, a National Science Foundation and Department of Energy center housed in the Tickle College of Engineering, was one of only 20 people from the US to be selected for the Global Scholar program.

“This is a great honor to have my research selected for further study,” Chen said. “Being able to have Fulbright backing will allow me to further explore ideas related to interdisciplinary aspects of energy equality. Renewable energy technology is growing fast, but it also raises pressing justice issues related to equity and fairness.”

Her proposal, “When East Meets West: An Interdisciplinary and Cross-cultural Research on Energy Justice and Renewable Technology Adoption for Future Smart Communities” focuses on energy needs and uses across social lines.

Of particular interest to Chen is the concept of energy justice, the idea that low-income households should have the same access to renewable energy as the rest of the population.

Using the integrated method of examining social, behavioral, environmental, and technical impacts on communities, Chen hopes to better understand and model how energy use and access differs across populations when comparing eastern and western cultures.

Though focused on China and the United Kingdom, her work will use methodologies that allow results to be extrapolated into similar areas.

By better understanding energy issues, Chen hopes to combat global energy inequality issues, inform energy policy, and improve outcomes for underserved areas.

Through the award, her hosts will be the School of Engineering at Cardiff University in Wales in the United Kingdom and the School of Economics and Management at China University of Geosciences in Wuhan.

The Fulbright Global Scholar award was created to help US academic projects spanning across international borders, giving them combined teaching and research activity that can last up to two years.

Dr. Luigi Vanfretti Elected to the Modelica Association

Luigi Vanfretti, associate professor of electrical engineering, was recently elected to the Modelica Association. The nonprofit organization “develops coordinated, open access standards and open source software in the area of cyber physical systems.”

To be considered for membership, individuals must contribute to the goals of the association. Vanfretti was elected, he said, for the work he has done to adopt Modelica language in power systems, and for organizing the first American Modelica Conference in 2018.

Vanfretti is the director of the Analysis Laboratory for Synchrophasor and Electrical energy Technology at Rensselaer, also known as the ALSETLab. The acronym is a tribute to Nikola Tesla, which becomes apparent when read in reverse. Vanfretti and his team conduct research on cyber-physical power system modeling and simulation.

Read RPI’s “The Approach.”

Dr. Jamie Coble Wins Four Prestigious Awards

Dr. Jamie Coble, professor of Nuclear Engineering, has won four prestigious awards in the last year. These are the Southern Company Faculty Award from Southern Company, the Ted Quinn Early Career Award from the American Nuclear Society, the Angie Warren Perkins Awards from the University of Tennessee and the 2018 Leon and Nancy Cole Award from the College of Engineering, University of Tennessee. Dr. Coble is a collaborator on a number of CURENT research projects. 

Read the article on the Department of Nuclear Engineering’s website. 

Chinese New Year Celebration

We are celebrating the Chinese New Year with a short discussion about Chinese New Year and its traditions. Join us for this informative talk followed by a traditional Chinese lunch.

Who: Professor Wenying Huang, Confucius Institute at the International House

Title: Traditions of the Chinese New Year

Date: Monday, Feb. 4th

Place: MHK 124

Time: 11:30am – 1:00pm

A traditional Chinese lunch will follow the discussion

Please help us plan by letting us know if you will attend or not. RSVP by 4pm on Wednesday, January 30th.

RSVP here.

Webpage

UTRF Newsletter Highlights Dr. Daniel Costinett’s Research

Dr. Costinett’s research in wireless charging of personal devices is the subject of an article in the University of Tennessee Research Foundation’s newsletter. Read.