The 2026 CURENT Industry Conference, held on April 28–29 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, brought together leading experts in power systems and power electronics from academia, industry, and national laboratories. The conference provided a platform for cutting-edge discussions on energy resilience, data center loads, inverter-based renewable energy, and the future of electric power systems and power electronics.
Day 1 Highlights
The conference opened on Tuesday with two pre-conference tutorials led by renowned experts. Mr. Frank Sharp from Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) delivered an in-depth session on “Large-Scale Data Center Flexibility Opportunities and Practices,” followed by Dr. Fred Wang from CURENT, who presented a tutorial on “Grid-Forming Converters: Requirements, Implementation, and Capabilities.”
The welcome session was led by Noah Wilding, co-chair of this year’s conference, as conference chair Farzad Yaghoobi Notash was unable to attend due to a recent surgery. Dr. Matthew Mench, Dean of the Tickle College of Engineering at UTK, then delivered welcoming remarks to conference attendees. Next, CURENT Director Prof. Fran Li presented a center overview, highlighting the center’s recent achievements, ongoing initiatives, and future goals while setting the stage for the conference themes and discussions.
The afternoon featured keynote speeches from industry and research leaders. Dr. Madhu Chinthavali from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) discussed strategic research and utility-scale integration efforts under ORNL’s GRID-C project. Dr. Johan Enslin from ARPA-E presented emerging medium-voltage solid-state substation technologies for powering future data centers. The session concluded with Micah Till from Dominion Energy, who shared insights into data center growth and operational challenges within Dominion Energy’s service territory.
The conference then continued with faculty research presentations showcasing innovative work by UT faculty members in power systems and power electronics. Interactive discussion sessions following the presentations fostered engagement among attendees and encouraged new collaborative ideas between academia and industry.
The day concluded with a conference dinner and industry meeting, which provided opportunities for networking, collaboration discussions, and conversations on the future directions of the research center.
Day 2 Highlights
Wednesday began with two keynote presentations. Dr. Jovica Milanovic from the University of Manchester, UK, discussed the latest challenges and opportunities associated with the transition toward net-zero power systems from a UK perspective. Dr. Slavko Mocevic from ABB presented an overview of next-generation medium-voltage drive technologies and their future applications.
The conference also featured an industry and student panel session on how AI will transform the power industry. Five experts from CURENT industry member companies and organizations, Mike Marshall from DRG, Clifton Black from Southern Company, Amirreza Sahami from Dominion Energy, Han Xiong from GE Vernova, and Yonghao Gui from ORNL, shared their perspectives on the impact of AI on the electric power sector. The panelists also discussed how current students and new graduates in electric power engineering can broaden their knowledge and skill sets to prepare for the paradigm shift brought by the emerging AI era.
The day continued with a student research presentation session featuring 13 graduate students from CURENT, who presented their latest research accomplishments and ongoing projects in power systems and power electronics.
The conference concluded with demonstrations of the CURENT Large-Scale Testbed (LTB), Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET), and Hardware Test Bed (HTB), followed by laboratory tours and a poster session at the Min H. Kao Building. These activities highlighted CURENT’s state-of-the-art research infrastructure and contributions to advancing the future technologies in power systems and power electronics.
The 2026 CURENT Industry Conference successfully fostered dialogue and collaboration among academia, industry, national laboratories, and students, helping pave the way for future advancements in power systems and power electronics.
