Power Engineering Group
Overview
The Power Engineering Group's (PEG) research addresses the engineering challenges to the electric power system that arise from large-scale societal issues such as natural disasters, climate change, and cyber-physical security threats. The PEG develops technology and methods to coordinate the dispatch of distributed loads, generators, and energy storage devices to provide utility services that improve power system reliability and facilitate the integration of renewable energy resources.
Faculty
Dr. Robert Bass holds a PhD from the University of Virginia. He joined the PSU Electrical & Computer Engineering department in 2011. Dr. Bass has extensive experience developing power engineering education programs, power engineering curricula, and hands-on engineering education laboratories. He established and directs the power engineering BS EE and MS ECE programs at PSU. Dr. Bass specializes in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on electric power, electromechanical energy conversion, distributed energy resources, industrial controls, and power systems analysis. He has taught over 150 engineering courses, and he has developed thirty-five power-related courses, including many focused on renewable energy engineering. Dr. Bass has developed a variety of teaching laboratories, with foci on electric power and machines, photovoltaics, electrochemistry and fuel cells, industrial controls, thermal and fluid systems, power systems protection, power systems analysis and power electronics. Dr. Bass has raised over $5M in funding specifically for power engineering program development. He has been successful at attracting funding from a wide variety of sources, including federal, state, industry, and private gifts.
Research and Funding
PEG research students develop engineering solutions that address challenges imposed on our rapidly-changing electric power system. The large-scale adoption of renewable generation in response to climate change requires the power system be operated in ways distinctly different from the past. And, the adoption of information technology and data science by utilities has provided new opportunities, and presented new challenges, to power systems operators.
PEG research students work in partnership with electric utility engineers to understand these challenges and to develop impactful engineering solutions.
For example, PEG students are investigating the dispatchability of aggregated residential-scale assets in response to utility ancillary service requests. Students conduct performance evaluations on residential assets, including water heaters and battery-inverter systems. They evaluate the dispatchability of these assets in response service request, such as frequency response, frequency regulation, peak demand mitigation, and EIM RTM. PEG students are helping the industry understand how residential assets can be used to provide ancillary services. The PEG is interested in understanding asset characteristics, such as response lags, ramp rates, energy availability, methods execution, etc., of residential-scale assets in response to these ancillary service requests. By dispatching ancillary services through residential load control, a utility can include a higher proportion of renewable resources within its generation portfolio.
The Power Engineering Group has received research funding from Portland General Electric, Bonneville Power Administration, Electric Power Research Institute, QualityLogic, Oregon Torrefaction, US DOE NETL & SBIR, Oregon BEST, and the Oregon Talent Council.
Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion and Control
Overview
Dr. Bird’s Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion and Control’s current research focus is on designing magnetically geared electric machines for wind and ocean renewable power generation applications, electrical machines for transportation applications, and computational electromagnetic modelling.
Visit the Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion and Control's website for more information.
Faculty
Dr. Jonathan Bird’s research areas are at the intersection of applied electromagnetics, mechanics and controls. His graduate work involved investigating the performance capabilities of an electrodynamic wheel for high-speed ground transportation applications. While at General Motors, Dr. Bird designed high torque density induction and interior permanent magnet motors for hybrid and fuel-cell vehicle applications. At Portland State University Dr. Bird has been continuing his research into the use of electrodynamic wheels as well as investigating the capabilities of magnetically geared electrical machines for wind and ocean power generation applications. Dr. Bird has authored or coauthored over 40 peer reviewed papers in major journals and conferences. Dr. Bird’s research has been funded by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, NASA and the North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute.
Power Electronic Conversion Group
Overview
The Power Electronic Conversion Group’s (PEC) research focuses on energy conversion with the aim of high-power density and energy efficiency. Target applications include high-voltage DC conversion, distributed and sustainable power generation and storage, renewable energy integration, electrified transportation, microgrids and pulsed-power conditioning systems. Specifically, the group specializes in developing next-generation power conversion topologies, analytical modeling techniques, modulation and control methods and conducts application-specific research.
Please visit the research group's website for more information.
Faculty
Dr. Mahima Gupta holds a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019). She joined the ECE Department in Fall 2020. Her research work focuses on power electronic conversion targeting applications ranging from a few kilowatts to mega-watts. Her teaching activities are centered around power electronic system design for undergraduate and graduate students where she integrates research into classroom activities.
Students
Graduates of the power engineering program at PSU have gone on to work at many different companies and organizations. Some examples of where our alumni work are Avangrid, Black & Veatch, Bonneville Power Administration, Brown & Kyser, Cooper Bussman, Daimler, DNV GL, Eaton, Elcon, Energy Trust of Oregon, Glumac, HDR, Inspec, Intel, Interface, Jacobs, Leidos, Pacific Northwest National Labs, Pacificorp, PAE, Portland General Electric, POWER Engineers, Powin Energy, Siemens, Stantec, US ACE Hydro Design Center, and Vestas.
Below is a subset of Power Engineering Group MS Thesis and PhD graduates, with graduation date, current employer, dissertation or thesis title, and link to the PSU library:
Wiwin Lew, MS 2023
Airity Technologies
Highly Power Dense DC to Three-Phase AC Modular Converters with Tiny Module Capacitors
Jaime Kolln, MS 2023
Pacific Northwest National Labs
Developing an Energy Service Interface Specification
Sean Keene, MS 2022
QualityLogic
Development of a Configurable DERMS Test System in GridAPPS-D
Umar Farooq, MS, 2022
National Transmission and Despatch Company, Pakistan
Development of a Configurable Real-time Event Detection Framework for Power Systems using Swarm Intelligence Optimization
Midrar Adham, MS, 2022
PSU PhD Candidate
Modeling and Analysing the Impact of Heat Pump Water Heaters on Distribution Systems Using GridLAB-D
Abdullah Barghouti, MS, 2022
General Motors
A Distributed Trust Model Simulator for Energy Grid of Things Distributed Energy Resource Management System
Mohammed Alsaid, MS, 2022
Magic Leap
A Privacy-Preserving Strategy for the Trust Layer of the Energy Grid of Things Distributed Energy Resource Management System
Hossein Baninajar, Ph.D., 2022
Electrifying Air Propulsion
An Investigation into Magnetic Gears and Magnetic Springs for Marine Hydrokinetic Power Generators
Yudon Lan, MS 2022
Lam Research
Development of a Testing Station for Grid-Interactive Smart Inverter Systems
Sonali Fernando, MS 2021
PSU PhD Candidate
The Distributed Trust Model Applied to the Energy Grid of Things
Robert Ferraro, MS 2021
Portland General Electric
Method of Modeling the Swing Equation Using Time Synchronized Measurements
Jacob Sheeran, MS, 2021
Concord Engineering
Modeling Tools for Analyzing Electrical Power Distribution Systems Impacted by Electric Vehicle Load Growth
Shahad Alomani, MS, 2021
Florida Power & Light
Power Distribution System Tools for Analyzing Impacts of Projected Electric Vehicle Load Growth Using GridLab-D
Manasseh Obi, Ph.D., 2020
Portland General Electric
Aggregated Water Heater System Optimization for Ancillary services
Leighton Clarke, MS, 2019
Federal Aviation Administration
Aggregation of Electric Water Heaters for Peak Shifting and Frequency Response Services
Mojtaba Kouhshahi, PhD 2019
Nexteer Automotive
Design and Performance Evaluation of Linear and Axial-Flux Magnetic Gears
Kevin Marnell, MS, 2019
PacifiCorp
Large-Scale DER Aggregations of Electric Water Heaters and Battery Inverter Systems
Danielle Vournas, MS 2019
RRC Power & Energy
Modeling and Control of Magnetic Gear Dynamics in a Wind Turbine Drivetrain
Annie Clarke, MS 2018
POWER Engineers
Electric Water Heater Modeling for Distributed Energy Resource Aggregation and Control
Tylor Slay, MS 2018
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Adoption of an Internet of Things Framework for Distributed Energy Resource Coordination and Control
Crystal Eppinger, MS 2017
Pacific Northwest National Labs
Impact Analysis of Increased Dispatchable Resources on a Utility Feeder in OpenDSS
Quinn Sullivan, MS 2016
PCC Structurals, Inc.
The Design, Implementation, Evaluation and Results of a Race Car for the Collegiate Formula SAE Electric Competition
Joseph Wilson, MS 2016
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project (ITER), Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France
A Utility-Scale Deployment Project of Behind-the-Meter Energy Storage for Use in Ancillary Services, Energy Resiliency, Grid Infrastructure Investment Deferment, and Demand-Response Integration
Emily Barrett, MS 2016
Pacific Northwest National Labs
The Investigation and Optimization of a Two-Heat-Pump System Incorporating Thermal Storage for Shaping Residential Heating Load
Jordan Landford, MS 2016
POWER Engineers
Event Detection Using Correlation within Arrays of Streaming PMU Data
Osama Mansour, MS 2016
Premium Services General Trading & Contracting
Determining the Power and Energy Capacity of a Battery Energy Storage System Utilizing a Smoothing Feeder Profile to Accommodate High Photovoltaic Penetration on a Distribution Feeder
Nicole Woodman, MS 2015
Intel Corp.
Time-Variant Load Models of Electric Vehicle Chargers
Jennifer Ferris, MS 2014
Bonneville Power Administration
The Design, Implementation, Assessment, and Evaluation of a Power Systems Protection Laboratory Curriculum
Shauna Jensen, MS 2014
Portland General Electric
Design and Prototyping of an Antenna-Coupled Cryotron
Zdenek Zumer, MS 2014
SWEETSense, Inc.
Last Mile Asset Monitoring: Low-cost, rapid-deployment asset monitoring
Michael Ray, MS 2013
Bonneville Power Administration
Solar Data Analysis
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