Power converters are an essential component of many electrical systems, from a smartphone or electric car to the electric grid. These devices flip current from AC to DC or DC to AC, modulate electric frequency, stabilize voltages, and generally make sure electricity is in a form usable by our electronics.
She dedicated the rest of her undergraduate career to power systems, electrical machines and power electronics. That interest led her to UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) research group for her graduate work. At UW-Madison, advised by ECE Professor and WEMPEC Director Giri Venkataramanan, Gupta began her research into power converters.
After earning her PhD, she spent a year at Ford Motor Company, working on electric vehicles as part of the research and advanced engineering group, designing electrified powertrain systems. In 2020, Gupta joined Portland State University in Oregon as an assistant professor.
PhD student Araz Saleki also will be joining Gupta at UW-Madison. Saleki is working on a National Science Foundation-funded project to design very-high-density and efficient power converters for integration of battery energy storage systems into the electric grid.
The Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at Portland State University currently has three areas focused on electric power: Dr. Bass's Power Engineering Group, Dr. Bird's Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion & Control and Dr. Gupta's Power Electronic Conversion Group.
Dr. Gupta's websiteDr. Gupta's research focuses on energy conversion with the aim of high power density and efficiency. Ranging from a few kilowatts to several megawatts, the focus applications include electrified...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Joseph Wilson, MS 2016
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project (ITER), Saint-Paul-ls-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
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
Centred around the record-breaking plant in Sunderland, UK, Nissan EV36Zero will supercharge the company's drive to carbon neutrality and establish a new 360-degree solution for zero-emission motoring.
The transformational project has been launched with an initial 1bn investment by Nissan and its partners Envision AESC, a global player in world-leading battery technology, and Sunderland City Council. Comprised of three interconnected initiatives, Nissan EV36Zero brings together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production, setting a blueprint for the future of the automotive industry.
Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer, Makoto Uchida said: "This project comes as part of Nissan's pioneering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. Our comprehensive approach includes not only the development and production of EVs, but also the use of on-board batteries as energy storage and their reuse for secondary purposes.
"Our announcement today comes out of lengthy discussions held within our teams, and will greatly accelerate our efforts in Europe to achieve carbon neutrality. The experience and know-how gained through the project announced today will be shared globally, enhancing Nissan's global competitiveness.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "Nissan's announcement to build its new-generation all-electric vehicle in Sunderland, alongside a new gigafactory from Envision-AESC, is a major vote of confidence in the UK and our highly-skilled workers in the North East.
"Commitments like these exemplify our ability to create hundreds of green jobs and boost British industry, whilst also allowing people to travel in an affordable and sustainable way so we can eliminate our contributions to climate change."
Unveiling Nissan EV36Zero at the Sunderland Plant today, Nissan's Chief Operating Officer, Ashwani Gupta, said: "This is a landmark day for Nissan, our partners, the UK and the automotive industry as a whole. Nissan EV36Zero will transform the idea of what is possible for our industry and set a roadmap for the future for all.
"We reached a new frontier with the Nissan LEAF, the world's first mass-market all-electric vehicle. Now, with our partners, Nissan will pioneer the next phase of the automotive industry as we accelerate towards full electrification and carbon neutrality."
Building on Nissan's historic 35 years of manufacturing excellence in Sunderland, the projects announced today represent 6,200 jobs at Nissan and its UK suppliers, including more than 900 new Nissan jobs and 750 new Envision AESC jobs at its new smart, low-carbon battery plant. Longer-term, the transformational project modernises and expands Nissan's EV production capability in the UK.
Envision AESC, the battery arm of global green tech company Envision Group, will deploy integrated AIoT smart technology to monitor and optimize energy consumption, manufacturing and maintenance at its new gigafactory, enabling it to rapidly increase production and provide batteries to power up to 100,000 Nissan electric vehicles a year.
UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: "This fantastic investment by Nissan and Envision-AESC represents a solemn commitment to the people of Sunderland, bringing further high-skilled jobs and turbocharging our plans to level up the North East. This is a huge step forward in our ambition to put the UK at the front of the global electric vehicle race, and further proof, if any was needed, that the UK remains one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive manufacturing.
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