November 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Simulating Possible Worst-Case Geomagnetic Disturbances For Low and Middle Latitudes
- Friday, November 15, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Rhett Guthrie, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: Simulating possible worst-case scenario geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) impact on power grids for low and middle latitudes, using high latitude GMDs. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – A Graph Embedding-Based Approach for Automatic Cyber-Physical Power System Risk Assessment to Prevent and Mitigate Threats at Scale
- Friday, November 15, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Shining Sun, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: Node2Vec, an unsupervised feature-learning algorithm for graphs, is widely used in social network analysis and natural language processing due to its ability to derive latent variables from random walks in graph structures. By leveraging that, a graph embedding-based approach for cyber-physical risk analysis (GEACRA) is develop, which enables a structural assessment of cyber-physical system interdependencies and provides insights into potential vulnerabilities across interconnected components. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Privacy-Preserving and Cybersecure Power System Operation via Secure Multi-Agent Computing
- Friday, November 8, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Xiang Huo, Postdoctoral Researcher, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar explores the challenges posed by the rapid growth of grid-tied energy resources in controlling large-scale power systems, with a focus on scalability, privacy, and cybersecurity. It will introduce secure multi-agent control, optimization, and learning frameworks designed to enhance system resilience, protect private data, and ensure the safe operation of critical cyber-physical power infrastructures. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Distributed Optimal Control of Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Inverters for Power System Frequency Regulation
- Friday, November 1, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Xiaoyang Wang, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: With the growing integration of inverter-based renewable generation, maintaining power system frequency has become a challenge. We propose a fully distributed optimal frequency control algorithm for grid-forming and grid-following inverters that seamlessly achieves primary, secondary, and tertiary frequency control. Read more
October 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Enhancing Power Grid Resilience Against Cyber-Physical Threats: A Scalable Simulation Tool and Secure Data Management Using IPFS and Multichain Technologies
- Friday, October 18, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Khandaker Akramul Haque, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: The seminar will explore the development of a scalable discrete event simulation tool designed to assess and optimize power grid resilience under both normal and adversarial conditions. The discussion will focus on leveraging convex optimization, IPFS, and Multichain technology for secure, real-time analysis and tamper-proof data management, addressing the growing vulnerability of modern power systems to cyber-physical attacks. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Electrical Distribution System Optimization Using Reliability Analysis
- Friday, October 11, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speakers: Carlos Ramirez Franco, Electrical Manager at OXY; Fares Romanos, Electrical Engineer at OXY
- Description: This paper details a methodology to optimize electrical distribution systems using a production-based approach to electrical reliability in the Oil and Gas industry. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Real-Time Cyber-Physical Power System Testbed for Studying the Impact of Cyberattacks on Smart Power Distribution Systems
- Friday, October 4, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Kumpanat Thongmai, M.S. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar covers research on the impact of cyberattacks on smart power distribution systems. It details two stages: first, validating a real-time cyber-physical testbed with RTDS and CORE through simulations of DoS and MITM attacks; and second, modeling a smart distribution feeder with DERs, EV chargers, and smart meters, analyzing how cyberattacks affect these components during distribution automation. Read more
September 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – CyberDep: Enhanced Generation of Bayesian Networks Through the Inclusion of Bidirectional Data Flow Dependencies in Cyber-Physical Power Systems
- Friday, September 27, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Leen Al Homoud, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar introduces CyberDep, a Bayesian Network tool for analyzing cyber-physical interdependencies in power systems. It demonstrates how CyberDep quantifies bidirectional data flow and n-to-1 connections using conditional probabilities, with results from a WSCC 9-bus system emulation. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Demythifying Cybersecurity
- Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 2:20pm in WEB 236C
- Speaker: Dr. Thomas Kroeger, Systems & Security Research, Sandia National Laboratories
- Description: Current cyber security approaches are fundamentally broken. Vulnerabilities in current implementations are virtually limitless, and threats are exploiting these vulnerabilities faster than we can detect and counter them. This talk presents a qualitative survey of the current state of affairs in cyber security. We show how current cyber security implementations compound the problem by creating the illusion of security. The result is a primitive cyber society in which trust and confidence are absent or, worse yet, deceptive. This examination of cyber security is intended as a reality check with the hope of provoking the thoughtful discussion about solutions that address the core problems. We will examine this situation and present several approaches that attempt to develop a basis from which we can foster transformation in digital security.
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Power Electronics Intensive Power Systems: Modeling, Control, and Real-World Applications
- Friday, September 20, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Xiaonan Lu, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering Technology, Purdue University
- Description: This seminar will explore the role of advanced power electronic systems in modern energy infrastructure, focusing on their modeling, control, and real-world applications. It will highlight how emerging technologies can enhance the resiliency, stability, and sustainability of power systems, particularly in dynamic microgrids and renewable energy integration. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Behavior of Large Cryptocurrency-Mining Firms in Electricity Markets: A Texas Econometric Analysis
- Friday, September 6, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Subir Majumder, Senior Research Engineer, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar investigates how factors like cryptocurrency conversion rates, electricity prices, and weather conditions affect mining operations in Texas, revealing that temperature and electricity prices are the main drivers, with firms adjusting usage to mitigate 4CP charges during peak summer months. Read more
August 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Voltage Stability in Non-Uniform Geomagnetic Disturbances
- Friday, August 30, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Luke Lowery, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar explores methods for determining voltage stability limits under GMD conditions by analyzing electric fields induced by solar storms and their effects on power system stability. Read more
May 2024
2nd Annual Strategic Holistic Intrusion Defense in Power Systems (SHIELD) Student Workshop
- Monday & Tuesday, May 13-14, 2024 at 8:30am – 5:00pm at the Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR), Rooms 1107, 1108, 3339, and 3350
- Description: Collaborators on the research project titled Strategic Holistic Framework for Intrusion Prevention Using Multi-model Data in Power Systems (SHIELD) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Energy Power Control Networks (EPCN) program, invite you to join the second annual student workshop led by Muhammad Ismail, Ph.D. (PI, Associate Professor, Computer Science, Tennessee Tech) and Kate Davis, Ph.D. (Co-PI, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, TAMU). The workshop aims to build on the previous year’s foundations of a student cohort that will is knowledgeable in power systems, networking, cybersecurity, and ML/AI.
- To register for free, click here. Registration Deadline is Friday, April 26, 2024.
- For questions regarding the workshop, please contact Kelly Nickinson at kelly.ford@tamu.edu.
- See pictures from last year’s workshop here.
April 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Resilient-by-Design NextG Power Systems: Challenges and Opportunities
- Friday, April 26, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Eman Hammad, Assistant Professor, Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University
- Description: In this talk, we expand on the benefits of cyber-physical modeling as a useful tool to help capture innovation, system interactions, risks, and uncertainty. We share results on a few research problems within this framework, and expand on opportunities for research. Read more
Energy & Power Research Day
- Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 8:30am – 4:00pm at the Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR)
- Description: The Energy & Power Research Days are organized to showcase research projects and to facilitate discussions with industry. These events are co-sponsored by the Smart Grid Center (SGC) of Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and the Energy and Power Group (EPG) of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In-person demonstrations will provide an overview of cutting edge research achievements and provide a great opportunity for networking.
- For more information and to register, click here.
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Protective Relay Fundamentals and Some Modeling Considerations
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Maximo Briones, MS Student, Texas A&M University
- Description: The seminar focuses on protective relay fundamentals, protective relay philosophies, and modeling considerations for research. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Renewable Development in ERCOT
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Joseph K. Nasser (CFA), MS Student, Texas A&M University
- Description: This presentation will provide background on Nasser’s employer, Avantus, a process on site selection for new solar developments, and how different aspects of transmission, origination, permitting, land, finance, and regulatory affect site selection. Read more
Invited Industry Speaker
- Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 2:00pm – 4:30pm in WEB 324
- Speaker: Dr. Hendrik Hamann, Distinguished Research Staff Member and the IBM Chief Scientist for the Future of Climate
- Description: Presentations by Dr. Hamann and Dr. Le Xie (TAMU) on Large Language Models for Power, concluding with a roundtable discussion.
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Resilience of Renewable Power Systems Under Climate Risks
- Friday, April 12, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Nicole LoGiudice, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
- Description: This presentation presents a weighted least squares algorithm to find the electric field during geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) using geomagnetically induced current (GIC) measurements. Read more
March 2024
77th Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers
- Monday- Thursday, March 25-28 , 2023 in MSC
- Presenter Information Deadline: February 2, 2024
- Paper and Presentation Submission Deadline: March 4, 2024
- More details
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Resilience of Renewable Power Systems Under Climate Risks
- Friday, March 22, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Luo Xu, Postdoctoral Researcher, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University
- Description: This seminar discusses the challenges and opportunities for future net-zero renewable power systems under intensifying climate risks. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Resilience of Renewable Power Systems Under Climate Risks
- Friday, March 8, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Jongoh Baek, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar presents an automated algorithm for designing and validating generator dynamic models in large-scale realistic synthetic grids, with a focus on frequency stability perspectives. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – A Learning-Based Strategy to Identify Underrepresented Extreme Weather Events to Improve the Reliability and Resiliency of Power Systems
- Friday, March 8, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Kseniia Zhgun, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
- Description: A Learning-Based Strategy to Identify Underrepresented Extreme Weather Events to Improve the Reliability and Resiliency of Power Systems. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Towards Zero-Carbon Power Grids: Navigating Renewables’ Complexities and Constraints
- Friday, March 1, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Elnaz Kabir, Assistant Professor, Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar explores the challenges and opportunities in decarbonizing power systems through renewable energy integration. Read more
February 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Reliability and Economics of Distribution Systems with Edge-Level DERs
- Friday, February 23, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Arun Kumar Karngala, PhD Student, Electrical Engineer, Texas A&M University
- Description: Reliability and economics of distribution systems will be discussed in this evolving landscape of power systems. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Cyber-Physical Awareness and Mitigation Strategies During Geomagnetic Disturbances
- Friday, February 16, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Rhett Guthrie, PhD Student, Electrical Engineer, Texas A&M University
- Description: Communication is a key aspect of Cyber-Physical Power System (CPS), and Geomagnetic Disturbances (GMD) can have negative consequences on the communication network for the CPS. Strategies need to be created to deal with the potential risk, for loss of communications during GMDs. Read more
Texas Power and Energy Conference 2024 (TPEC)
- Tuesday – Wednesday, February 12-13, 2023 in MSC
- Paper and Poster Submissions Deadline: November 3, 2023
- More details
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Virtualization: Using Power Flow Application Capabilities to Visualize and Analyze US Energy Information Administration Generation Data
- Friday, February 9, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Jordan S. Cook, PhD Student, Electrical Engineer, Texas A&M University
- Description: The EIA-860 dataset serves as a valuable resource and a model of generators in the United States can be derived from this data. This research also emphasizes the role of effective data visualization techniques. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Enhancing Future Power System Infrastructure Performance with Evolutionary Algorithms and Swarm Intelligence
- Friday, February 9, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Luis Loo, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: Join us as Luis Aguilar Loo, a PhD Student from ECEN Department and TAMIDS Data Science Ambassador, delves into the application of evolutionary algorithms and swarm intelligence for optimizing future power system infrastructures, showcasing cutting-edge techniques in computational intelligence for energy systems. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Virtualization: The Next Step in the Journey of a Protection and Control Relay
- Friday, February 2, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Melvin Moncey Joseph, PE, Electrical Engineer, Black & Veatch
- Description: Virtualization is a need of the hour to build the grid of the future. Read more
January 2024
Energy & Power Group Seminar – IEEE Standards – What You Need to Know!
- Friday, January 26, 2024 at 11:30am in ZACH 241
- Speaker: Jimmy J. Guerrero, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar describes the development process for IEEE Standards and highlights the multiple opportunities for participation and involvement. Read more
December 2023
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Generating Electric Field Test Patterns for Electric Grid Resiliency Studies
- Friday, December 1, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speakers: Melvin Stevens, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar will discuss geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) and a technique of generating electric fields test patterns that resemble real GMD events. Read more
November 2023
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Dynamics and Stability of Large-Scale Power Systems with Inverter Based Resources
- Friday, November 17, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Sijia Geng, Johns Hopkins University
- Description: This seminar focuses on the modeling, control design, and stability of large-scale power systems that are dominated by renewable and inverter-based resources (IBRS). We introduce a unified grid-forming/following IBR controller, and a novel differential geometry method for estimating the voltage stability boundary. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Connecting the Grids: A Feasibility Assessment of Synchronous Operations of North American Interconnections and Economic Impact
- Friday, November 10, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Jordan Cook, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This seminar focuses on a synchronous North American grid and its economic impacts. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Area Sparsity in Large-Scale Electric Grids and its Impact on Power System Sparse Matrix Statistics
- Friday, November 10, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Sanjana Kunkolienkar, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: This work shows that reducing inter-area sparsity leads to synthetic grids that more accurately reflect the sparse matrix statistics of real power systems. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Carbon-Aware Optimal Power Flow
- Friday, November 3, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Dr. Xin Chen, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: To combat climate change, decarbonization of the electric power sector is essential and urgent. This talk focuses on leveraging the extensive resources and power flexibility on the demand side to accelerate the decarbonization process, and develops the theoretical tools to achieve that. Read more
EPG Short Course – Electric Grid Impacts of Geomagnetic Disturbances
- Friday – Saturday, November 1-2, 2023 at 8:00am – 5:00pm in CIR 3339
- Course Director: Thomas Overbye, Texas A&M University
- Descrption: This event is a two-day short course on geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) caused by solar coronal mass ejections. Click for more details | Register Here
October 2023
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Wide-Area Resilience of Power System Dynamics
- Friday, October 27, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Dr. Sandip Roy, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: We will discuss methods for coordinating sensing and control resources, to strengthen system-wide resilience of power system dynamics. Read more
EPG Short Course – Primer on the Planning and Operation of Large-Scale Electric Grids
- Tuesday – Thursday, October 24-26, 2023 at 8:00am – 4:00pm in CIR 3339
- Course Director: Thomas Overbye, Texas A&M University
- Descrption: This course is focused on providing a non-technical introduction for those who need to understand the design and operation of electric grids. Click for more details | Register Here
Energy & Power Group Seminar – A Day in the Life of a Power Engineer
- Friday, October 20, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Katherine Garcia, Rayburn Electric
- Description: This presentation will go over what an electric cooperative is and some of the responsibilities of the engineering team at Rayburn Electric Cooperative. Read more
Smart Grid Center Webinar – Creating and Validating Dynamics Models for Synthetic Electric Grids
- Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 3:00pm on Zoom. Register here
- Presenter: Dr. Adam Birchfield, Texas A&M University
- Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – A Tuning Method for Exciters and Governors in Realistic Synthetic Grids with Dynamics
- Friday, October 13, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speakers: Jong-oh Baek, Texas A&M University
- Description: This presentation explores the tuning of exciters and governors in synthetic power grid models, aiming to create stable and realistic systems. The proposed synthetic generator dynamics are implemented in a 37-bus Hawaiian synthetic power system, demonstrating robust performance under various disturbances. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Bio-inspired and AI DeepWalk Based Approach to Understand Cyber-Physical Interdependencies of Power Grid Infrastructure
- Friday, October 13, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speakers: Shining Sun, Texas A&M University
- Description: We present an approach to improve the characterization of cyber-physical interdependencies through modeling techniques. These improved assessments of dependencies can then help optimize system design to improve functional resilience. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Toward An Integrated Reliability Assessment Framework for Geomagnetic Disturbances
- Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Rhett Guthrie , Texas A&M University
- Description: The seminar will be discussing Geomagnetic Disturbances (GMDs) effects on the grid and how to estimate the reliability of the power grid during GMD storms, using a novel framework. Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Line-Post Insulator Fault Classification Model Using Deep Convolutional GAN-based Synthetic Images
- Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Dong-joo Kim, Texas A&M University
- Description: In this seminar, we propose a generative approach to creating a massive amount of line-post insulator fault images through Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Networks (DCGAN). Read more
Energy & Power Group Seminar – Towards a Transmission Network Interfaced 100% with Power Electronics
- Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at 1:00pm in WEB 236C
- Speakers: Dr. Xavier Kestelyn, Arts et Métiers Sciences et Technologies, Lille
- Description: Key topics related to the nonlinear analysis of electrical networks such as: Advanced Power Electronics Integration, Nonlinear Analysis of Electrical Networks, Sustainable Energy Transmission, and Cutting-Edge Research Insights. Read more
September 2023
EPG Seminar – A Parallel Approach for Solving Network Equations in EMT simulation Based on Branch Partition
- Friday, September 29, 2023 at 11:30am in ZACH 244
- Speaker: Zhenrui Wang, PhD Student, Computer Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University
- Description: In the field of Electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation and transient stability analysis, solving the network equations constitutes a significant portion of the computational workload…Read more