Power System - Control Advancement Resilience Enhancement

Power System- CARE Research Group

Farzad Ferdowsi is an Associate Professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at UL Lafayette. He worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and lecturer at Electrical Engineering Department, Louisiana State University from May 2017 to July 2018. He was also a Research Associate at LSU’s Center for Energy Studies. Dr. Ferdowsi received his Ph.D. degree from the Florida State University in 2016. From 2014 to May 2017, he worked as a graduate researcher at the Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) which is the first United States’ navy-accredited university test site located in Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. Ferdowsi has authored/co-authored conference papers and journal articles on different aspects of power and energy systems. Additionally, he is an active reviewer for the IEEE Industry Applications Society, Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy and IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy.

ResearchGate: Farzad Ferdowsi

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PhD student (Expected Graduation: Fall 2024)

Samuel Yankson is currently a PhD candidateat the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He graduated with a Master of Science in Engineering with a concentration in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in May 2020. He was awarded a BSc. Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana in 2008. Samuel has built strong industrial experience by working as a Switch Engineer in the Telecom industry and an Intelligent Systems Engineer in the Oil and Gas industry before moving to graduate school. His current research interests include Smart and Micro Grids, Transactive Energy Framework and Distributed Renewable Energy (DER).

Google Scholar: Samuel Yankson

Linkedin: Linkedin

PhD student (Expected Graduation: Spring 2028)

Md Khairul Islam is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Systems Engineering with a concentration in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He earned his M.Sc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, in October 2024. He served as a lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Daffodil International University. His multidisciplinary research interests include Smart Grids, Microgrids, Power Systems, Power Electronics, Electric Vehicles, and VLSI. He has authored and co-authored several scholarly articles in IEEE conferences and journals, on Power Systems, Smart Grids, Microgrids, VLSI, and Communication Systems.

Google Scholar: Md Khairul Islam

Linkedin: Linkedin

Master's Student (Expected Graduation: Spring 2025)

Kouhyar Sheida is currently a Master's student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He received his Bachelor's degree in the field of Electrical Engineering from the University of Kurdistan, Iran in 2022. His current research interests include Control Theory, Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning and their application in power electronic devices.

Google Scholar: Kouhyar Sheida

Linkedin: LinkedIn

Master's Student (Expected Graduation: Spring 2025)

Ali Khan is a master's in electrical engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, focusing on Energy Resilience in Power Grids. He earned a bachelor's degree in Electrical (Power) Engineering from COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Pakistan, in 2021. His research interests include Digital Twining, Solar-aided drones, and Power electronics.

Master's Student (Expected Graduation: Spring 2026)

Md Zahirul Islam Khan is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Bangladesh. Before joining the graduate program, he gained significant industry experience as a Research Engineer at Walton Digi-Tech Industries Limited. His current research interests include Power Systems, Power Systems Resilience, Smart Grids, Micro Grids, and Renewable Energy.

Linkedin: LinkedIn

Master's Student (Expected Graduation: Spring 2026)

Usama Aslam is pursuing a master's in electrical engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a focus on Energy Resilience in Power Grids. He earned a bachelor's degree in Electrical (Power) Engineering from COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Pakistan, in 2021. From 2022 to 2023, he worked as a Technical Sales Engineer at Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) in the industrial sector of transformers, where he analyzed technical specifications, estimated costs, conducted load calculations for power and distribution transformers, and addressed clients' technical inquiries. During his internship at the Tarbela Dam Powerhouse of WAPDA, which generates 4,888 MW of power, he gained practical experience in hydropower generation, including the operation of servo motors, Francis turbines, synchronous generators, and power transformers. His research interests include Microgrids, Power System Analysis and Protection, Transformers, and Renewable Energy Systems.

Master's Student (Expected Graduation: Spring 2026)

Savion Siner is currently a Master's student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He received his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a minor in mathematics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2024. He previously worked as an undergraduate researcher focusing on methods of charge control. His current research interests include smart grids and machine learning

Undergraduate Research Apprentice

Houston Akridge is currently a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a minor in Math. He is expected to graduate in 2025. He developed an interest in control engineering and renewable energy. He has been researching with the University since 2023.

Chloe Williamson is currently a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is expecting to graduate in 2025. She graduated from New Iberia Senior High in New Iberia, Louisiana in 2021.

Brandon Roy is a ULL Freshman in Electrical Engineering. He is expected to graduate in 2027. His Research Background includes Robotics and Microgrids.

Nathanial Agee is a ULL Freshman in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is expected to graduate in 2027. His Research Background includes Microgrids, smart grids, and clean energy.