Awards 

Dr. Hamid Nazaripouya was named a Distinguished Fellow of Electrical and Computer Engineering.   

The honor is a department-level recognition that honors faculty members in ECE who demonstrate exceptional performance in both research and teaching early in their careers.   

Being named a Distinguished Fellow of Electrical and Computer Engineering is a highly special recognition, as it is awarded to select faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional excellence and productivity in their field. 

Given that the award is discretionary and granted at the department head's decision, it serves as a distinguished mark of trust and confidence in the recipient's leadership potential and impact. 

The College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT) recently announced recipients for the 2024 Dr. Ramakumar Family Energy Scholarship. Majid Dehghani was honored with this scholarship in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of renewable energy.

“I am truly grateful to be awarded the Dr. Ramakumar Family Energy Scholarship,” said Dehghani. “This award will greatly support my ongoing work in renewable energy and encourage me to push the frontiers of innovation in this field.”

Majid has been actively involved in renewable energy research for the past few years, focusing on strategies to enhance the efficiency of renewable energy sources, planning the optimal use of these resources, and designing resilient, privacy-preserving controllers to ensure secure communication between energy systems. “I am excited about the future opportunities to learn and make meaningful contributions to the evolving renewable energy resources,” he added. 

The award was presented as a recognition of his work, which spans hardware and software development and significant scholarly contributions.

Taha has significantly contributed to the development of an HIL setup, a pioneering initiative, serving as a critical testbed for evaluating novel control schemes for renewable integration in distribution grids.

Taha has also developed a highly secure control software based on VOLTTRON, addressing key cybersecurity concerns among grid operators regarding the integration of inverter-based renewables. This development heralds the "Internet of Grid," enabling high-speed, secure communication vital for modern grid control management.

Taha has also developed innovative control and optimization algorithms to improve the integration of battery energy storage systems for voltage regulation in distribution grids.

Philip Strachan was selected to be a part of the ECE Miller Research Scholars for the 2024-2025 school year.

This is a research award that is made possible by the Lynn T Miller fund through the OSU Foundation. This is a prestigious award that requires a term report and an oral/poster presentation at the end of the allotted school year.

Philip is excited to utilize this opportunity to help develop a more secure landscape for the Grid

Majid Dehghani, a Ph.D. student at PGML, has received the Summer 2024 Robberson Research and Creative Activity Grant to support his innovative research over the summer.

Majid works under supervision of Dr. Nazaripouya to develop Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) systems in the Power Grid Modernization Lab. “Through PHIL testing, we are able to safely simulate real-world scenarios, integrating renewable energy into complex power systems without the need for costly or risky field trials,” said Dehghani.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Robberson Research and Creative Activity Grant,” Dehghani added. “This grant has allowed me to make significant advancements in control strategies for modern power grids, which are critical as renewable energy continues to grow. I am excited to contribute solutions that can adapt to the evolving demands of the energy industry.” 

Jason Aquino, a talented undergraduate student at Oklahoma State University, has received NSF EPSCoR grant to fund his research project thought the summer and help him gain research experience in his field. 

Aquino is doing research on Electrical Power Resilience Against Ice-Storms. “What really motivated me to do this project was the November 2020 ice storms in Oklahoma,” Aquino said. “Many people I know were out of power for several days. I realized it was a huge problem for lots of people, and I want to help find a solution.” 

Aquino wants to partake in research that benefits more people than just himself. “I am excited to partake in research that has the potential to benefit people,” Aquino said. “I think that seeing a problem and finding a solution benefits me and others around me so much more than just having a part-time job.” Aquino’s end goal is to propose an ice storm, self-healing solution for power systems.  

The IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) selects Thomas Kidd as a 2021 IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative recipient.

The IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) recently announced recipients for its prestigious PES Scholarship Plus Initiative. In a nationally competitive landscape, ECE student Thomas Kidd was selected.

Thomas Kidd is highly active in ECE by serving this year as the president of the student branch of IEEE at OSU. Kidd is working with Dr. Nazaripouya, ECE assistant professor, to develop a website for the Power Grid Modernization Lab (https://sites.google.com/view/osupgml/home) and to update the dashboard for the renewable energy student project located in the ENDEAVOR. “I am so grateful to be the recipient of the IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative,” said Kidd. “I am excited for future opportunities to learn and impact the energy industry of the future.”