Student Projects

GridEd is undertaking an initiative to support undergraduate design projects with a focus on power engineering or data analytics related to the power system. This effort seeks to help students gain practical experience in developing an approach to design activities helping to prepare them to meet the future challenges of the evolving power system. For qualifying applicants, GridEd offers financial support (up to $5k per project) for undergraduate design projects meeting the following requirements

Requirements for Award Consideration:

GridEd seeks to prepare future power engineers and data scientists entering the power industry and will only consider projects related to engineering and data analytics challenges associated with generation, transmission, distribution or end use of electric power.

Application Process:

Proposals for projects which meet the above criteria may be submitted to GridEd at any time. To submit a proposal, complete the following proposal template and send an email to afeser@epri.com.

GridEd Undergraduate Design Project Proposal Template (216 KB)

Award Process:

GridEd will assemble a review committee comprised of personnel from EPRI and professors from participating GridEd universities to evaluate the qualifying* proposals based on the criteria below.

Award Criteria:

  • Technical Merit: the project description sufficiently describes the design challenge and technical requirements necessary for successful completion. The proposed project scope is related to power engineering concepts which are expected aid students in understanding the fundamental principles and overcome challenges associated with the generation, transmission, distribution, and end use of electric power.

  • Timeline: Projects must start within 6 months of the award date. GridEd will consider existing projects which are still seeking additional support. Projects may be short-term semester style initiatives or larger multi-year investigations. GridEd will make only one award per project per year based on available funding. Each awardee is expected to submit a summary of results to date (5-page maximum) to GridEd prior to graduation or within one year of award selection.

  • Budget: A budget breakdown of expected project costs related to the award funding must be provided. While total project budget may be any amount, GridEd will only make awards up to $5,000 in support of the project. Sufficient detail should be provided which describes why GridEd funding is needed and for what it will be used. Applicable expenses may include items such as (but not limited to) equipment for testing, materials for prototyping, costs for modeling, printing costs, conference fees, or student travel to conferences to present results. GridEd will not consider projects which plan to use award funding to support work study, stipends, or scholarships, including graduate student assistantships or PhD research.



2023 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
Alabama A&M University AI-Based Home Energy Management
Alabama A&M University Integration of Edge Energy Resources (EER) with Main Energy Grid (MEG)
California Polytechnic State University Application of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to enhance Grid-Connected Solar System
City University of New York, City College Development of Data-Based Digital Twin for Lifetime Estimation of Grid-Scale BESS
Cleveland State University Hybrid Wind-Solar Systems to Power an EV Charging Station
University of Memphis Inductive Coupling and Mobile Energy Disseminator-Based Dynamic Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles
University of Memphis Mitigation of Adverse Effect of E3 HEMP on Power Transformers by Intelligent Controller Based Variable Resistor
University of Memphis Artificial Intelligence Controlled Variable Capacitor for Wind Generator Stabilization
University of Pittsburgh Design of a Power Systems Digital Twin Laboratory
University of South Alabama Electric Power Savings in a Smart House
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga OpenZmeter Security and Data Analytics Integration
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Synthetic Smart Meter Data Generation
Tennessee State University Design of a Load Forecasting model for Electrical power substations
Tennessee State University Design of a micro-inverter for solar panels
Tennessee State University Design of a Distributed Solar Powered System for Electric Vehicle Wireless Charging
Texas State University Developing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Readiness Plan: A Case Study of Texas
Texas State University Sizing Renewable Microgrid for Net-Zero and Resilient Electric Vehicle Charging Satiations of Texas through 2040

2022 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
California Polytechnic State University Battery Simulator for Microgrid Lab
California Polytechnic State University Reliability Measurement for Grid Connected Solar System
City University of New York, City College Energy Management and Control Framework for DC Bus-Integrated Solar, Energy Storage, and Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers
South Dakota State University High Voltage Conductor Identifier
Tennessee State University Design of a Solar Energy System with Smart Controller Capable of Weather Prediction and Acting as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP)
Tennessee State University Design of a Wireless Dynamic Vehicle Charging System
Western Washington University GPS Spoofing Mitigation for Phasor Measurement Unit Receivers

2021 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
University of Memphis Design of Mobile Renewable Micro Power Grid for Vehicles
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Machine Vision Application for Damaged Solar Panels Detection
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Solar PV System for Gazebo as Educational Tool for Communities Part II
University of Pittsburgh V2G Demand Response Control Laboratory
University of South Alabama Cost and Performance Analysis of Home Level Microgrids
University of South Alabama Vehicle-to-Grid as an Energy Storage System for DC Microgrids

2020 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
California Polytechnic State University Hybrid AC/DC Power Controller for DC House
California Polytechnic State University Feasibility Analysis of Replacing Overhead Transmission Lines with DC Underground Cable to Enhance Microgrid Resiliency
Iowa State University Mobile Microgrid for Energy Resiliency
South Dakota State University Behind-the-Meter Solar Garden Load Following / Zero Injection Controls
University of Memphis Design of Novel Variable DC Link Capacitor for Solar Photovoltaic System
University of Memphis Design of Novel Bidirectional DC-DC Converter for Battery Energy Storage System Used in Microgrid
University of South Alabama Optimized Energy Management System
Western Washington University Modeling and Control of Voltage Source Converters Interfacing Renewable Energy Sources in Weak Conditions
Western Washington University Solar Panel Shading Effects and Degradation Modeling

2019 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
University of Memphis Development of Behind-the-Meter Photovoltaic (PV) Power Forecasting Method
University of Memphis Design & Operation of Utility Integrated Photovoltaic (PV) System as Supercapacitor Energy Storage
University of Pittsburgh Design of a Microgrid Laboratory with Distributed Energy Resource Visualization
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Solar PV System for Gazebo as Educational Tool for Communities Part I
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga AI Based Home Energy Management System

2017 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
Buffalo State Enhancement of Transactive Energy Test Bed+D9:I as Related to Microgrid with Deployment of Synchrophasors for Protection, Monitoring and Control
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Estimation of Behind-Meter Renewable Generation from Power Consumption Data - Phase 2
University of Colorado Denver Energy Management System
Western Washington University Distribution System Fault Location Identification: A Quickest Change Approach

2016 Prior Award Submissions:

For questions related to GridEd's support of Undergraduate Design Projects, please contact us at afeser@epri.com

University Undergraduate Design Project Title
Buffalo State Testbed for Transactive Energy and its Effects on the Distribution System and Protective Devices Settings
California Polytechnic State University Microgrid System Protection
Colorado School of Mines Advancement in Electric Drives and Motor Design as Applied to the Steel Industry and Electrical System Design Calculations
University of California, Irvine Evaluation of Power-to-Gas for the State of California in Various Renewable Energy Scenarios
West Texas A&M University Photovoltaic Battery Charger for Residential Microgrid
North Carolina State University Distributed Energy Generation and Storage System Design
Oregon Institute of Technology Three-Phase Variable Frequency Motor Controller & Inverter Implemented using Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation on a Field Programmable Gate Array
Oregon Institute of Technology Second Life Battery Characterization
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Estimation of Behind-Meter Renewable Generation from Power Consumption Data
University of Louisville An AC Microgrid Test Bed for Exposure to Power Systems Concepts
Western Washington University A Statistical Framework for Real-Time Event Detection in Power Systems