GEARED Universities: 2014-2018

Our GEARED universities have been vital to the first five years of GridEd due to the substantial resources required for the preparation and dissemination of training and educational materials. Additionally, the capability of universities to transfer ongoing cutting-edge research into educational programs is essential to enhancing engineers' skill sets by training them on the latest technology required to manage and operate the future grid. These seven university participants received commitments via subcontracts with EPRI as part of GridEd’s GEARED and STEP efforts. They had roles as primary developers of the curriculum and provided early-stage delivery of the curriculum.

Roles and responsibilities include:

  • Lead development of curriculum and training materials.
  • Develop and incorporate new courses into traditional power system/engineering programs and/or update the course content of existing programs.
  • Develop and offer new post-graduate level power system courses focusing on PV and other distributed renewable technology.
  • Develop and offer continuing education courses for professional utility engineers.
  • Develop open-source/ online/ electronic materials as part of tech transfer.
  • Execute training.
  • Bring new findings from continuing research into curriculum and/or new training materials.

Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology is supporting the development of courses and topical materials needed for a new Professional Master's degree and a portfolio of short courses on similar subjects. Power program enhancements will benefit engineering workforce and services to Southeastern utilities and industry members with strong ties to Georgia Tech and the National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC). Georgia Tech leads three of GridEd's initiatives including Training and Dissemination, Evaluation, Communcating Engagement and Outreach.

Contact: Sakis Meliopoulos, (404) 894-1876, sakis.m@gatech.edu
http://www.ece.gatech.edu/index.html
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) is offering new and modified power engineering classes, some of which will be offered as distance education classes such that working professionals can enroll in these courses. In addition, a graduate certificate program in power systems will be offered for the first time. Bringing strong research and industry ties through the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), UNCC is leading curriculum development in graduate programs for GridEd. UNCC is also leading student engagement activities such as the Student Innovative Board and Student Conferences for GridEd.

Contact: Badrul Chowdhury, (704) 687-1960, b.chowdhury@uncc.edu
http://grided.uncc.edu
Clarkson University
Clarkson University is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues, including electric power engineering. As members of GridEd, Clarkson faculty will develop new power engineering course content at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. They will also expand their professional Master's degree program for practicing power engineers and will create a graduate level certificate program in power engineering. They will create and offer short courses, webinars, and on line courses for electric power professionals.

Contact: Thomas Ortmeyer, (315) 268-4035, ortmeyer@clarkson.edu
https://www.clarkson.edu/
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
The University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (UPRM) graduates more Hispanic Electrical Engineers than any other U.S. school and is among the top five institution graduating power engineers in the U.S. Through new online professional engineering development short courses and seminars, UPRM will provide practicing engineers with training on traditional power systems as well as power systems with significant presence of distributed technologies. UPRM is leading the E-Learning development for GridEd.

Contact: Agustín Irizarry-Rivera, (787) 832-4040 ext.2472, agustin@ece.uprm.edu
http://www.uprm.edu/portada/


GridEd-West

Arizona State University
Arizona State University's electric power engineering program is one of the largest, most comprehensive, and well-known power engineering educational programs in the United States. ASU will lead the collaborative in the west with completion and reporting requirements; develop, revise, and offer instructional materials for its online Master's degree program with courses re-engineered to address the integration of renewable resources in the electric grid; and develop a short course on critical topics based on needs identified by the Utility Advisory Committee.

Contact: Vijay Vittal, (480) 965-1879, vijay.vittal@asu.edu, http://www.asu.edu
Portland State University
Portland State University (PSU) has established power engineering tracks within their BS EE and MS ECE degree programs, directly benefitting the regional electric power industry by providing engineering education, new talent and R&D opportunities. PSU's power programs feature design-focused power engineering teaching labs that provide students within opportunities to gain hands-on experience with modern industry-standard equipment. PSU will lead the Student Innovation Board (SIB) for GridEd-West. PSU will also develop new design-centered courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels which will focus on advanced motors/generators, distributed assets, storage, utility communications, and renewable generation.

Contact: Bob Bass, (503) 867-4018, Robert.bass@pdx.edu, http://www.pdx.edu
UC Riverside
Power Engineering is one of the premier programs at UC Riverside (UCR) and their engineering program was ranked in the top quartile nationally by the 2010 National Research Council. UCR has recently launched the Sustainable Integrated Grid Initiative (SIGI), one of the largest smart grid projects of its kind in the state. The initiative represents an investment of $7 million and has been developed specifically to research the integration of intermittent renewable energy, energy storage, and all types of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. UCR will develop new graduate level courses in power systems and will lead in the completion of reporting requirements for GridEd-West.

Contact: Nanpeng (Eric) Yu, (951) 827-3688, nyu@ece.ucr.edu
http://www.ucr.edu