{"id":227487,"date":"2025-03-27T12:07:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=227487"},"modified":"2025-03-27T12:07:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:07:19","slug":"junbo-zhao-from-uconn-college-of-engineering-wins-nsf-career-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/03\/junbo-zhao-from-uconn-college-of-engineering-wins-nsf-career-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Junbo Zhao from UConn College of Engineering Wins NSF CAREER Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those of us old enough to remember, the 2003 blackout in New York City and parts of the Northeast served as a grim reminder of the tenuous nature of the electrical grid we all take for granted. Electrical generation and distribution systems are complex and, in many cases, overtaxed and quite old. But technology has significantly improved since that fateful day, and if today\u2019s grid operators had access to some of the tools now in place or currently being developed, they might have been able to mitigate or avoid that memorable and traumatic power interruption.<\/p>\n

Looking back, explains Junbo Zhao, Castleman Term professor in Engineering Innovation, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), part of the problem was that the control systems that existed in 2003 didn\u2019t offer any functional way to give operators the needed visibility to adjust to generations and demands in real time. They lacked the tools they needed to reroute or divert power from other sources and, in hindsight, to have seen the problems as they were developing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditionally, power grid operators use a method called static state estimation (SSE) to monitor systems and ensure reliable data for decision-making,\u201d Zhao explains. \u201cHowever, this method struggles under extreme conditions, which contributed to the 2003 blackout, causing billions of dollars in losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the rapid growth of renewable energy sources like solar and wind, he adds, as well as increased battery storage, the power grid is becoming more dynamic. Traditional SSE is no longer enough to keep up with these fast-changing conditions.<\/p>\n

To help address these challenges, Zhao, from the UConn College of Engineering (CoE), has received a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program grant. The CAREER Program is a foundation-wide activity that offers the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.<\/p>\n

\"A
Junbo Zhao, second from left, works with students (from left) Alaa Selim, Yingyi Tang, Tong Su, and Bendong Tan on CAREER project logistics. (photo, Christopher LaRosa\/UConn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Zhao, beyond technical advancements, this project also will foster collaboration between industry and academia, update courses, and provide hands-on training in renewable energy, data analytics, and power engineering. Special efforts will be made to engage K-12 students, helping to build the next generation of energy experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at ways to expand now to ensure that our energy systems are more resilient and expandable in the future,\u201d Zhao explains. \u201cWe are exploring dynamic abilities and creating tools that can be utilized to guide effective decision-making and prevent catastrophic blackouts, rather than simply respond to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers help ensure stability going forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

This grant project aims to improve grid operators’ ability to monitor and control the power system in real time, ensuring stability as more renewable energy sources are added. The project will introduce new ways to use measurements for tracking system conditions, diagnosing and fixing model issues, and improving measurement setups to enhance grid reliability and security.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Zhao\u2019s NSF CAREER award is a testament to the ECE department\u2019s dedication to integrating research and educational excellence,\u201d says John Chandy, professor and ECE department head. \u201cThe award will support his research efforts in power grid reliability and resilience as well as an\u00a0integrated education program focused on undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, the program will extend his outreach efforts to the community as well as to industry and national lab partners.\u00a0I\u00a0am confident that this new CAREER project will drive innovations that further enhance the university mission and strengthen the ECE department’s power and energy program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zhao earned his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2018. He also serves as director, DOE Northeast University Cybersecurity Center for Advanced and Resilient Energy Delivery, and is a research scientist for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.<\/p>\n

According to Emmanouil Anagnostou, executive director of CoE\u2019s institute of environment and energy, the Eversource Energy Center, Zhao\u2019s CAREER research will further enhance the center\u2019s role in enhancing grid reliability and resilience, particularly as the integration of renewable energy continues to expand.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Zhao\u2019s CAREER project will significantly benefit both the utility industry and the research community by advancing integrated research and education on the scientific and engineering principles necessary for modeling, monitoring, and digitizing future power systems,\u201d says Anagnostou. \u201cWith the growing adoption of renewable energy, this work is essential for ensuring a secure and reliable power supply.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College of Engineering researchers are improving grid operators’ ability to monitor and control electrical power systems in real time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":227488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2315],"class_list":["post-227487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 13:20:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227487"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227612,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227487\/revisions\/227612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/227488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227487"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=227487"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=227487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}