A University of Arkansas electrical engineering professor has been named site director fro the GRid-connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems (GRAPES) Research Center. Yue Zhao, a UA assistant professor, has been tapped for the role.
Founded in 2009, the research center aims to accelerate the adoption of power electronics into the electric grid. These electronics would reportedly improve the electric grid’s system stability and flexibility.
In his new role, Zhao will oversee strategic initiatives for the research center. He has been a member of the research center since 2015.
“My main research effort in GRAPES is closely related to the distributed energy resources (DER), especially design and optimization of the power converters such as solar inverts for DER applications,” he said in a statement. “The seed projects funded by GRAPES have led to several large-scale projects funded by Department of Energy.”
The research center is partially funded by the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Industry members fund much of the research.
Zhao was selected to be site director by UA professors Alan Mantooth and Juan Carlos Balda.
