Faculty Member on Team Receiving Award for Improving Power Engineering Cyberinfrastructure Training
October 18, 2023
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Xin Fang has been awarded funding from the National Science Foundation as part of a collaborative project to improve cyberinfrastructure for power and energy engineering.
Xin Fang
Fang is working with principal investigator Hantao Cui from Oklahoma State University as co-PI on their project titled CyberTraining: Pilot: PowerCyber: Computational Training for Power Engineering Researchers.
Despite the significant advancements in cyberinfrastructure (CI), its adoption in power engineering has been limited due to a lack of quality training materials and the historical reliance on limited tools. Fang said the project aims to address the underutilization by developing an online, modular and available PowerCyber training.
Fang said, “This project provides a great opportunity for me to assemble all the training materials including power system optimization, time domain simulation, data analytics, visualization tools for the training of new undergraduate/graduate students, postdocs and engineers. It can help reduce the learning burdens of new students to perform scientific computing research.”
The plan includes creating high-quality, interactive, and on-demand training modules that cover advanced CI in software, hardware and emerging techniques. These will include examples showing the potential to transform power engineering research. Virtual PowerCyber training workshops will also be included.
Fang said upon the completion of this project, they expect to have demonstrated a pilot training workshop that provides researchers with advanced CI capabilities for solving power-domain problems.
“The project will democratize access to high-quality research training, benefit a diverse population, and foster collaborations between the power and CI communities,” Fang added. “The project is expected to equip the research workforce with an understanding of advanced CI software and hardware and help accelerate interdisciplinary research for the clean energy transition.”
To learn more about Dr. Fang’s academic and research interests, visit his ECE profile.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University consists of 27 faculty members (including seven endowed professors), seven professional staff, and over 700 undergraduate and graduate students, with approximately 100 being at the Ph.D. level. With a research expenditure of over $14.24 million, the department houses the largest High Voltage Laboratory among North American universities.