ECE Faculty Members Receive DOE Funding to Support Training
January 24, 2024
Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Xin Fang and Assistant Clinical Professor David Wallace are part of a team awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO).
The project “HVDC-Learn: Modular Education & Workforce Training in High Voltage Direct Current Electric Transmission” was awarded $700,000, with Mississippi State University granted over $100,000 of the funds. The project is led by Iowa State University Professor James McCalley.
Xin Fang
The collaborative work engages educators and industry representatives to develop educational lessons to strengthen skills for designing and deploying HVDC for the transmission of electricity from land-based and offshore wind.
“In this project, MSU will work with six other universities to develop HVDC education modules. A good, collaborative team is important for future offshore wind and HVDC related opportunities,” Fang said. “This project will develop education materials for undergraduate students, graduate students and professionals to understand the HVDC technologies. It can help train the workforce for the opportunities in HVDC and offshore wind energy sectors.”
Both online and in-person courses will target technician and engineering sectors to build connections between certificate and degree programs and industry-applied work.
The DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office selected fifteen projects to lower costs and address barriers to deployment of wind energy in all its applications—offshore, land-based and distributed.
“Offshore wind technology is becoming increasingly important in the energy transition. Training the workforce to facilitate this transition is important. In addition, to prepare local students in the unrepresented areas is crucial for the success of the energy transition,” Fang added.
David Wallace
Wallace noted, “HVDC is a hot topic amongst the IEEE and IEC organizations. New standards are being written, and new approaches are needed for the HVDC integration. HVDC will play an important role in the electrical industry with the increasing growth of wind and solar generation and improving the reliability of the North American grid.”
More on all projects funded may be found on the U.S. DOE’s website.
To learn more about Dr. Fang’s academic and research interests, visit his ECE profile. More on Dr. Wallace and his work in ECE’s Paul B. Jacob High Voltage Laboratory may be found on 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.