Meeting Theme: “Creative Resource Planning in the Face of Surging Load Growth”
Ali Mehrizi-Sani – Virginia Tech
Ali Mehrizi-Sani received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto in 2011. He is currently a Professor with Virginia Tech and Director of VT Power and Energy Center. He is or has been an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion (Senior AE), IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, and IEEE Power Engineering Letters as well as IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed papers. Among his recognitions are the 2023-24 VT College of Engineering Dean’s Fellow, 2018 IEEE PES Outstanding Young Engineer Award, 2018 ASEE PNW Outstanding Teaching Award, 2017 IEEE Mac E. Van Valkenburg Early Career Teaching Award, 2017 WSU EECS Early Career Excellence in Research, 2016 WSU VCEA Reid Miller Excellence in Teaching Award, 2011 NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2007-2001 Connaught Scholarship, and 2007 Dennis Woodford prize.
Amrit Iyer – Smart Wires
Amrit Iyer coordinates with the engineering, manufacturing, customer support, and leadership teams within Smart Wires to define, develop, test, and release new offerings to Smart Wires advanced power flow control (APFC) product portfolio. Amrit has been with Smart Wires since 2014, previously holding roles as a lead engineer within the Smart Wires R&D, testing, and manufacturing teams and has been involved in research and development of APFC products since 2008, with six journal publications and ten patents granted.
Andrew Clarke – Duke Energy / CAPER Chair & Facilitator
Drew Clarke works as a Lead Integrated Planning Coordinator in the Integrated System and Operations Planning (ISOP) organization for Duke Energy, based in Charlotte, NC. His primary responsibilities include supporting the development of Duke Energy’s integrated planning processes and coordination between the ISOP and transmission organizations. Prior to joining the ISOP organization, Drew worked as a Technology Development Manager in the Emerging Technology Organization, aligning Duke Energy’s internal R&D priorities and managing external R&D partnerships, and as a System Operations Engineer, providing real time operations support, system operator training simulator support, blackstart restoration studies, and leading Duke Energy’s internal Distributed Energy Resources Operational Working Group. Drew received his PhD and Bachelor of Science, both in Electrical Engineering, from Clemson in 2014 and 2010, respectively. Drew is a Professional Engineer in the state of North Carolina and a NERC certified Reliability Coordinator.
Andrew Ingram – Southern Company
Andrew Ingram joined Southern Company in 2011 in the Strategic Studies group of Southern’s Transmission Planning department. Andrew moved to the Power Delivery group of Southern’s Research department in 2015. Andrew’s research focuses on the grid integration of new technologies like inverter-based resources, microgrids, and power electronics. Andrew holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Psychology from the University of Alabama.
Andrew Phillips – EPRI
Dr. Andrew Phillips provides executive oversight and direction for research, development and demonstration programs addressing T&D assets including substations, overhead lines, underground lines, T&D interaction with the environment, information communication technologies and cyber security. In this capacity, Andrew Phillips is responsible for the Lenox, MA High Voltage Outdoor Laboratory, the Charlotte, NC T&D Test Facility and the Knoxville Power Delivery Laboratory.
Andrew Sowder – EPRI
Andrew Sowder is a Senior Technical Executive at EPRI where he has managed applied research on advanced nuclear fuel cycles and used nuclear fuel management and established EPRI’s strategic focus area on advanced reactors. In 2023, he launched and currently leads an EPRI strategic program on fusion energy.
Prior to joining EPRI, Andrew served as a physical scientist and foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State, conducted actinide environmental chemistry research on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Savannah River Site, and spent a year in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) science and technology policy fellow.
Andrew received his B.S. in Optics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson University. He is a Certified Health Physicist and serves as Chair of the American Nuclear Society’s Standards Board. In December 2023, Andrew was appointed to the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC).
Dr. Badrul Chowdhury – UNC Charlotte / CAPER Co-Director
Dr. Badrul Chowdhury is currently serving as Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering with a joint appointment in Systems Engineering & Engineering Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Chowdhury’s research interests are in power system modeling, analysis, control and economics; system vulnerability and resiliency assessment; integration of renewable and distributed energy resources in the power grid. He currently serves as the site co-director of CAPER at UNC Charlotte.
Fred Huang – ERCOT
Shun Hsien (Fred) Huang is the director of Operations Support at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Shun Hsien joined ERCOT in 2006 where he has served different roles in both system planning and system operations. His work in ERCOT includes renewable integration, system stability and security, interconnection requirements, transmission planning, operation application advancement and engineering support, reliability and ancillary service design, and emergent technology development and adoption. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, Arlington, in 2006.
Joshua Pollock – Dominion Energy
Josh Pollock is an engineer at Dominion Energy, specializing in planning power delivery to data centers in Northern Virginia. With extensive experience in energy management, Josh is dedicated to optimizing power infrastructure and managing load growth for critical technology hubs.
Kevin Tomsovic – Executive Director of Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI)
Kevin Tomsovic also serves as the Duke Energy Endowed Chair in Smart Grid Technology and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an IEEE Fellow, Tomsovic comes from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he served as Director of the Center for Ultra-Wide Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks, known as CURENT, and Chancellor’s Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
His areas of interest include intelligent systems and optimization methodologies applied to various power system problems, including distribution system design, electricity market analysis, equipment diagnostics and maintenance, operation of dispersed energy resources and stabilization control.
Melanie Kaytes – Duke Energy
Melanie Kaytes is a Grid Edge Pilot Product Manager at Duke Energy and a UNCC Systems Engineering alum. With a decade of experience in clean energy strategy and innovation, she leads a team overseeing Duke Energy’s portfolio of pilots, testing and validating technologies to advance energy orchestration and drive transformation through scalable solutions.
Dr. Mesut Baran – NC State University
Mesut E. Baran received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988. He is currently a Professor with NC State University, Raleigh. His research interests include distribution and transmission system analysis and control, integration of renewable energy resources, and utility applications of power electronics based devices. Currently, he is a member of the FREEDM Systems Center at NC State focusing on both research and education aspects of renewable electric energy systems and their integration into the electric power distribution systems. He also serves as the NC State site Co-Director for CAPER.
Dr. Ning Lu – NC State University / CAPER Co-Director
Dr. Ning Lu is a Professor at the ECE Department of North Carolina State University and has over 20 years of experience in electric power engineering. She received bachelor’s degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 1993 and Ph.D. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2002. From1993 to1998, she was a power system design engineer with Shenyang Electric Power Bureau. From 2003 to 2012, Dr. Ning Lu was a senior research engineer with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Dr Lu’s research interests include modeling and analysis of power system load behaviors, energy management systems development, renewable integration, microgrid modeling and control, and AMI data analysis. Dr. Lu is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, including journal articles, conference proceedings, and technical reports.
Ramtin Hadidi – Clemson University / CAPER Co-Director
Ramtin Hadidi received the Ph.D. degree from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada, in 2012, in electrical engineering. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University. Prior to that, He was a research scientist at the Duke Energy eGRID Center at CURI in Charleston. His current research interests include modeling and simulation of power conversion systems, Power system stability studies, combined heat and power units, microgrid control, building energy management and building to grid studies and co-simulation environments. He is an active member of IEEE and IEEE Power & Energy Society.
Ramtin Khalili – Dominion Energy
Dr. Ramtin Khalili received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, MA, where he focused on power system Modeling and control, state estimation, and renewable energy integration. He is currently a Senior Transmission Planning Engineer at Dominion Energy Virginia, working on load and generation interconnection studies, short circuit analysis, and transient stability. He is responsible for conducting short-term and long-term planning to accommodate large loads interconnection and address the reliability concerns. Before joining Dominion Energy, he worked as a power system consultant for several years, contributing primarily to the dynamic modeling and testing of generation units.
Dr. Robert Cox – UNC Charlotte / EPIC Executive Director / CAPER Director
Professor Robert Cox is the Executive Director of EPIC and The Duke Energy Distinguished Scholar in Power Engineering Systems. Previously he served as an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UNC Charlotte, as the Assistant Director for the Energy Management Research Vertical, and Associate Director within the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC).
Dr. Cox focuses on advancing EPIC’s research in the areas of grid resiliency and energy utilization. His team is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry / University Cooperative Research Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites. This work focuses on the use of data to improve energy utilization in buildings. His team works closely with many industry partners, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, Duke Energy and Atrium Health.
He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Samir Dahal – Siemens Gamesa
Samir Dahal, a seasoned electrical engineer at Siemens Gamesa, leads grid interconnection and modeling for 10+ GW of onshore projects across the Americas. With a Ph.D. from UND and prior experience at Mitsubishi Electric, he specializes in renewable energy, power systems, and grid integration, backed by strong research and leadership.
Steve Rea – Chair Emeritus Nuclear Advisory Council
Steve Rea is a BSME and MME graduate of North Carolina State University. He is a veteran of the North Carolina Army National Guard where he achieved his Commission through Officer Candidate School. He worked in North Carolina’s nuclear energy industry for 38 years. His early career included working as a system engineer at Duke Energy Brunswick and Harris nuclear stations. Mr. Rea also led a project to create the industry’s first on-site cloud-based configuration control system for the Harris operating plant. Serving as partner with Heyward Incorporated, a small business, for 33 years, Steve led its nuclear industry operations. The past 4 years his retirement has been defined by a serious advocacy for existing and new nuclear energy in North Carolina. It’s noteworthy that he co-founded the first all-volunteer Nuclear Advisory Council in the U.S. Over the past three years that Council has served the state of North Carolina and it’s nuclear energy industry through its advocacy. Through the years Mr. Rea has been recognized by North Carolina, North Carolina State University and the national nuclear energy industry. He is a recipient of the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Mr. Rea is an inductee in the North Carolina State University Mechanical Engineering Hall of Fame. And Steve has been recognized by the American Nuclear Society with the Landis award for his advocacy work.
Thomas Beatty – Duke Energy
Thomas Beatty works as a Lead Engineer at Duke Energy and a NC State Mechanical Engineering alum. With a decade of experience in Integrated Resource Planning, his primary responsibilities include the development of Duke Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan, CPCNs, and support for various other generation planning projects within the Carolina’s.
Dr. Valentina Cecchi – UNC Charlotte
Dr. Valentina Cecchi is an Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her research focus is on electric power systems modeling and analysis, optimization of transmission and distribution system planning and operation, grid enhancing technologies, transmission line modeling and dynamic line ratings, and grid integration of renewables and distributed energy resources. Originally from Rome, Italy, Dr. Cecchi joined UNC Charlotte in 2010, after receiving her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. She served as Graduate Program Director and Associate Chair in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department from 2019 to 2024 and was the recipient of the William States Lee College of Engineering Graduate Teaching Excellence Award in 2022.
Zach Flowers – Duke Energy
Zach Flowers joined Duke Energy in 2021 and is now working as a Lead Rates and Regulatory Strategy Analyst. His primary responsibilities are centered around Duke’s Hourly Pricing program, development of EV Strategy, and driving Time-of-Use Rate adoption in the Carolinas. Zach holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of Tampa.
