PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies LATAM San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 6-9, 2023

Murali Baggu is Laboratory Program Manager for grid integration at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In his current capacity, he holds a pivotal role in overseeing various programs critical to advancing grid integration, including the Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Grid Deployment Office, and Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium initiatives at NREL. Notably, Baggu spearheads NREL’s groundbreaking research in Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) and plays a pivotal role in the Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Resilience endeavor.

Thierry joined Eaton in 2022 from EMERSON through its acquisition of Open Systems International (OSI) where he was senior vice president, Industrial Technology.

Prior to his tenure at NREL, Baggu served as lead power systems engineer at GE Global Research. During this period, he emerged as a driving force behind the development of innovative Volt/VAR control algorithms and DER management strategies. He demonstrated visionary leadership by pioneering the technological evolution and large-scale deployment of energy storage integration with photovoltaic systems for the U.S. Marine Corps, underscoring his commitment to practical solutions that drive transformative change.

Baggu’s research interests are anchored in the fields of grid integration of renewable energy systems, encompassing both wind and photovoltaic sources, energy storage system integration, and the intricate domains of distribution automation and grid operations and control. His noteworthy accomplishments are reflected in his portfolio, which includes an array of five patents and more than eighty publications that have significantly contributed to the advancement of these research areas. Baggu has a Ph.D. in Power Engineering from Missouri S&T.

Thierry Godart is vice president and general manager of Energy Automation Solutions (EAS) at Eaton, a global intelligent power management company.

Thierry joined Eaton in 2022 from EMERSON through its acquisition of Open Systems International (OSI) where he was senior vice president, Industrial Technology.

Throughout his career, he has grown profitable digital businesses for global companies in previous roles as general manager of Intel’s Industrial Solutions, president of Siemens’ Smart Grid division and president of Schneider Electric’s Utility segment.

He has received the Sigma Xi Young Faculty award (1981), elevated to IEEE Fellow (1993), received the 2005 IEEE Richard Kaufman Award and the 2010 George Montefiore international award. He also received the outstanding Continuing Education Award, Georgia Institute of Technology (twice 2002 and 2014), the 2017 D. Scott Wills, ECE Distinguished Mentor Award. In 2019 he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by his alma matter, the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

Thierry holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech and a diplôme d’ingénieur from SUPELEC in Paris, France.

Matthew Huber, President of LithTech at Stark Tech, brings nearly two decades of experience in the energy field to his current role. As an engineer-turned-business leader, Matt has a vast background in the power and renewable energy sectors. His current position allows him to blend his passion for innovation, problem-solving, and smart design with his belief in the power of collaboration.

Professor Sakis Meliopoulos received the Diploma in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University in Athens, Greece in 1972, his Master in EE (1974) and PhD (1976) at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. He joined the faculty of ECE at Georgia Tech in 1976 where he is presently the Georgia Power Distinguished professor.

He is actively involved in education and research for improved protection and control of power systems, operations planning, operational and cyber security, safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and the application of new technology in these areas. The objectives of these research activities is to develop the technologies for the next generation Energy Management Systems and Advanced Distribution Management systems to accommodate and solve the challenges from the integration of renewables and other distributed energy resources. Since 1999 he is the Georgia Tech Site Director of PSERC, an NSF I/URC. In 2016-19 served as the associate director for cyber-physical security of the Georgia Tech Institute for Information Security and Privacy (IISP).

He has contributed to many IEEE Standards including: substation safety (Std 80), ground testing (Std 81), lightning shielding (Std 998), substation structural design (Std 605), centralized substation protection (Std C37.300), microgrid protection (P2030), and other IEEE and CIGRE standards.

He has received the Sigma Xi Young Faculty award (1981), elevated to IEEE Fellow (1993), received the 2005 IEEE Richard Kaufman Award and the 2010 George Montefiore international award. He also received the outstanding Continuing Education Award, Georgia Institute of Technology (twice 2002 and 2014), the 2017 D. Scott Wills, ECE Distinguished Mentor Award. In 2019 he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by his alma matter, the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

He holds 3 patents. He has published three books, a chapter in the Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers and over 450 technical papers

Dr. Rahmatian is a co-founder and president of NuGrid Power Corp. He has contributed to several techniques for power system measurement and automation over the past 30 years. He is a Professional Engineer and a Fellow of the IEEE for contribution to optical voltage and current sensors. He is a past Chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society’s (PES) Technical Council, active at PES Power System Relaying and Control as well as Power System Instrumentation and Measurements committees. He is also active in CIGRE (Distinguished Member), IEC, CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and NASPI (North American Synchrophasor Initiative). His present technical focus is on wideband optical sensors, synchronized measurement systems, digital substations, integration challenges of distributed energy resources, high-speed measurement of voltage and current, travelling-wave-based fault location, and grid resiliency efforts. Farnoosh has over 100 technical papers and 12 patents to his credit.

Liuxi (Calvin) Zhang is Global Technology Director in Eaton Corporation, leading Eaton’s global Energy Systems Research organization reporting directly to EVP and Chief Technology Officer.

Calvin is responsible for leading a global team of scientists and engineers and providing strategic direction in the field of Energy Systems Management (including Renewable and DER management, Grid and Cyber Resiliency, as well as Transportation Electrification). In this role, Calvin manages strategic relationships with external customers, internal and external ecosystems to develop and implement technology and commercial strategies, and translate them into solutions across various applications and markets.

Prior to joining Eaton, Calvin was with Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd)/Exelon, as Senior Manager of Distribution Engineering, and Senior Manager of Smart Grid and Innovation, leading teams to develop smart grid strategy and roadmap, identify and evaluate emerging technologies, and manage demonstration projects. Prior to ComEd, Calvin worked with Nexant Inc. as Senior Distribution Systems Engineer, leading research, software development and product management for ADMS/DERMS applications.

Calvin was awarded his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, USA. He obtained his Master and Bachelor degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Calvin is IEEE Senior Member. He was Co-Chair for the 2023 IEEE PES Grid Edge Technologies Conference and Exposition. He also serves IEEE PES Long Range Planning Committee (LRP) for Chapter Activities and Membership Development.