Professor:
Lukas Graber
email: lukas.graber@ece.gatech.edu
Lukas Graber received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from ETH Zurich in 2002 and 2009 respectively. His Ph.D. research focused on SF6 leakage detection in gas insulated switchgear and was awarded with the ETG Innovation Prize. Before he joined Georgia Tech in 2015, he worked several years at the Center for Advanced Power System, Florida State University – initially as a post-doctoral research associate and later as a research faculty member. His focus was on superconducting power cables and fault current limiters, ultra-fast mechanical switchgear, short circuit forces in substations, and grounding aspects of power distribution on future all-electric Navy ships.
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Chanyeop Park
email: chanyeop.park@gatech.edu
I received my B.S., M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea (South), and my Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech. My research focuses on investigating dielectric properties of cryogenic media for high temperature superconducting (HTS) power devices. The main goal of my research is to improve the dielectric strength of gases, as well as, to develop an improved model to accurately estimate the breakdown voltage of gas mixtures. I not only use theoretical approach but also experimental methods (plasma diagnostics) to investigate the dielectric properties of gases.
Ph.D Students:
Tushar Damle
email: tdamle3@gatech.edu
I received my B.E in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India in 2014 and my M.S in ECE from Georgia Tech in 2015 with a focus on Systems and Controls and Energy Systems.. My research focuses on characterizing the behavior of electrical contacts in high speed, high current switchgear with respect to contact materials, geometry and manufacturing processes. I am working towards developing a computer model that accurately simulates contact behavior and designing experiments to validate my model. In my free time, I swim, listen to audio books and watch WWE.
Chunmeng Xu
email: chunmengxu@gatech.edu
I received my B.E. in Electrical Engineering and Automation from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China. Currently I’m in a 5-year Ph.D. program in Electrical Energy specification at Georgia Tech. My research interests include high-voltage equipment design and manufacture, dielectric property of electrical insulation materials, fabrication and characterization method of novel electrical materials. In my spare time, I enjoy Japanese manga and Chinese traditional music.
Jia Wei
I received my B.S degree from Ohio State University, in 2015, an M.S degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, in 2017, both in electrical engineering. Currently, I am pursuing my Ph.D. degree at Georgia Tech with a focus on Electrical Energy. My research focuses on investigating dielectric properties of supercritical fluids, and the characteristics of supercritical fluids as an arc quenching medium. I am working towards designing and building a testbed which precisely conducts the breakdown experiment in high-pressure conditions.
B.S Students:
Adrian Munoz
I am an undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus in power systems and micro-electronic systems. I worked in power delivery as a Relay Co-op Engineer with SCE&G utility company. I am currently conducting research characterizing the effects and performance of a Piezoelectric actuator as contacts in Ultrafast Disconnect Switches. I am passionate and inspired to design, develop, and update devices and equipment by making efficient use of available resources. I enjoy working on team projects applying leadership skills and making use of practical experience and theoretical exposure taught here at Georgia Tech. I enjoy watching and playing soccer, as well as, learning new skills for personal and professional means.
Jeongmin Huh
Baris Volkan Gurses (ORS)
I am a first year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. My academic interests include plasma physics, high-power electric propulsion, RF engineering and photonics. Currently, I am in Opportunity Research Scholars Program, conducting research on developing a high-current impulse generator to characterize the fault behavior of electrical contacts.
Sai A. Narra (ORS)
I’m currently in my second year of studies for a BS in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. I am on the ORS team and participating in the development of an Impulse Current Generator. In my leisure time I enjoy driving, spending time with friends, and watching TV.
Visiting Students (past):
Swati Savaliya
I received M.Tech degree in Power Electronics from SVNIT, Surat, India and currently pursuing Ph.D at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. I have around 9.5 years of professional experience in electrical standard product design at Larsen and Toubro’s switchgear R&D centre, India. My research focuses on protection of low voltage DC systems where I am focusing on design and development of solid state circuit breaker and hybrid circuit breaker.
Yunbo Tian
My name is Yunbo Tian and I am a Ph.D student in Electrical Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. My research focuses on vacuum arc physics, anode phenomena of vacuum arcs and arc simulation. In my leisure time, I like skying, swimming and cooking.
Philipp Steinlechner
My name is Philipp Steinlechner and I am a master’s student from the northern part of the Austrian Alps. My hobbies are skiing, hiking and biking. I am very interested in environmental protection and its combination with tourism and industry. Therefore I chose “Sustainable Energy Systems” as my major and I finished my Bachelor of Science in Engineering in “Renewable Energy Technologies”. Currently I am writing my Masters thesis at GA Tech in the field of waste-to-energy. In specific my work is about the methane potential of Dean Forest Road Landfill in Savannah/GA and its beneficial use, specially its electrification.
Dominik Pfaffenbichler
My name is Dominik Pfaffenbichler. I am a graduate student from beautiful Austria. My major is in energy engineering, with focus on Sustainable Energy Systems. Currently I work as an intern for GATech and writing my master thesis. The subject is “Electric Vehicle Fleet Conversion Powered by the Sun”. It deals with the financial and ecologic benefits of Electric Vehicles in combination with solar power. I am really happy about this topic, because it reflects my professional interests. My research interest goes furthermore into energy efficiency, solar power, wind power, energy reduction measures, energy transport and distribution systems, grid losses and their causes, energy efficient buildings, etc. In my leisure time, I like to be out in nature, to go hiking and traveling for example. And whenever I do so, I try to reduce energy consumption and waste and keep clean after me. Environmental protection is important to me, because after all we just have one planet to live in. I love music, good talks and inspiring discussions.
B.S Students (past):
Etitoghene Ovhori (ORS)
My name is Etitoghene Ovhori and I am a second year Electrical Engineering major at Georgia Tech. I am currently an ORS researcher who is working on a team with the objective of building a novel current impulse generator.
Tobias Niebur
I am an undergraduate student pursuing my bachelors in electrical engineering at Georgia Tech. My hometown is Baltimore, MD. Currently my project is working with power electronics and their behavior in cryogenic conditions.
Billbang Sayasean
I am currently working on my bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering and projecting to graduate in May 2017. Under Dr. Graber’s team, I designed an automated system for the Langmuir Probing station and researched on characterizing Argon plasma. My academic interests are semiconductor and superconductor fabrication and devices. Outside of academia, I am a food enthusiast. My hobbies include hiking, camping, and yoga.
Delgermaa Nergui
I’m from Mongolia and now I study electrical engineering. I like traveling, hiking, painting and eating. My academic interests include sustainable energy, power electronics and electronic design. Currently I’m working on the Langmuir Probe measurement on DC plasma research.
Alice Huynh
My name is Alice Huynh and I graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering in Spring 2016. Under Dr. Graber’s team, I worked on investigating different materials for high speed contact switches. My academic interests include power generation, controls, and systems interaction. In my free time I enjoy playing music, jigsaw puzzles, and going on adventures with friends.
