Bi-annual Newsletters Vol. 1 | Page 6

site visit & conferences CURENT Holds Second Annual Site Visit and Industry Conference T he research group and staff at CURENT recently wrapped up their second annual Site Visit and Industry Conference. The three day event overlapped two major meetings in the center, and brought together nearly 200 faculty, students, and industry representatives from across the country. The first day offered an opportunity for CURENT to showcase its research portfolio to industry partners and companies looking for potential collaborations. Invited speakers with an expertise in power systems and power electronics presented on CURENT-related research topics. The speakers included Dr. James Thorp from Virginia Tech, Dejan Sobajic representing the NY-ISO, Jay Giri from Alstom and Jim Lyons from Capricorn. Following the industry talk, students in the center had an opportunity to present their ongoing projects. In addition, industry members recognized CURENT students Liu Yang, Liuxi Zhang, and Scott Ghiocel with Most Outstanding Presentation awards. The second leg of the event brought representatives from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy to campus to review the overall progress of the center. NSF and DOE personnel met with UT administrators, CURENT’s leadership team, industry members, and students in the center to discuss benchmarks and future growth. Partner school faculty and students from Northeastern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Tuskegee University were also in attendance to highlight their related research. Students from all four universities participated in research presentations, presented posters during the lab tour segment, and got a chance to meet and network at a student awards banquet. CURENT is working with the NSF to finalize dates for the 2014 Site Visit now, and that information will be posted once it becomes available. Upcoming Meetings & Conferences with CURENT First Thursday of Each Month Monthly Progress Meetings via Conference Call Last Friday of Each Month Seminar Series via Conference Call or On Campus October 24-25, 2013 Strategic Planning Meetings Rosemont, IL May 13-16, 2014 Site Visit & Industry Conference Knoxville, TN 4 curent.utk.edu