WEEKLY SEMINAR SERIES - SPRING 2012

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Patent Law Primer for Researchers and Engineers

 
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

 By:

Kader S. Gacem

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Abstract

From Research to Patents

(I) What every scientist and engineer should know about patents and the patent process!

 What is a patent?

 What is the standard for patentability?

 What is a public disclosure?

 What is prior art?

 What is the difference between an inventor and an author?

 How to handle research notebooks?

(II) Brief discussion of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (“AIA”), which was signed

into law on September 16, 2011. AIA is the first significant overhaul of the U.S. patent system in

nearly 60 years. This new patent reform measure ushers in considerable changes in how companies,

universities, and individuals may obtain and enforce patents in the United States.

Biography

Kader S. Gacem is a Master Patent Agent with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP.

Mr. Gacem provides technological advice in support of validity, infringement, patentability analyses,

patent application preparation and prosecution, and litigation matters in the areas of electrical

engineering, telecommunications, and computer technology. Prior to embarking on his Intellectual

Property career, he served as a senior engineer and technical expert at ComEd, an electric power

company serving the State of Illinois.

Mr. Gacem received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic

University of Algiers, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Missouri University of

Science and Technology, a Master’s degree in Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington

University in St. Louis, and conducted Doctoral Research and Studies in Electrical Engineering at

Washington University in St. Louis.

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Drivin Batteries—From Disposable to Dependable

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Jim Douglass

Dallas Design Center Manager

Linear Technology

Abstract

Battery technology has become an important research and development area as the need to store electrical energy proliferates. Batteries are now being deployed as the primary energy supply in high-reliability and high-safety systems, whereas historical use was predominantly to provide startup power, backup power, or disposable power. The stringent reliability and safety requirements create significant development constraints that are difficult to meet simultaneously.

Biography

Jim Douglass received a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1991. He developed digital temperature sensors at Dallas Semiconductor until 1997, when he joined RFIC startup Microtune. For six years he designed television tuner ICs and managed the IC development team. He joined Maxim in 2003 to design cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) controller chips. In 2006 he and a colleague started the Dallas Design Center for Linear Technology, the premier analog IC company. The Dallas Design Center develops analog and mixed-signal ICs for battery stack monitoring, switching power supplies, RF frequency synthesis, and signal conditioning.

Jim lives in Lewisville, Texas, with his wife and two children. While he enjoys his work, his passions include spending time with his family, teaching 7th graders at church, and pastoring a church congregation of young immigrants from southeast Asia.

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Application of Electrical Power Engineering in the Oil and Gas industry

 
Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Masoud Hajiaghajani, Mike Alford

Chevron Energy Technology Company

Abstract

Seminar objective is to provide an introduction of application of electrical power systems engineering in the oil and gas industry with the focus on upstream and subsea. The presentation will include an overview of subsea boosting pump electrical power systems design considerations, some lessons learned, and major technology gaps. An introduction to equipment qualification and Direct Electrical Heating technology will also be covered in the presentation.

Biography

Masoud Hajiaghajani received his B.S.E.E. from Sharif University of Technology, M.S.E.E. from the University of Tehran and Ph.D. E.E. from Texas A&M University. He is a senior member of IEEE and a registered Professional Engineer in Texas. He has three patents and authored / co-authored several technical papers. Masoud joined Chevron in 2002 and is currently working in Chevron Engineering Technology Company as a Subsea Electrical Power Systems Engineer.

Mike Alford received a B.S. E.E. from Louisiana State University in 1971.  Mike has worked in Chevron for 15 years.  Through his career at Chevron, Mike has provided electrical power systems support to Upstream Topsides, Subsea, Downstream, and Cogeneration projects and facilities.  Mike is presently working as Subsea Consulting Electrical Power Systems Engineer, supporting subsea capital projects and the technical development of subsea power umbilicals, transformers, switchgear, and adjustable speed drives.  Mike is a senior member of IEEE, a registered professional engineer in Texas, a Member of the Technical Team of IEEE’s Continuing Education Seminars Program, a member of the Subsea Electrical Power Systems Standards group, and a member of the API 14F Offshore Electrical Systems working group.

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Voltage Stability in Unbalanced Distribution Systems

Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Hung-Ming Chou,Ph.D. Candidate 

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 

Texas A&M University

Abstract

As the penetration of distributed generation (DG) in the electrical distribution systems increases, the distribution system is transforming from a passive system into an active system. Therefore, the stability issues in distribution systems are becoming important. Voltage stability is vital to make sure the voltage level in distribution system is acceptable and stable under perturbation. In this presentation, a brief overview of voltage stability is given and voltage stability in transmission and distribution system is described. The characteristics of transmission and distribution system are compared. The issues of active distribution system with high penetration of DG are described. The current status of voltage stability in unbalanced distribution system is presented.

Biography

Hung-Ming Chou received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2004 in National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. He received his M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2009 from Texas A&M University. In the same year he joined the Ph.D. program in Power System Automation Lab under Dr. Butler-Purry’s guidance. His research interests include power electronics, power system dynamics and control, renewable energy integration and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) real time simulation.

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Wind Turbine Technology and a 100% Renewable Energy Society

 Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 4:10pm – 5:00pm, Heldenfels Rm 200

(Co-hosted with the Mechanical Engineering Department)
 

By:

Dr. Dan Ionel

Chief Scientist, Vestas Wind Turbines R&D

Adjunct Professor, Marquette University

Abstract

The main inter-disciplinary engineering concepts of wind energy generation will be presented with examples from the innovative technologies developed by Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines. The topics covered will include off-shore foundations and floating wind turbines, very large rotor blades, drive trains, power conversion systems and electric power plants. It will be shown that wind turbines are truly sustainable products, which are highly recyclable and have extremely low greenhouse gas emissions during their lifecycle. Some of the plans for a future 100% renewable energy society, which were published by government and independent organizations and scientists, will be briefly reviewed. The required technological developments and the role anticipated to be played by wind energy in conjunction with other renewable energy sources and together with electric and thermal energy storage and with the future “smart grid” will be finally discussed.

Biography

Dr. Dan M. Ionel is Chief Scientist with Vestas, the world largest wind turbine manufacturer. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering with Marquette University. Dr. Ionel received the M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania. His doctoral program included a one year Leverhulme Visiting Fellowship at University of Bath, England, UK. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher with the SPEED Laboratory, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Earlier in his career, Dr. Ionel worked in industrial R&D for FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 Companies in the UK and the US. He has published more than 80 journal and conference papers, including a winner of the first prize Best Paper Award from the IEEE IAS-EMC. He holds over 30 patents, including a medal winner at the Geneva Invention Fair. Dr. Ionel is the Chair of the IEEE Industry Applications Society Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conversion Systems Committee and an Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy.

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Robust Bidding Strategy for Virtual Power Plants in Deregulated Electricity Markets

Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Anupam A. Thatte, Ph.D. Candidate 

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 

Texas A&M University

Abstract

 This paper explores an optimization-based bidding strategy for operating a virtual power plant in deregulated electricity markets. In particular, the dispatching strategy for a wind farm in conjunction with generic on-site energy storage for an energy arbitrage application will be presented. Given the inherent uncertainties in electricity market prices and wind power output, a robust optimization-based approach is formulated to determine the bidding strategy. Through case study on day-ahead market the robust-optimization based approach is compared to a deterministic-optimization based approach. The relative economic performance of the two approaches will be compared for two scenarios of forecast error. The impact of choice of uncertainty set for robust optimization on the economic performance is also analyzed.

Biography

Anupam A. Thatte received the B.E. degree in electrical engineering in 2004 from Pune University, India, and the M.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2005 from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Dr. Le Xie at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. His industry experience includes an internship with ABB at their Corporate Research Center in Raleigh, NC. His research interests include modeling and control of power systems, renewable energy and smart grids. 

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Reliability of Candidate Photovoltaic Module-Integrated-Inverter Topologies

Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Souhib Harb, Ph.D. Candidate 

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 

Texas A&M University

Abstract

Module-integrated inverters (MII) connected to a single PV module are fast becoming the trend for grid-connected residential PV systems. Their advantages include: improved energy harvest; improved system efficiency; lower installation costs; plug-N-power operation; and enhanced flexibility and modularity. The performance of a MII is determined by factors that include: efficiency, reliability, power density, and cost. Relatively high efficiencies have been reported in the literature, and standards have been developed to measure it. However, the reliability aspect has not received the same level of scrutiny. The emergence of the ACPV module in which the power electronics are directly mounted to the PV module has led to the start of a rigorous study of the reliability of the PV module-integrated inverter (MII). A new approach to calculate the mean time between failure (MTBF) using the MIL-HDBK-217 stress factor method is proposed. The new approach takes in consideration the usage model of the inverter, the statistical distribution of expected operating temperature and power processed, rather than a single (typically worst-case) operating point. The technique is applied to the systematic reliability comparative study for six different inverter topologies. This study shows the impact of each component on the inverter’s reliability, in particular, the power decoupling capacitors.

Biography

Souhib received his MS degree from University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA, in 2010, and his BS degree from Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan in 2008, both in electrical engineering. His master thesis was "Three-port Micro-Inverter with Power Decoupling Capability for Photovoltaic (PV) Systems Applications". In 2010, he joined Texas A&M University, where he is working on his PhD degree in Power Electronics. His research interests include power electronics for renewable energy applications, the reliability of power electronics converters, and Non-linearity phenomenon in power electronics.

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The Electricity System Implications of Flexible CO 2 Capture

Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Stuart Cohen, Ph.D. Candidate 

Department of Mechanical Engineering 

The University of Texas at Austin 

Abstract 

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture using post-combustion amine scrubbing technology can reduce CO 2 emissions at fossil-fueled power plants by 90%, but energy requirements reduce net power output by 20–30%. Flexible CO 2 capture systems, however, enable a temporary reduction in CO 2 capture energy to increase power output during peak electricity demand, peak electricity prices, or grid reliability events. Doing so could improve the profitability of operating with CO 2 capture while maintaining environmental benefits. 

This seminar describes two models created to optimize operation of flexible CO 2 capture in response to electricity price, demand, and ancillary service requirements. The models utilize a unit commitment framework and are implemented as mixed-integer linear programs using GAMS software. Optimization methodology is discussed along with results that compare several CO 2 capture configurations across a range of plant performance specifications and electricity market conditions. 

Biography 

Stuart Cohen is a Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UT-Austin in 2009 and received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 2007. His current research interests include energy systems analysis using optimization techniques with a specific focus on integrating advanced energy systems such as carbon dioxide capture, renewables, and energy storage into electricity systems.

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DOE Energy Storage Power Electronics Program

Thursday, February 2, 2012, 10:00am – 10:50pm, PETE (Richardson) 309

By:

Biography

Dr. Stan Atcitty received his BS and MS degree in electrical engineering from the New Mexico State University in 1993 and 1995 respectively. He received his PhD from Virginia Tech University in 2006. He is presently a Principle Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in the Wind Energy Technologies department. He has worked at Sandia for over 17 years. His interest in research include power conversion systems (rated from 1kW to 10s of MW) and electrochemical capacitors and it’s applications in electric power systems that are both off-grid and grid-tied. He currently works with the DOE’s Energy Storage Program at Sandia National Laboratories as a power electronics researcher and energy storage consultant.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 3:00pm – 3:50pm, 1037 ETB

By:

Mohammad Shadmand

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 

Texas A&M University