UTA powers smarter microgrids with new converter tech

Liwei Zhou’s system improves microgrid accuracy, cutting costs while managing solar, batteries and EV charging

2025-06-24

(Press-News.org) The University of Texas at Arlington has awarded funding to research teams to launch new investigative projects. The Research Enhancement Program (REP), administered by UTA’s Office of Vice President for Research and Innovation, offers seed funding to investigators to help them test new ideas and explore new directions that could lead to future innovations and more competitive proposals for external funding from federal agencies and nonprofit foundations.

In our research series, we highlight six of these grants.

Researcher: Liwei Zhou, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering

Project title: “Highly Accurate Micro-grid Multi-time-scale Control and Optimization Enabled by Programmable Physical Module”

What’s the idea?
Dr. Zhou is developing programmable power converters to improve the performance and reliability of microgrids—localized energy systems that can operate independently or alongside the main power grid. These systems often power places like campuses, hospitals or neighborhoods and can keep electricity flowing even when the main grid goes down. Zhou’s project introduces a new strategy for managing power converters at multiple time-scales—from rapid, split-second adjustments to longer-term energy planning. This approach is designed to make microgrids operate more precisely, helping operators make better decisions about how and when to use energy.

Why it matters:
As more distributed energy resources—such as solar panels, battery systems and backup generators—connect to the power grid, the microgrids are becoming essential for managing power at the local level. But controlling these systems with both precision and flexibility is increasingly complex. Dr. Zhou’s system improves the accuracy of microgrid operations while simplifying hardware and reducing costs.

Real-world use:
The power converter system Zhou is developing can connect and coordinate a wide range of distributed energy resources within a microgrid—such as EV chargers, rooftop solar panels, backup generators and battery storage. By managing how these systems work together, the technology enables a more accurate, cost-effective energy operation.

Next steps:
Dr. Zhou’s team has successfully developed a prototype power converter in the lab that works with both AC and DC energy sources. Next, they will focus on optimizing how the system handles power conversions across multiple time scales, aiming to improve the accuracy of microgrid modeling and performance.

In their words:
“The accurate microgrid modeling and operation are crucial for the distributed energy resource grid integration and power system stability.Our team is targeting cost-effective and highly accurate microgrid modeling technologies for more reliable grid operation.” — Zhou

Other Research Enhancement Program news:

May 27: Studying how bacteria grow to fight infections

May 29: Radar system aims to catch drone failures early

June 3: Improving PSA messaging to protect against online scams

June 5: Harnessing nature’s design to build tougher materials
June 10: Smarter evacuations with AI and digital twins

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 41,000, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

US$53,000 essay competition asks: "How Quantum is Life?"

2025-06-24

In 1944, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger published his book What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell, an early landmark in an ongoing—if sometimes controversial—conversation between quantum mechanics, the weird theory that governs the microrealm, and biology. Schrödinger is one of the founding figures of quantum mechanics, having postulated his now-famed quantum equation, a century ago, in 1925. In honor of the discovery of quantum mechanics, this year has been proclaimed the International Year of Quantum Science ...

New combination therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: Targeting M6A methylation pathways

2025-06-24

A recent study published in Engineering has shed light on a novel combination therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that significantly reduces bone destruction by targeting the m6A methylation pathway. The research, conducted by a team from the China–Japan Friendship Clinical Medical College and other institutions, explores the synergistic effects of triptolide (TP) and medicarpin (Med) in mitigating RA-associated bone erosion. Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and bone destruction, primarily driven by the overactivation of osteoclasts (OCs). Current treatments ...

Editorial for the special issue on carbon capture, utilization, and storage

2025-06-24

Global climate change has become one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. As anthropogenic CO2 emissions from fossil fuel consumption and industrial processes continue to disrupt Earth’s carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have reached unprecedented levels—exceeding 420 parts per million (ppm) in 2023 compared to pre-industrial 280 ppm. This rapid accumulation of greenhouse gases has resulted in measurable consequences including rising global temperatures, ocean acidification, and increased frequency of extreme weather events. As ...

'A more versatile and powerful foundation for future photonic technologies'

2025-06-24

The candidate pool for engineered materials that can help enable tomorrow's cutting-edge optical technologies—such as lasers, detectors and imaging devices—is much deeper than previously believed. That's according to new research from the University of Michigan that examined a class of materials known as topological insulators. These materials have exciting and tunable properties when it comes to how they transit energy and information. "We see this as a step toward building a more versatile and ...

World’s soft coral diversity retains signature of an ancient, vanished sea

2025-06-24

It is of vital importance to, on occasion, consider how little we know about the spinning rock we all live on. Take coral reefs, for example. Given how much they’ve been studied, you’d think we’ve learned just about everything about them by now. But talk to a marine biologist, and they will quickly disabuse you of this notion. “A majority of the things that are out there on coral reefs are simply unknown to us or haven’t been formally described or named,” said Catherine McFadden, a professor of life sciences at Harvey Mudd College. McFadden is ...

Scientists use gene editing to correct harmful mitochondrial mutations in human cells

2025-06-24

In a step toward treating mitochondrial diseases, researchers in the Netherlands have successfully edited harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA using a genetic tool known as a base editor. The results, published June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, offer new hope for people with rare genetic conditions. Mitochondria, often called the powerhouses of the cell, have their own small set of DNA. Mutations in this mitochondrial DNA can lead to a wide range of maternally inherited diseases, cancer, and aging-related conditions. ...

The evolution from reptile-like to upright posture in mammals was highly dynamic and complex

2025-06-24

The transition from sprawling (reptile-like) to more upright (parasagittal) posture and locomotion was a transformative event in mammalian evolution. A study published June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dr. Robert Brocklehurst and Professor Stephanie Pierce at Harvard University, USA and colleagues suggests that parasagittal posture evolved via an indirect, dynamic, and radiating process. Non-mammalian synapsids (tetrapod vertebrates), the ancestors of extant mammals, underwent major musculoskeletal reorganization, including ...

An evolutionary trade-off has limited how fish catch their prey

2025-06-24

A trade-off between tooth size and jaw mobility has restricted fish evolution, Nick Peoples at the University of California Davis, US, and colleagues report June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Ray-finned fish are a diverse and widespread group, representing 99% of living fish species. Two key adaptations have helped them thrive: large teeth and extendible jaws. Fish with larger teeth can access a wider range of food sources, while the ability to rapidly extend the upper jaw allows fish to hunt fast-swimming prey by using suction forces to pull them closer. However, these two innovations are rarely found in the same fish species. To find out why, ...

New viruses discovered in bat kidneys in Yunnan province

2025-06-24

Researchers have discovered two new viruses in bats that are closely related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses — pathogens that can cause severe brain inflammation and respiratory disease in humans. The viruses, as well as other new viruses, bacteria, and parasites identified from bat kidneys, were reported this week in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Yun Feng of the Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, China, and colleagues. Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range ...

Head over heels

2025-06-24

For over a century, scientists have puzzled over a fundamental mystery in our evolutionary history: how did mammals go from sprawling like lizards to striding like cats and dogs? This transition—from a sprawled stance (like a lizard) to an upright (parasagittal) posture—marked a pivotal moment in mammal evolution. While the earliest non-mammalian synapsids, the ancestors of living mammals, had a sprawling posture, researchers debated when and how the upright postures of modern mammals evolved. Now, a groundbreaking study in PLOS ...

UTA powers smarter microgrids with new converter tech

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: