NEWS

September 28, 2020

Five New Faculty Join the NM SMART Grid Center Team

Graphic of gears and hands with text TEAM
By Brittney Van Der Werff

The NM SMART Grid Center warmly welcomes five new faculty members to the project team this Fall. Included in this esteemed cohort of STEM professionals are Dr. Yuting Yang and Dr. Claus Danielson at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Dr. Sihua Shao at New Mexico Institute for Mining and Technology (NMT), and Dr. Fengyu Wang and Dr. Hamed Nademi at New Mexico State University (NMSU). 

 

Dr. Yuting Yang

 

Dr. Yuting Yang, Assistant Professor, UNM Department of Economics 

Dr. Yang holds a PhD in Economics, two Master of Arts degrees—one in Economics Theory and Econometrics and the other in Economic Development—and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Economics and Trade. Her doctoral thesis investigates the thorny issues surrounding effective energy transition policy and environmental regulation. She is specifically interested in using theoretical and quantitative tools to determine optimal environmental and energy policy combinations for governments.

 

Fun Fact: My favorite pastimes are playing jigsaw puzzles and painting with watercolors.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Claus Danielson

 

Dr. Claus Danielson, Assistant Professor, UNM Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Danielson possesses a doctoral degree in Controls, Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, in addition to a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He joins us from Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, where he has spent the last six years, working as Principal Research Scientist investigator for vehicle autonomy research and electric vehicle projects. His research interests are in motion planning and constrained control. His specialty is developing methods for exploiting structure in large-scale or complex planning, control, and optimization problems.  

 

Fun Fact: I am a huge fan of college football and progressive rock.
 

 

 

 

Dr. Sihua Shao

 

Dr. Sihua Shao, Assistant Professor, NMT Department of Electrical Engineering

Dr. Shao received Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical and Information Engineering and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to his appointment at NMT, Dr. Shao worked as a post-doctoral research assistant at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His current research focuses on heterogeneous integration of highly directional wireless communication within next-generation wireless networks, ultra-low power communication in the Internet of Things, machine learning, 5G, and microgrid security.

 

Fun Fact: My English name is “Bobo.”

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Fengyu Wang

 

Dr. Fengyu Wang, Assistant Professor, NMSU Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Wang received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University. Dr. Wang has significant industrial experience and was previously employed at Midcontinent Independent System Operator as a Senior Market R&D Engineer. Much of his work has led to scientific publications and patents, most of which have been adopted in practice. He specializes in power system operation, electricity market design, electric energy policy, renewable energy integration, and energy storage. 

 

Fun Fact: I enjoy cooking seafoods and oriental food. I believe that cooking is a combination of art and science.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Hamed Nademi

 

Dr. Hamed Nademi, Assistant Professor, NMSU Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Nademi earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics in 2014. In the years since, he has gained experience in the private sector as a Senior Research Scientist at ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB), and more recently in the academic sector as a Research Scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he led industry-sponsored projects focusing on renewable energy resources, autonomous digital power grids, and transportation electrification. Dr. Nademi’s research and teaching interests include power electronics applications in microgrids, electric vehicle charging stations, motor drives, and advanced control methods.

Fun Fact: Besides working in the academia, I am an experienced hiker, enjoy cooking and reading poetry, and like to play soccer.