Dr. Robert S. Balog, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, was selected as a 2018 Distinguished Lecturer of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power Electronics Society (PELS) for his contributions to the field of power engineering.
Each year, the IEEE PELS selects prominent members in power engineering as distinguished lecturers in appreciation of their high achievements and support of PELS chapter activities by providing them opportunities to be invited as high-profile speakers for local chapter events.
Balog is affiliated with the Electric Power and Power Electronics Group in the electrical and computer engineering department. He is the director of the Renewable Energy and Advanced Power Electronics Research Laboratory (REAPER lab) and co-director of the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Next Generation Photovoltaics.
Balog received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University in 1996 and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2006. He has more than seven years of industry experience, including launching a technology startup company and commercializing his work in residential scale solar inverters. Balog holds 17 issued U.S. patents with additional pending, and is a licensed professional engineer. In 2016 he published a book through Cambridge University Press titled “Local Area Power and Energy System and other Microgrids.”
Since fall 2015, he has been teaching and conducting research at the Texas A&M University at Qatar campus. Balog credits his students and research staff at both the College Station and Qatar campuses with his achievements.