Every year, a group of graduate students from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M band together to host one of the largest student-led conferences in Texas. The conference, titled the Texas Power and Energy Conference (TPEC), invites attendees worldwide to connect with other researchers, students, and industry leaders to present up-and-coming research and collaborate on ideas relating to power systems.
This year’s conference directors, Kseniia Zhgun and Jordan Cook, along with the graduate student organizing committee, were tasked with garnering financial support, collecting research submissions, and attracting industry support, along with other duties to make this event possible.
“It's not just a two-day event, it's a year-long process. Through TPEC, we get to experience the behind-the-scenes of a conference,” said Sanjana Kunkolienkar, previous conference director.
With sponsors like the Smart Grid Center, Austin Energy, Electric Power Engineers, and the IEEE Foundation, attendees network with industry and make lifelong connections.
In addition to attracting industry support, TPEC provides a valuable opportunity for students from around the world to see what Texas A&M has to offer.
The Texas Power and Energy Conference provides an exceptional opportunity for graduate students to gain valuable professional experience in all aspects of organizing an international conference.
“One master’s student who attended our conference said that he attended TPEC two years ago, and that was one of the reasons he chose Texas A&M to pursue his Ph.D.,” Zhgun said. “We get more and more paper submissions, attendees, and countries involved every year, like Sweden, Estonia, Finland, South Korea, China, India, Nepal and Brazil. This raises Texas A&M’s visibility on a global scale.”
TPEC has grown significantly since its inception. Dr. Thomas Overbye, a professor and director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station Smart Grid Center, and Dr. Adam Birchfield, a professor, co-founded TPEC. At the time, Overbye served as a faculty advisor, while Birchfield served on the student committee.
“It's a great opportunity for students, and TPEC’s recognition is continuing to grow as well,” Birchfield said. “It's also good for establishing Texas A&M as a leader in the power and energy area. A special thanks to the National Science Foundation for awarding us travel grants associated with this conference, which enabled many students from other universities to be able to have support to travel, attend the conference, and make the conference better.”
The conference not only provides students an opportunity to enhance their network but also present and publish their research. Three individuals were chosen for best paper awards, and one finalist received a best poster award out of hundreds of submissions which were judged by attendees.
“TPEC is a great thing for the students to do because it gives them really good leadership opportunities,” Overbye said. “It's also good to have a conference where students can present their research results and get it published. Then, oftentimes, they take their TPEC work and produce a journal paper as a result.”
Alongside Dr. Overbye and Dr. Birchfield, TPEC’s other academic advisors include electrical and computer engineering faculty Drs. Xin Chen, Katherine Davis, and Robert S. Balog.
“The Texas Power and Energy Conference provides an exceptional opportunity for graduate students to gain valuable professional experience in all aspects of organizing an international conference. This year, the organizing committee delivered another outstanding conference complete with in-depth technical paper presentations, enlightening keynote talks, and networking opportunities,” Dr. Balog said.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Ann Xu of ElectroTempo Inc., Dr. Adam Birchfield of Texas A&M, James Mercier, professional engineer in Texas and Ohio, and Dan Smith of Transmission System Operations.