Dr. Jian Sun

Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE)
Director, New York State Center for Future Energy Systems (CFES)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Contact Information

110 8th Street, CII 8015 – CFES
Troy, NY 12180-3590
Phone: (518) 276-8297, Fax: (518) 276-2387
E-Mail: jsun@rpi.edu

Research Areas

Power electronics and energy systems; Specific research interests include
  • Energy conversion and control for solar, wind, and other renewable and distributed generation technologies; offshore wind, HVDC and FACTS
  • Grid integration of solar and wind energy; stability and power quality of power grid with deep penetration of renewable energy and distributed generation
  • Smart grids, micro-grids; mobile and autonomous energy systems (aircraft, ships, ground vehicles); system modeling and control
  • Energy storage applications in renewable energy systems
  • Modular power conversion and advanced PWM and control techniques for modular power converters
  • High-frequency power conversion using wide bandgap semiconductor devices (GaN and SiC); modular power conversion system architecture and control
  • Efficient energy utilization; high-efficient power conversion and conditioning for electronics, communication, lighting, and other applications
  • Electromagnetic interference (EMI) in power and power electronic systems; high-performance power conversion for aerospace applications
  • General power electronic circuit topologies, modeling, and control

Current Research Projects

  • Stability and Control of Cluster Converters Connected to Weak Grid
  • HVDC Transmission Architecture and Control for Offshore Wind
  • Voltage Stability and Control in Smart Grid
  • DC Micro Grid for Integration of Renewable Energy and Energy Storage
  • Integrated Single-Chip Solid State Lighting Driver Developing Using GaN Devices
  • GaN-Based High Frequency Power Conversion for Aircraft Applications
  • EMI Modeling and Design Optimization for More Electric Aircraft
  • Aircraft Power System Modeling and Simulation
  • High Density, High Efficiency Electrical Power Generation System for UAS Applications

Professional Services (Partial List)

  • Editor-in-Chief, IEEE Power Electronics Letters
  • Guest Editor, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Special Issue on Modeling and Advanced Control
  • Administrative Committee (AdCom) Member, IEEE Systems Council
  • Chair, IEEE Power Electronics Society Technical Committee on Modeling, Simulation, and Control
  • General Chair, 2006 IEEE Workshop on Computers in Power Electronics
  • Co-Chair, Technical Program Committee of 4th IEEE Energy Conversion Conference and Exposition (ECCE 2012)
  • Vice Chair, Technical Program Committee of 2nd IEEE Energy Conversion Conference and Exposition (ECCE 2010, Atlanta, September 2010)
  • Publication Chair, 1st IEEE Energy Conversion Conference and Exposition (ECCE)
  • Vice Technical Program Committee Chair, 1st IEEE Energy Conversion Conference and Exposition (ECCE)
  • Consultant to a dozen US companies

Teaching

  • ECSE/EPOW 4080 – Semiconductor Power Electronics (offered every fall semester)
  • EPOW 6820 – Power Quality (offered in the spring semester of odd-numbered years)
  • EPOW 6090 – Advanced Power Electronics Lab (offered in the spring semester of even-numbered years)
  • Independent Studies on Modeling and Control in Power Electronics, Voltage Source Converters, and Power Electronic Systems

Education and Industry Experience

  • Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, University of Paderborn , Paderborn, Germany, 1995
  • MS in Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics , China, 1989
  • BS in Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics , China, 1984
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering , Georgia Institute of Technology , 1996-1997
  • Senior Engineer, Advanced Technology Center , Rockwell Collins , 1997-1999
  • Principal Engineer, Advanced Technology Center , Rockwell Collins , 2000-2002