In Brief

Professor (with Tenure)

Director, REAPER Lab

Co-Director, NSF Center for Next Generation Photovoltaics

+001 (979) 862-4985

rbalog@tamu.edu

Research Interests

• Power electronics at the grid-edge
• Arc fault detection
• Advanced energy systems
• Solar electrical (photovoltaic) energy conversion (PV)
• Low cost inverter system for use with alternative energy sources (including fuel cells, photovoltaic, etc.)
• Power electronics reliability in alternative energy systems
• Distributed dc power systems with emphasis on local/distributed control
• Model predictive control (MPC)
• Non-linear control techniques
• Machine Learning applied to power systems and power electronics

Education

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering · May 2006

University of Illinois; Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

• Area: Power Electronics
• Thesis: “Autonomous Local Control in Distributed DC Power Systems“
• Advisor: Dr. Philip T. Krein
• Funding: NSF/ONR EPNES Grant #ECS-0224839

M.S. in Electrical Engineering · May 2002

University of Illinois; Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

• Area: Power Electronics
• Thesis: “Coupled Inductor: A Basic Filter Building Block Analysis, Simulation, and Examples”
• Advisor: Dr. Philip T. Krein

B.S. in Electrical Engineering · May 1996

Rutgers University; New Brunswick, New Jersey

• Area: Electrical Engineering
• Senior Thesis: “Topics in DSP: Interpolation, Decimation, and Delta-Sigma Quantization“
• Advisor: Dr. Sophocles Orfanidis

Professional Experience

Texas A&M University at Qatar · August 1, 2015—Present

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Doha, Qatar
Joint Appointment with TAMU – College Station

Professor, September 2020—Present
Associate Professor, September 2015—August 2020
Executive Director of Graduate Studies, January 2020 – December 2020
 

Texas A&M University · August 2009—Present

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; College Station, Texas, USA

Professor, September 2020—Present
Associate Professor, September 2015—August 2020
Assistant Professor, August 2009—August 2015

Middle East Technical University · July 2012

Ankara, Turkey

Visiting Scientist Fellowship Program

SolarBridge Technologies · August 2006—August 2009

Austin, Texas, USA (Formerly SmartSpark Energy Systems, Champaign, Illinois. Acquired by SunPower Corp in October 2014. Acquired by Enphase Energy Inc. in July 2018 )

Senior Engineer

• Co-inventor and technology developer of a grid-interactive, ACPV photovoltaic inverter
• Technical leader successfully attracted and closed $6MM California-based venture capital financing
• Lead researcher for application of power electronics to fuel cells for portable military power
• Managed a 16 member development team including nine in-house engineers and five consultants

United States Army Corp of Engineers · September 2005—May 2006

Engineer Research and Development Center – Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL)

Contract Researcher

• Contract # W9132T-05-C-0026, “Advanced Energy Initiative ATO”
• Conducted research into distributed and renewable energy sources and
• Conducted research into next generation power distribution controls and topologies

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · August 1999—May 2006

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering; Urbana, Illinois, USA

Graduate Research Assistant

• TA for Power Electronics Lab (2 semesters), Senior Design, capstone design course
• Applied industry design experience to improve experimental facilities
• Updated teaching lab with custom designed equipment and improvements to instruction (published)

Lutron Electronics, Inc. · June 1996—July 1999

Coopersburg, Pennsylvania

Project Electrical Engineer

• Analog and digital hardware design, worst-case and failure analysis, PCB design for EMC compatibility
• New product definition, specification and development including electrical design / testing
• Engineering support for manufacturing / operations at manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico
• UL, FCC, CE, VDE compliance testing including European EMC directive

Selected Grants & Contracts

1. PI, “5G Connected and Photovoltaic Powered Next Generation Greenhouse for Food Security,” Qatar National Research Foundation, $798,855, 8/15/2020-8/14/2023.PI, “Safe and Reliable Electrical Distribution Systems,” Qatar National Research Foundation, $25,000, 7/1/2019-6/30/2020.
2. PI, “A Fault-Tolerant Capacitor-less Power Quality Compensator for Electrical Distribution Systems,” Qatar National Research Foundation, $719,366, 1/1/2017-6/30/2020.
3. Co-PI, “I/UCRC for Next Generation Photovoltaics – Texas A&M University Site,” National Science Foundation, $400,000, 7/15/2016-6/30/2021.
4. PI, “Smart PV Skin: Grid-Connected, Non-Planar Photovoltaic Systems,” Qatar National Research Foundation, $705,672, 10/1/2014-9/30/2017.
5. PI, “Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Next Generation Photovoltaics – Texas A&M University Site,” National Science Foundation, $14,365, 9/1/2014-8/31/2015.
6. PI, “1-MW PV Power RD&D Using SiC-based qZS Cascade Multilevel Inverter and Battery Energy Storage,” Qatar National Research Foundation, $4.6M, 7/2013-8/2018.
7. PI, “Characterization of Noise in DC Photovoltaic Systems,” Sandia National Laboratories – US Department of Energy, $28,075, 2/15/2014 – 9/30/2014.
8. PI, “Arc Flash Detection in Photovoltaic DC Arrays Using Wavelets,” National Science Foundation, $100,000, 7/2013-6/2014.
9. PI, “Power Supply Component Reliability,” SolarBridge Technologies Inc., PI: R. Balog, 1 grad student, 1/2012-5/2013, $27,152.
10. PI, “Power Electronics Experimental Design Using NI cRIO and LabView,” National Instruments, PI: R. Balog, 1 grad student, 1 undergrad student, 1/2013-9/2013, $20,000.
11. Co-PI, “REU Site: Smart Energy and Smart Systems: Enabling the Future through Electrical & Computer Engineering,” National Science Foundation, $402,000, 2011 – 2014.
12. PI, “Advanced Model Predictive Control of Power Electronics Converters and Electric Drives,” Qatar National Research Foundation, $1,033,556, 2011-2014.
13. PI, “Energy Harvesting Using Flexible & Conformal Photovoltaic Materials,” Visiting Scientist Fellowship Program, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 6/2012-7/2012.
14. Co-PI, “Interdisciplinary Experience in Electricity: A “Grass-roots” Approach,” Texas A&M University, $180,000, 2012 – 2015.
15. Co-PI, “Smartphone App to Automate Residential Photovoltaic Energy System Design,” Texas A&M University System Engineering Network Research Strategy Group for Junior Faculty Research Collaboration, 7/2013-8/2014, $1,400.
16. PI, Texas State Energy Conservation Office, “Pilot Photovoltaic (PV) TAMU Installation,”$200,000, 2010-2011.
17. Co-PI, Technical Leader, Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, Phase I Grant, “Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems program (SEGIS),” $250,000, 2008-2009.
18. PI: US Department of Agriculture, SBIR FY2007 Phase II Grant, “Power Supply for Remote Unattended Loads,” $350k, 9/2007 – 9/2009.
19. Consultant: US Army Engineer Research and Development Center – Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), Contract # W9132T-05-C-0026, “Advanced Energy Initiative ATO,” 9/2005–5/2006.

Awards & Honors

• Senior Member, National Academy of Inventors (NAI), 2019
• Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE Power Electronics Society, 2020-2021
• Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE Power Electronics Society, 2018-2019
• Patent and Innovation Award, Texas A&M University System Office of Technology Commercialization, 2017
• Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, External Public Body, 2011
  
• Distinguished Engineer Award, Rutgers University College of Engineering, 2011
  
• Nominee, Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award, 2009
  
• IEEE Senior Member, 2007
  
• Harriett & Robert Perry Fellow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005–2006
  
• Ernest A. Reid Fellow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004–2005
  
• Joseph J. Suozzi INTELEC Fellow, IEEE , 2001–2002
  
• EMCWA Scholarship, 2001
  
• Grainger Outstanding Power Engineering Award, May 2001 and May 2006
• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America

Professional Activities

Professional Engineer

State of Illinois · January 2004—Present

License #062-057093

State of Texas· April 2019—Present

License #134053

Service

ADCOM member, IEEE Power Electronics Society, 2010—Present

• Distinguished Lecturer, 2018-2019, 2020-2021
• co-Chair, Mentorship Commitee, 2017-present
• elected, Member-at-Large, 2015-2017
• co-Chair, Membership Committee 2012-2014
• Chair, Graduates of the Last Decade (now Young Professionals) 2010-2012

Editor / Editorial Board Member (select)

• Associate Editor, IEEE Power Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2010—Present
• Associate Editor, IEEE Power Engineering Society Letters, 2011—Present
• Guest Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Special issue on Reliability, 2013–2014
• Guest Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Special issue on Advanced Distributed Control of Energy Conversion Devices and Systems, 2013–2014
• Editorial Board, International Journal on Advanced Electrical Engineering (IJAEE), 2012—Present

Technical Program Chair

• IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) 2016

Technical Program Committee Member (select)

• IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) 2010, 2012, 2015
• IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) 2009

Reviewer (select)

• IEEE Transitions on Power Electronics
• IEEE Transitions on Energy Conversion
• IEEE Transitions on Smart Grid
• IEEE Transitions on Industry Applications
• IEEE Transitions on Industrial Electronics
• IEEE Power Electronics Letters
• IEEE Power Electronics Specialist Conference (PESC)
• IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE)
• IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC)
• IEEE Industry Applications Conference (IAS)
• IEEE North American Power Symposium (NAPS)

Standards Committees

Membership with Voting Authority

• Standards Technical Panel (STP) UL 1741: Inverters, Converters, and Controllers for Independent Power Systems
• Standards Technical Panel (STP) UL 1699B: Photovoltaic (PV) DC Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupters

Affiliations

Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)

• Member since 1992
• Senior Member since 2007
• Societies: Power Electronics, Power and Energy, Industrial Applications

Memberships (past and Present)

• National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
• Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA)
• American Wind Energy Association (AWES)
• American Solar Energy Society (ASES)
• Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES)
• Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC)
• National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
• Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE)
• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
• Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) – Electrical Engineering Honor Society
• Sigma Xi – The Scientific Research Society
• Electrical Manufacturing Coil Winding Association (EMCWA)
• National Eagle Scout Association, Boy Scouts of America (BSA)

Teaching

Courses

• ENGR 111 – Foundations of Engineering
• ECEN 214 – Electric Circuits (TAMU Undergrad Fa09, Fa11, Sp11; TAMUQ Su17 Su 18)
• ECEN 215 – Principles of Electrical Engineering (TAMUQ Fa15, Sp16, Fa16, Sp18, Sp19, Sp20, Sp21)
• ECEN 438 – Power Electronics (TAMU Undergrad Fa12, Fa13, Fa14; TAMUQ Fa19, Fa20, Fa21)
• ECEN 489 – Photovoltaic Energy Systems (TAMUQ Sp16, Fa16, Fa18)
• ECEN 613 – Inverters and Rectifiers (TAMU Grad Sp10, Sp11)
• ECEN 689 – Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Sources (TAMU Grad Fa10, Fa11, Sp13)
• ECEN 712 – Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Sources (TAMU Grad Sp14)

Mentoring

• Faculty Advisor, IEEE Power Electronics Society Texas A&M Student Branch Chapter, 2010-2016
• Program Coordinator, NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Smart Energy and Smart Systems – Powering the SmartGrid Sensor System, Summers 2013-2015
• Faculty Mentor, NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Smart Energy and Smart Systems – Powering the SmartGrid Sensor System, Summers 2011-2014
• Team Mentor, Engineering Projects in Community Service, 2010-2011
• Sponsor of PV Primer, Power Across Texas Energy Primer Challenge ($9,000 student scholarship. Texas A&M took 1st place in Texas—beating  UT Austin and Texas Tech.), 2010
• Nominee, Harold L. Olesen Award (UIUC) for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching