AGI DAY 2024

Wei Du – Interim Co-Director (AGI)

Dr. Wei Du received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 2014. His main areas of research are control design, modeling, and simulation of power systems with high penetration of power electronics devices. He is currently a senior research engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and serves as the principal investigator for multiple Department of Energy (DOE) funded projects that focus on studying the impacts of high penetration inverter-based resources on the transient and dynamic behaviors of power systems at different scales.

Prior to joining PNNL, he worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2016 to 2018. He also worked as a research engineer at the key power system Real-Time Digital Simulation (RTDS) laboratory of China Southern Power Grid Company from 2014 to 2016.

Anamika Dubey – Co-Director (AGI)

“I am Huie-Rogers Endowed Chair Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering in the School of EECS at Washington State University (WSU), Pullman. I also hold a joint appointment as a Research Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). At WSU, I am affiliated with Energy Systems Innovation Center (ESIC). I received my MSE and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012 and 2015, respectively. Energy and climate change are indeed unquestionably urgent and significant challenges that demand our immediate attention. Within this broad scope, power systems research and development serve as the pivotal component in enabling the transition towards a clean and green energy future. As a power systems engineer and researcher, my goal is to help advance our society towards a future that is brighter, cleaner, and more sustainable.”

Jud Virden – Associate Laboratory Director, Energy and Environment

Jud Virden is the Associate Laboratory Director for the Energy and Environment Direc­torate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA.

He leads 1,200+ scientists, engineers, and staff who are delivering science and technology solutions for the nation’s complex energy and environmental challenges—including modernizing the power grid, advancing energy storage technologies, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and lighting, developing biofuels, and resolving complex issues in nuclear science and environmental management.

Jud earned his Ph.D. and B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington. He joined PNNL in 1991.

Jonathan Male – Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Director of National Laboratory Partnerships

Jonathan Male serves as the assistant vice chancellor for research and director of the Office for National Laboratory Partnerships (ONLP). Male previously held a variety of research and management positions at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) from 2006-2013, including lab relationship manager for Bioenergy, management and operational detail with the Office of Biomass Program, and scientist with projects in aftertreatment catalysts, scintillators, and renewable chemicals. He rejoined PNNL in the Energy Processes and Materials Division in May 2020, and in December 2020 became an adjunct faculty in the Biology Systems Engineering Department at WSU. In June 2021, Male became the co-director of the WSU-PNNL Bioproducts Institute. In the interim, 2013-2020, Male served as the director of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the Department of Energy (DOE) for over six years. He has more than 20 years of research experience in catalysts, inorganic materials, greenhouse gas emissions reduction technologies, and the production of chemicals and fuels. He has numerous publications, patents, and presentations in these fields.

Noel Schulz – Inaugural Director, Institute for Northwest Energy Futures

Noel N. Schulz is Washington State University’s First Lady and the inaugural director for the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures.

Prior to arriving at the University with her husband, WSU President Kirk Schulz, in mid-June 2016, she served as First Lady and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Engineering at Kansas State University. She also directed the KSU Engineering Experimental Station and the Electrical Power Affiliates Program and was the Paslay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

A nationally recognized expert in power systems engineering, Dr. Schulz is also dedicated to recruiting and retaining women in the field of engineering and mentoring female engineering faculty. She has initiated faculty networks for women at 3 universities.

Dr. Schulz has more than 26 years of teaching experience at 6 U.S. universities including WSU. She has taught courses in power systems, energy conversion, application of computer programs to power engineering, application of intelligent systems to engineering problems, fundamentals of electrical circuits, renewable and distributed generation, and smart grid technologies. She has graduated 45 master’s students and 13 doctoral students.

Kevin Schneider – Lab Fellow, Electrical Engineer

Kevin Schneider is an internationally recognized expert in power system analysis, planning, and operations at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). As the manager of PNNL’s Office of Electricity (OE) Subsector at PNNL, Kevin leads business development, client relations, and strategic investments in R&D for the grid sector. PNNL’s portfolio with the Office of Electricity consists of, component design, system level modeling and analysis, hierarchical controls, secure communications, and energy storage. In this role, Kevin works with PNNL program managers, leadership, industry, academia, and technical leaders to foster innovation and solve some of the toughest challenges presented by grid modernization.

Dr. Schneider’s research is focused on improving grid reliability and system flexibility by harnessing advanced grid concepts being deployed at the edge of the power system, such as microgrids, energy storage, electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and smart home appliances.

Kevin is currently a Laboratory Fellow at PNNL, a Research Professor at Washington State University (WSU), and an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington. At WSU, he is a researcher for the WSU and PNNL Advanced Grid Institute (AGI) where he is working to implement layered control architectures to increase the operational flexible of critical power systems.

Dr. Schneider offers his expertise and industry knowledge to various prestigious professional societies and organizations.  Kevin is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), where he served in multiple  technical leadership  roles.

Dr. Schneider has received many awards and recognition for his work in analysis of the U.S. power grid. In 2019, Schneider was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PCASE). This award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to outstanding scientists and engineers who show exceptional promise in the early stages of their research careers.

Kevin earned his B.S. degree in Physics and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Washington State and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

David Judi – Director, Earth Systems Science

Dr. David Judi is the Director of the Earth Systems Science Division (ESSD) in the Energy and Environment Directorate (EED) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). In this role, Dr. Judi leads more than 300 staff who focus on developing scientific basis and understanding of Earth system processes and the development of technologies and engineering solutions to enable energy sustainability, resilience, and security.

Dr. Judi previously was the group leader for Earth System Predictability and Resiliency, interim director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute, group leader of the Hydrology Group, and a senior research engineer in EED and the National Security Directorate (NSD). Dr. Judi has been responsible for strategies to improve capabilities in the broad area of characterizing energy-environment interactions. This includes approaches to identify and evaluate portfolios of decarbonization that meet clean energy, resilience, and equity goals. Dr. Judi’s technical area of expertise is in extreme event modeling and impacts to infrastructure systems, with particular focus on climate change and changes in flood risk and resilience.

Prior to joining PNNL in 2015, Dr. Judi worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a research engineer within the area of energy infrastructure analysis. Dr. Judi received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Utah.

Mani Venkatasubramanian – Energy Systems Innovation Center

Mani V. Venkatasubramanian is a Boeing Distinguished Professor in Electrical Engineering at Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, WA. He also serves as the Director of the Energy Systems Innovation Center which manages the power engineering research and education at WSU. He serves as the Chair of the IEEE PES Working Group on Power System Dynamic Measurements. He is an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. He was an invited member of the working groups that studied the 1996 Western interconnection blackouts and the 2003 Northeastern blackout. Mani has been working on modeling, stability analysis, and control designs for power grids for the past thirty years. He is an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to the online detection of oscillatory behavior of electric power systems. He is a recipient of the IEEE PES Prabha S. Kundur Power System Dynamics and Control Award.

Nathalie Voisin – Earth Scientist

Nathalie Voisin is chief scientist for regional water-energy dynamics in the Earth System Predictability group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Her fundamental advancements in hydrometeorological forecasting and coupling of human-Earth system models has unlocked new understanding around critical energy-water systems. Voisin has authored more than 50 papers around those main science advances. She was invited to join the University of Washington Civil and Environmental Engineering Department as associate professor in 2016 and has contributed to the Tier 1 journal Water Resources Research as associate editor since 2017. Voisin acts as subject matter expert for water-energy integration challenges, contributing to International Energy Agency activities, leading modeling workshops for water management representation in power systems models and water-use tradeoffs, and working with the hydropower industry on transitioning water-energy research into operations as part of international industry information exchange platforms. She leads and contributes to numerous multi-institution projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy – Water Power Technology Office, and Office of Electricity. 

Voisin joined PNNL in 2010, after completing a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She also holds a M.Sc. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and a B. Eng. and M.Eng. in Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics from the ENSEEIHT engineering school in Toulouse, France.

Jerry Cochran – Deputy Chief Information Officer, Division Director, Cybersecurity & DigitalOps

Jerry Cochran serves as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s deputy chief information officer and director of the Cybersecurity & DigitalOps Division in the Computing and Information Technology Directorate. In this role, Cochran oversees cybersecurity and the office of the chief information security officer, as well as enterprise IT engineering and operations. He also leads PNNL’s five-year Resilience Through Data-Driven, Intelligently Designed Control (RD2C) Initiative, a cybersecurity laboratory directed research and development initiative stewarded by the National Security Directorate. 

Cochran’s management, technical, strategy, and operational experiences span both government and private sector over his 30+ year technology and 25+ year cybersecurity career, working in startups and for industry leaders like Compaq/HP, Microsoft, and the U.S. Department of Defense. His multidisciplinary expertise and background in network and systems engineering, software engineering, security architecture, compliance, strategy, security operations, and military cyber operations are directly relevant and impactful to PNNL’s cyber research, operations, and mission focus areas.

Prior to joining PNNL in 2017 as the chief information security officer, Cochran was with Microsoft in the Cloud & Enterprise Azure Security Division as well as prior roles leading Office 365 cloud security operations. He served as a cybersecurity architect, helping to build a cybersecurity practice in Microsoft Services and was with the Trustworthy Computing Group, where he directed the Global Security Strategy Team. Cochran also served as the Microsoft board member and officer with the Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC) and was a founding member and executive committee member of the IT Sector Coordinating Council (IT-SCC). 

Culminating a 27-year United States Air Force (USAF) career in 2011, Cochran retired as a Chief Master Sergeant (E9), senior enlisted manager of the 262nd NWS where he also served as a network warfare technical lead, conducting cyber operations around the world. Deployed to locations worldwide throughout his service career, he was initially a radar systems technician, until cross training in the 1990s to become an early thought leader in military network warfare doctrine and mission capabilities. He was part of an eight-member team that established the first network warfare squadron in the USAF, where he led the development of key mission capabilities in network security assessments/red teaming and industrial control systems security. 

Cochran has also authored various technical works, including over 200 electronic and print articles and two books for publication. He is a US patent holder for invention in cybersecurity. He holds a BS in engineering and technology management, an AS in electronics technology, and an AS in information systems technology. Cochran also currently holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certifications.

Jim Ogle – Sector Manager, Energy Infrastructure

James Ogle is a chief electrical engineer at PNNL His research interests include distributed intelligence systems, communication network systems, ML and data analytics, and the integration of these technologies with advanced energy system controls to enable a more secure, sustainable, and resilient energy future. Prior to joining PNNL, Ogle had over 25 years industry experience spanning transmission and distribution engineering at electric utilities and commercial R&D developing communication, analysis, and management solutions for industrial systems.

Thomas Edgar – Cybersecurity Research Scientist

Thomas Edgar is a cyber security research scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). During his more than 15 years at PNNL, Edgar has worked in the fields of secure communications protocols, cryptographic trust management, insider threat, security standards, and scientific approach to security.

Edgar is the principal investigator for a cyber-physical testbed to enable controlled experimentation in high-fidelity environments. He is also the thrust lead for the Resilience Through Data-driven, Intelligently Designed Control (RD2C) initiative, focused on increasing our understanding of cyber-physical systems through the creation and use of controlled experimentation capabilities and methods. His expertise lies in scientific process, critical infrastructure security, protocol development, cyber deception, and network security. 

Edgar authored a textbook, Research Methods for Cyber Security, which he taught at Washington State University as an adjunct professor. He has been involved with multiple successful efforts to transition cybersecurity research into commercialized solutions, including the R&D 100 and FLC Excellence in Technology award-winning SerialTap technology.

Edgar is a chair for the cybersecurity track of the IEEE International Symposium on Technologies for Homeland Security. Thomas has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, with a specialization in information assurance.

Sandra Haynes – WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor

Chancellor Sandra Haynes provides overall leadership for WSU Tri‑Cities, represents the campus within the University system and serves as a liaison with local communities, organizations and industries. Chancellor Haynes serves as chairperson of her executive leadership council, which provides leadership for the campus community.

Richard Evans – Central Washington Outreach Director/Office of Senator Maria Cantwell at United States Senate

Donna Riordan, Executive Director, Washington State Academy of Sciences

Donna Gerardi Riordan joined the Academy in 2017 with three decades of experience in science policy. With degrees from Georgetown University and George Washington University, she served for 14 years as a staff member at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., where she founded and directed its Office of Public Understanding of Science. While working on policy issues in California in the 2000s, she was the co-architect of the first state-level Science & Technology Fellows Program, which places scientists and engineers in the state legislature. While consulting with national and state level organizations, primarily on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, she founded Research Northwest (since changed to Research Now), a non-profit organization devoted to generating best available science for policy decisions. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and President of the National Association of Academies of Science. She believes that Washington state is right-sized to lead the nation as a model of evidence-informed policy making.

Saeed Lotfifard – Associate Professor, EECS, WSU (Protection, Stability and Control with IBR-dominated power grid)

I am Saeed Lotfifard an associate professor with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Energy Systems Innovation center (ESIC) at Washington State university. I received my Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University in electrical engineering in 2011. My research interests include:

• Operational security of inverter-dominated power systems, focusing on stability, protection, and control challenges of massive grid integration of inverter-based resources.
• Analysis, modeling, and enhancement of fault response behavior of inverter-dominated power grids
• Application of mathematical optimization, control theory, machine learning and big data analytics for fault resilience reinforcement of smart grids with high share of renewable energy sources.

Larry Bekkedahl (Senior VP, Advanced Energy Delivery, Portland General Electric)

Larry Bekkedahl is responsible for advancing PGE’s strategy to build the grid of the future — one that is resilient, smart, and clean.

He oversees PGE’s strategy, system architecture and system upgrades, which will serve as the foundation for the smart grid of the future. This includes initiatives related to system integration and operations, planning, smart cities, enabling distributed energy resources, energy storage, and standby generation. He also oversees transmission delivery, daily grid operations, transmission policy and market interfaces, data analytics and generative AI, rates and regulatory, and innovation, as well as research and development.

Nicole Rutherford (Chief Technology Innovation and Strategy Officer, Bonneville Power Administration)

Eleanor Ewry (Manager, Transmission Strategy and Markets, Puget Sound Energy)

“As utilities move towards a future of increasing energy needs, Advanced Grid Institute provides much needed support for understanding how to analyze the grid of the future. Organizations like AGI are instrumental in helping to understand the impacts and benefits of new technologies on grid resilience and to integrate these technologies into day-to-day operations. I am thrilled to be part of this Board as we navigate a changing energy landscape and look forward to the benefit AGI will bring to advancing a fully integrated grid.”

John Gibson | Avista Innovation Lab Director and Chief R&D Engineer | Avista

“Avista has a rich history of innovation. Today, we continue to invest in innovation with intention because we believe that in order to achieve the clean energy future that we all want, we must continue to innovate. By working together through the Advanced Grid

Institute, we can help chart the course for a clean energy transition that will propel the energy industry forward.”

Uzma Siddiqi | Sr. Manager of Grid Modernization and Strategic Technology | Seattle City Light

“As we move towards a shared goal of a decarbonized electrical grid, which is also more reliable, resilient, and equitable, our challenge is the integration of new technologies into the existing system. The Advanced Grid Institute (AGI) is addressing this need. I am excited to be on the AGI Industry Advisory board to support this transformation of the grid and help advance the economic opportunities, climate resilience, and environmental benefits from these innovative technologies.”

Rich Wallen | General Manager / Chief Executive Officer | Grant County PUD

“I am excited to be on the board to help play a guiding role to enhance the power system and influence decisions as we move to a more robust, reliable, and diverse grid to support all sources of generation for the clean energy future.”

Greg Zweigle | R&D Fellow Engineer | Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

“The AGI is an important collaboration between WSU and PNNL and is making significant contributions to improve the safety, reliability, and economics of electric power systems worldwide.”

Jacob Reidt, GridCRED Director, PNNL, “The Grid Centerfor Reliable Electricity Delivery (GridCRED)”

Assefaw Gebremedhin, Associate Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, WSU (Grid analytics + cybersecurity)

Assefaw Gebremedhin is an associate professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Washington State University, where he leads the Scalable Algorithms for Data Science (SCADS) Lab. He is also the Lead PI of the Department of Defense-funded VICEROY Northwest Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research (CySER), Lead of the AI Research Working Group at WSU, and Director of the Department of Education-funded Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program that focuses on training PhD students in AI for complex engineering applications. Assefaw received the 2024 EECS Outstanding Program Leadership Award for contributions to cybersecurity and the 2022 Reid Miller Teaching Excellence Award from the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. He also received the 2021 George Polya Prize in Applied Combinatorics for joint work with Fredrik Manne and Alex Pothen, and he received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2016 for work on fast and scalable combinatorial algorithms for data analytics. His current research interests include: data science, AI, cybersecurity, high-performance computing, and applications in bioinformatics, health informatics, and energy systems. He earned his PhD and MS in Computer Science from the University of Bergen, Norway and his BS in Electrical Engineering from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Alan Love, Professor, School of Economic Sciences (energy economics)

Dr. Love is a Professor in the School of Economic Sciences (SES), where he served as Director between 2011 and 2019. He holds a doctorate in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining Washington State University, Dr. Love was a Professor in the Department of Information and Operations Management and the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. His research fields include industrial organization, information economics, supply-chains, and applied econometrics, often involving use of very large data sets and high-performance computing. His current research focuses on electricity markets with particular interest in smart grid edge designs to enhance prosumer response for increased resilience and decarbonization of electric power services. Dr. Love’s research awards include the Quality of Research Discovery Award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, Outstanding Published Research Award from the Western Agricultural Economics Association, and Article of the Year Award from the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association.

Ji Yun Lee, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU (Resilience + community + grid)