Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Implementation: Small: Multi-disciplinary Training of Learning, Optimization and Communications for Next Generation Power Engineers

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With the increasing adoption of interconnected power/micro grid infrastructures, today's power engineering research professionals require broader knowledge and a more diverse skillset. This project provides undergraduate and graduate students in the Northern Plains region with access and opportunity to learn using state-of-the-art smart grid cyberinfrastructure. The Northern Plains region sees increasing use and potential in renewable energy, in addition to energy exports to other areas, solidifying the importance of advanced training in power engineering. The project thus serves the national interest, as stated by NSF's mission: to promote the progress of science and to secure the national defense. The resulting curriculum and instructional materials integrate advanced skills from multiple areas into power engineering infrastructure education. Students practice the multi-disciplinary skillsets needed for the power industry using a unique, remotely connected smart grid cyberinfrastructure. They extend their academic and research portfolios and strengthen their career competitiveness as smart grid cyberinfrastructure professionals and cyberinfrastructure users for regional and national levels. The cyber training model leverages resources for underrepresented minority schools and schools with limited research cyberinfrastructure to participate, either remotely or on-site. The mobile microgrid laboratory demonstrations introduce K-12 teachers and students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics majors.This project establishes a new, remotely-connected smart grid cyberinfrastructure platform between the collaborative institutes using a real-time digital simulator, and sharing software licenses and hardware resources. This project promotes the application of advanced cyberinfrastructure techniques in power system monitoring, planning, operation and control, and prepares the next-generation power engineers to face challenges in modern power systems. This remotely connected power cyberinfrastructure provides an ideal platform for interdisciplinary research and education of computational intelligence, machine learning, control, communications, and data analytics in the smart grid area. The project team collects heterogeneous smart grid measurement data from this new cyberinfrastructure to conduct real-time learning, event-detection and data integrity, online optimization and multi-level decision-making process of intelligent systems. The project team integrates results into existing undergraduate courses and expand graduate courses from a frontier interdisciplinary viewpoint. The project team also creates replicable project templates/demos with designated benchmark data so other schools can easily adopt this new educational model with or without specific resources. Feedback from an independent evaluator, institutional stakeholders, national laboratory scientists and local industry partners supports periodic improvement of the educational model and materials. This project is funded by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering and the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems in the Directorate for Engineering.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.