IRES: USPRISM: U.S.-Scotland Program for Research on Integration of renewable energy resources and SMart grid

由华盛顿州立大学（WSU）的Ali Mehrizi-Sani教授和Chen-Ching Liu教授与苏格兰斯特拉斯克莱德大学的Stephen McArthur教授及其同事合作举办的国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目，为六名美国学生提供了在领先、资金最雄厚、最具创业精神的欧洲大学之一参与多样化智能电网研究氛围的机会。这个项目是由华盛顿州立大学和斯特拉斯克莱德大学长达20年的合作关系发展而来的。学生将承担解决可再生能源整合挑战的项目。最终，在这个项目中进行的研究将有助于提高分布式可再生能源在未来的电力系统——智能电网中的利用率。这项研究通过(i)增加可再生能源的渗透，（ii）增加对电力系统和智能电网的职业兴趣，以及（iii）提高美国电力工程劳动力的质量和数量，使我们的社会和环境受益。这些好处直接转化为更有能力和更大的学生招收，可以解决劳动力短缺问题；它还有助于向具有更高效率、可靠性和弹性的现代电网过渡。该课程的学生将进行与智能电网和电力系统相关的研究。电力对美国经济至关重要。然而，目前美国的大部分电力基础设施已经过时。使这个问题恶化的是，这个基础设施仍然主要运行在遗留的控制、监视和保护系统上，可能无法实现其全部潜力。虽然环境问题和能源独立建议在电力系统中利用可再生资源，但美国面临的重大能源挑战之一仍然是整合大量的可再生能源。这些挑战也增加了加强电力系统应对重大干扰和事件的弹性的难度。在这个项目中进行的研究旨在通过以下活动来解决这一挑战：(1)可再生能源整合的准确和快速控制器，(2)弹性分配系统，以及(3)微电网资源的系统不可知控制。与美国相比，欧洲许多国家在可再生能源利用方面有着更为成熟的经验。斯特拉斯克莱德大学拥有欧洲最大的电力项目之一，作为一个在研究和行业合作方面有着良好记录的机构的典范，是这个项目的理想合作伙伴，它将国际研究经验与优秀的研究能力相结合。

This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program, organized by Professors Ali Mehrizi-Sani and Chen-Ching Liu from Washington State University (WSU), in collaboration with Prof. Stephen McArthur and his colleagues from the University of Strathclyde (Scotland), provides six US students with the opportunity to participate in the diverse smart grid research atmosphere at one of leading, most highly funded, and most entrepreneurial European universities. This program is developed out of a 20-year collaborative relationship between WSU and the University of Strathclyde. The students will undertake projects to address challenges in renewable energy integration. Ultimately, the research performed in this program will help increase the utilization of distributed renewable energy resources in the power system of the future, the smart grid. This research benefits our society and environment by (i) increasing penetration of renewable energy resources, (ii) increasing career interest in power system and the smart grid, and (iii) improving the quality and quantity of the power engineering workforce in the United States. These benefits directly translate into a more capable and larger student intake that can address the workforce shortage problem; it also helps the transition to a modern power grid with higher efficiency, reliability, and resiliency.The students in this program will perform research relevant to smart grid and the electric power system. Electrical power is critical to the U.S. economy. However, most of the current U.S. electric infrastructure is outdated. What exacerbates this problem is that this infrastructure still runs mainly on legacy control, monitoring, and protection systems that may not realize its full potential. While environmental concerns and energy independence recommend utilizing renewable resources in the power system, one of the U.S. grand energy challenges remains to integrate large amounts of renewable energy. These challenges also add to the difficulty of enforcing resiliency of the power system to major disturbances and events. The research to be undertaken in this project seeks to address this challenge through activities on (i) accurate and fast controllers for integration of renewables, (ii) resilient distribution systems, and (iii) and system-agnostic controls of microgrid resources. Compared to the United States, many European countries have a more mature experience in the utilization of renewable energy resources. The University of Strathclyde maintains one of the largest power programs in Europe and, as a prime example of an institution with proven track record in research and industry collaboration, is an ideal partner in this project that combines an international research experience for students with outstanding research capacity.