People
Faculty
Dr. Wajiha Shireen
Professor
Department of Energy Technology &
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
University of Houston
Current Lab Members
Sumit Patil (PhD student)
Sumit Patil received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics from University of Pune, Pune, India in 2013. He is currently pursuing PhD in Electrical Engineering at University of Houston. He worked with Gipitronix Pvt Ltd, Vadodara, India as a Research and Development Engineer for Analog and Embedded System Designs of Portable Test and Measurement Equipment from 2013 to 2017. He has worked with Texas Instruments Inc., Sugarland, USA as a System Engineering Intern for C2000 based Digital Motor/Power Control Reference Designs in Summer’19 and Summer’20 respectively. His research interests are Analog Circuits, SMPS, Power Electronics Interface for Hybrid Energy Storage and Renewable Energy Sources, Digital Motor Drive for EV and Industrial Application, Matrix Converter for Grid Tied Inverters and Motor Drives Application, Model Based Design approach in solving Power Converter Controls.
He has also been working as a Teaching Fellow and Instructional Assistant since Fall 2017 in the Engineering Technology Department, University of Houston. He has been contributing in practical implementation of active-learning strategies and is responsible for regular upgrade in design, development and teaching the following courses:
- ELET4310 – Alternate Energy Technology Lecture and Laboratory
- ELET4126 – Power Converter Circuit Lecture and Laboratory
- ELET4303 – Computer Based Distribution and Transmission Lecture and Laboratory.
- ELET2105 – Semiconductor Devices and Circuits Laboratory
Amir Hussain (PhD Student)
Amir Hussain is currently pursuing PhD in Electrical Engineering at University of Houston. He has joined University of Houston in fall 2018. He completed his B.Tech from MNNIT Allahabad followed by M.Tech from IIT Kanpur. His area of interest is control of power electronic converter for application of battery energy storage in grid applications. He has worked on control of multi-level converter to interface battery energy storage to medium voltage grid. Currently, he is working towards fast frequency regulation of low inertia grid/ Microgrid using battery energy storage.
Kanchuka Dissanayake (PhD Student)
Kanchuka holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and a master’s degree in Pure & Applied Mathematics, where his work focused on numerical methods for calculating ULF/ELF electromagnetic fields produced in a conducting medium of infinite extent by a finite-length linear current source. This research involved comparing the electric field vectors generated at two distinct frequencies. His Ph.D. research centers on the development of Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) technology designed for high-speed charging of underwater vehicles without the need for docking, thereby maximizing operational time. By powering underwater WPT stations and recharging autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) with locally generated marine energy—stabilized with battery backup to smooth out intermittency—this approach eliminates the complexity and cost of long subsea cables. While the feasibility of transferring high power across various distances and orientation offsets has been extensively explored for air-based applications, such as in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, underwater WPT systems remain relatively under-researched. Kanchuka has designed, developed, and demonstrated a 3kW–5kW WPT system (operating at 85kHz–100kHz) intended for subsea applications. His work involves investigating concepts in resonant WPT, including frequency splitting, maximum operating distance, and system behavior in over- and under-coupled states—both theoretically and through experimental validation. He is an insightful individual who enjoys being part of the team and thrives in high pressure and challenging research environment!
Muhammad Nauman (PhD Student)
Muhammad Nauman joined the University of Houston in Spring 2022 to pursue a PhD in Electrical Engineering. He earned his MS from NUST, Pakistan, and his BS from UET, Pakistan, both in Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on applying control theory, particularly model predictive control (MPC), in power electronic systems. He developed a computationally efficient model predictive control for a three-phase inverter designed for UPS applications. Currently, he is working on an efficient data-driven predictive control for grid-forming inverters, focusing on regulating the capacitor voltage of an LCL filter and managing power regulation.
Lidya Mussie Weldehawaryat (PhD Student)
Lidya Mussie Weldehawaryat joined University of Houston in Fall 2023. She is doing her PhD in Electrical Engineering focusing on microgrid control. Lidya worked on hierarchical control of microgrids in the presence of communication delay for her master’s thesis and is interested in doing further research in this area.
Dileep Kumar (PhD Student)
Dileep Kumar is currently pursuing his PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Houston. He has joined University of Houston in Fall 2023. He received his BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Sukkur IBA University, Pakistan. He is also alumnus of Global UGRAD Semester Exchange program funded by US Department of State and studied a semester at Saginaw Valley State University in Fall 2017. During his MS, he worked on fault ride through schemes for offshore wind MMC-HVDC systems. His current research interest includes integration of renewable energy sources to electric grids especially offshore wind energy, modular multilevel converters and AC fault ride through schemes in MMC-HVDC system.