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Yicheng Zhu receives Teaching Effectiveness Award
EECS grad Yicheng Zhu has received a Teaching Effectiveness Award for 2024.
The Graduate Division’s Teaching Effectiveness Award for GSIs honors those who devise solutions to teaching or learning problems they have identified in their classes and write them up in a one-page essay. These essays are published on the GSI Center website for use by instructors.
Zhu’s essay, “Fostering Student Engagement: The Power of Live Class Demonstrations,” emphasizes his approach to enhancing student engagement in large lecture formats. Through the implementation of interactive group activities and targeted feedback mechanisms during the 2023 semester, he successfully created a more inclusive environment that encouraged student participation and fostered a deeper understanding of the material.
Yicheng Zhu is a postdoctoral scholar and Bakar Innovation Fellow advised by Robert Pilawa-Podgurski.
Submitted by nluechin on October 17, 2024
https://eecs.berkeley.edu/news/vivek-bharadwaj-and-yicheng-zhu-receive-teaching-effectiveness-award/
Francesca Giardine and Kelly Fernandez win Best Paper Award at ECCE – Europe
Graduate students Francesca Giardine, Kelly Fernandez (PhD, Fall 2023), along with Dr. Robert Pilawa-Podgurski have won Best Paper Award at IEEE Energy Conversion Conference and Expo – Europe.
They presented A Two-Stage Non-Isolated Hybrid Switched-Capacitor Microinverter Utilizing a Fixed-Ratio Resonant DC-DC Stage with Startup Functionality and Flying Capacitor Multilevel DC-AC Stage. Their work demonstrated a 500W two-stage microinverter solution for residential scale solar that uses exclusively hybrid switched-capacitor converter topologies to convert a 35V DC voltage to a 240V AC voltage. The hardware prototype achieved a competitive power density and efficiency, meeting the growing need for compact solutions for residential-scale renewables.
The paper was presented at ECCE – Europe in Darmstadt, Germany. ECCE brings together academics and industry professionals from around the world to exchange ideas about the energy transition. The best papers were chosen based on the quality of the technical results, paper, and presentation.
Submitted by Sarah Douglas on September 5, 2024
https://bpec.berkeley.edu/pilawa-group-graduate-students-win-best-paper-award-at-ecce-europe/
Rahul Iyer and Tahmid Mahbub Win Best Paper Award at IEEE INTELEC 2024
Rahul K. Iyer, S. Tahmid Mahbub, and Robert C.N. Pilawa-Podgurski have won the Best Student Paper Award at the 2024 IEEE International Communications Energy Conference (INTELEC) for their paper “Quasi- Two-Level Switching for Active Balancing of Flying Capacitor Multilevel Converters Under Light-Load Conditions” (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10678933/)
Recent work in the Pilawa group has highlighted the design of “active-balancing” controllers to ensure the safe operation of high-performance Flying Capacitor Multilevel (FCML) converters during system transients. This work builds on broader efforts to study the converter dynamics and design stable high-bandwidth controllers. In particular, this work highlights techniques to ensure stable converter operation when the load current is small. Compared to prior work relying on Phase-Shifted Pulse-Width Modulation, the proposed switching scheme enables active balancing at average load currents approaching and equal to zero. The conference paper and oral presentation given at IEEE INTELEC 2024 highlight the proposed switching and control methods and showcase the practical implementation of the controller on industry-standard digital signal processor hardware.
They are continuing to work on additional characterization of the balancing controller at different operating conditions, and aim to apply the proposed technique to demonstrate safe startup of the converter at light-load conditions.
Submitted by Sarah Douglas on October 20, 2024
https://bpec.berkeley.edu/rahul-iyer-and-tahmid-mahbub-win-best-paper-award-at-ieee-intelec-2024/
Welcoming Our 2024 PhD Cohort: Emmi Wyttenbach, Shuyu Zhang, and Dennis Woo!
We are pleased to introduce the newest members of our PhD cohort at the Pilawa Group: Emmi Wyttenbach, Dennis Woo, and Shuyu Zhang.
Emmi Wyttenbach joins us from Cornell University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2024. During her time at Cornell, she conducted power electronics research under Prof. Khurram Afridi, focusing on the development of active energy buffer solutions. Outside of her academic pursuits, Emmi is an avid soccer player and enjoys running and swimming.
Shuyu Zhang completed her Bachelor’s degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in China in 2023, followed by Master’s studies at Stanford University before joining Berkeley. With a passion for Anime, comics, and games (ACG), Shuyu has been an active cosplayer at anime conventions since 2016. She also has a keen interest in photography.
Dennis Woo graduated from Stanford with a Bachelor’s degree in 2023 and a Master’s degree in 2024. His research background includes high-frequency power electronics and wide-bandgap semiconductor materials. Outside of work, Dennis enjoys exploring the outdoors,
and he spends his time with photography, soccer, volleyball, and climbing.
We look forward to supporting their growth and contributions to the group and are excited for the perspectives they bring!
Berkeley EECS researchers win Best Showcase Award at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit
EECS graduate students Logan Horowitz, Syed Tahmid Mahbub, Jiarui Zou, and Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski have received a Best Showcase Award at the 2024 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. In collaboration with a team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and other academic and industry partners, the Berkeley team developed technology that aims to drastically improve the efficiency of future data centers. Their work focused on the design of a thermal test vehicle (TTV) for assessing cooling solutions.
The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit convenes experts from different technical disciplines and professional communities to address America’s energy challenges. The Summit offers a unique, three-day program, highlighting cutting-edge ideas with the most potential for meaningful impact.
Submitted by Gloria Tao on June 14, 2024
Dr. Nathan Ellis to Join Faculty at UC Santa Cruz
Having spent the past four years with UC Berkeley, Dr. Ellis is moving to the University of California Santa Cruz — Baskin School of Engineering. Here his research group will be hosted at UCSC’s Westside Research Park, a stone’s throw from Natural Bridges State Beach.
During his time at UC Berkeley, Dr. Ellis collaborated extensively with BPEC researchers, contributing to the development of high-density power electronics and renewable energy systems. His teaching contributions have also earned him UC Berkeley’s recognition for “teaching effectiveness that greatly exceeds the departmental average”.
The Pilawa-Group would like to wish him the best of luck in his continuing academic career!
Yicheng Zhu receives Ph.D. Degree!
Graduate student Yicheng Zhu received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences on May 18th, 2024. His dissertation was titled “High-Performance Hybrid Switched-Capacitor Power Converters: Circuit Topologies, Control Techniques, and Analytical Models.” Congratulations!
Rose Abramson receives Ph.D. Degree!
Graduate student Rose Abramson received her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences on May 18th, 2024. Her dissertation was titled “Split-Phase and Multi-Resonant Operation of Hybrid Switched-Capacitor Converters.”
Rose Abramson at hooding ceremony with advisor Prof. Robert Pilawa-Podgurski.
Sahana Krishnan Receives M.S. Degree!
Ben Liao wins Best Presentation Award at 2024 IEEE PECI
EE researcher Ben Liao, working with Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski, has received the Best Presentation Award at the 2024 IEEE Power and Energy Conference at Illinois (PECI) – a student-directed power and energy conference held annually at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The PECI Best Presentation Award is determined both by conference directors and input from attendees.
Ben received the Best Presentation Award for his work on designing and building a high-power, electronically-controlled, modular resistive load bank. The proposed design overcomes testing limitations in commercial solutions when characterizing state-of-the-art converters. The architecture can easily be extended and modified to suit various other applications where an electronically-controlled resistive load is desired. For more information, please consult the full paper, available at this link.
Berkeley EECS wins Best Presentation Awards at IEEE APEC
EE grad student Logan Horowitz and post-doc Nathan Miles Ellis, advised by Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski, have received awards for outstanding technical presentations at the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC)–the flagship conference in power electronics.
Logan received a Best Presentation award for his work on a 14-level Flying-Capacitor-Multilevel inverter for electric vehicles, and Nathan for his work on a 48V-to-1V point-of-load (PoL) converter for aerospace telecommunications and computing applications. Both works demonstrated performance greatly exceeding state-of-the-art capabilities in energy conversion.
The APEC Best Presentation Awards are scored using several criteria, including quality of slides, presentation, and how well the presenter responds to questions. The award is considered a significant professional achievement. APEC 2024 hit record attendance this year, which took place in Long Beach, CA.
Submitted by Gloria Tao on March 25, 2024
https://eecs.berkeley.edu/news/berkeley-eecs-wins-best-presentation-awards-at-ieee-apec/
Kelly Fernandez and Maggie Blackwell graduate!
Graduate students Kelly Fernandez and Maggie Blackwell successfully delivered their dissertation talks and graduated this December. Kelly’s talk was titled “High-Performance Grid-Tied Single-Phase Power Converter Design with Applications in Electric Vehicle Charging and Residential Photovoltaic Systems”, and Maggie’s talk was titled “Switching Strategies for Hybrid Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Power Converters.” Congratulations to our BPEC graduates!
EECS Grads win another IEEE COMPEL Best Paper Award
EECS graduate students Yicheng Zhu and Jiarui Zou, and post-docs Ting Ge and Nathan Ellis have won the 2023 IEEE Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL) Best Paper Award. Their paper, “A 48-V-to-1-V Switching Bus Converter for Ultra-High-Current Applications,” demonstrated a new dc-dc power converter topology and control technique for data center power delivery applications, capable of sourcing 1200 A of current at 1 V supply voltage. The hardware prototype used to validate the concept achieved the highest power density and efficiency combination of any prior work, academic or industrial. Next, the researchers are working with industry partners to transition this record-breaking concept to next-generation GPU/CPU computing platforms for AI and machine learning applications. IEEE COMPEL is the premier control and modeling conference for power electronics, having brought together world experts in the field for the last 24 years. Three best papers were selected this year from the total accepted 84 papers, based on originality, contribution to the field, and quality of presentation at the conference.
Submitted by Matthew Santillan on September 26, 2023 – 11:34am
https://eecs.berkeley.edu/news/2023/09/eecs-grads-win-another-ieee-compel-best-paper-award
Welcoming Tahmid Mahbub to Our Research Group!
We are delighted to introduce Tahmid Mahbub, who joins our research group at Cal after six years of invaluable industry experience at Apple. Tahmid’s journey from his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, where he was recognized as the Best Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, to his tenure at one of the world’s leading tech companies, underscores his passion for excellence and innovation.
Originating from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tahmid’s early adventures in electronics, documented on his blog, reflect his innate curiosity and drive for exploration. Despite his demanding schedule, Tahmid finds joy in sports, particularly soccer (number 9), cricket, and tennis, as well as friendly competitions in games like Catan and FIFA.
Tahmid’s palate is as diverse as his interests, as he seeks out the best burrito spots in Berkeley and indulges in his love for Kacchi biryani. His affinity for the unconventional extends to his favorite getaway, Death Valley National Park, embodying his adventurous spirit and appreciation for the extraordinary.
As Tahmid embarks on this new chapter with us, we extend our warmest welcome and look forward to the exciting collaborations and discoveries that lie ahead. Please join us in welcoming Tahmid to our research family at Cal!
Dr. Samantha Coday to Join Faculty at MIT
Dr. Coday will be joining MIT as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, as part of the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE). The Coday Research group will focus on high-performance power converters and systems to enable future electric aircraft, space travel, and renewable integration. In addition, Dr. Coday is interested in the modeling, design, and control of high-efficiency and lightweight converters utilizing the advantages of capacitor-based and multilevel topologies.
While at UC Berkeley, Dr. Coday worked on several hybrid switched-capacitor designs for aerospace applications, and was a highly valued mentor, teaching assistant (receiving the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award), and IEEE PELS founding member and organizer.
The Pilawa group will miss Dr. Coday, and wishes her all the best with her research and future endeavors!
Two graduate students receive technical awards at IEEE APEC
Two Berkeley EECS graduate students, Haifah Sambo and Logan Horowitz, received separate Technical Session Best Presentation Awards at the 2023 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), after a rigorous review process that highlights the conference’s most innovative technical solutions. Sambo received a Technical Lecture Award, for her oral presentation of her paper, “Autotuning of Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converters for Zero Current Switching and Terminal Capacitance Reduction,” while Horowitz received a Technical Dialogue Award, for his poster presentation paper of his paper “Decoupling Device for Small Commutation Loop and Improved Switching Performance with Large Power Transistors.” APEC focuses on the practical and applied aspects of the power electronics business and is the premier conference in the field. The technical program includes peer-reviewed papers that cover all areas of technical interest for practicing power electronics professionals. Both Sambo and Horowitz are advised by Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski.
Submitted by Bennett Agnew on June 12, 2023 – 3:33pm
Two graduate students receive technical awards at IEEE APEC | EECS at UC Berkeley
EECS Grads win IEEE COMPEL Best Paper Award
Graduate students Nathan Brooks, Samantha Coday, Maggie Blackwell, Rose Abramson, and post-doc Nathan Ellis have won the IEEE COMPEL Best Paper Award for their paper, “Operation of Flying Capacitor Multilevel Converters At and Above Resonance.” The paper was presented at the 23rd IEEE Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL), which took place in Tel Aviv, Israel. COMPEL is the premier conference on the latest advances in modeling, simulation, analysis, and control of power electronics devices, circuits and systems. The criteria for the award are based on the quality of the technical results, write-up, and presentation. The paper describes a new method for operating flying capacitor multilevel converters at and above resonance, which has proven to be more efficient and with better performance than existing methods. In addition to the best paper award, the group, advised by Professor Robert Pilawa-Podgurski, organized and presented a tutorial at the IEEE 7th Southern Power Electronics Conference (SPEC) in December 2022.
Submitted by Matthew Santillan on March 24, 2023 – 4:11pm
EECS Grads win IEEE COMPEL Best Paper Award | EECS at UC Berkeley
Yicheng Zhu wins NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship
EECS Ph.D. student Yicheng Zhu (advisor: Robert Pilawa-Podgurski) has won an NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship. Zhu, whose research interests include enabling technologies for high-performance electric power conversion, is one of five recipients of the fellowship, which awards up to $50,000 to each recipient in support of research in areas such as accelerated computing, with fellows tackling projects in deep learning, robotics, computer vision, computer graphics, circuits, autonomous vehicles, and programming systems. Awardees are selected from a highly competitive, global applicant pool and will participate in a summer internship with NVIDIA. Spanning 22 years, NVIDIA has awarded $6 million to nearly 200 students to support graduate research. “Our fellowship recipients are among the most talented graduate students in the world,” said NVIDIA Chief Scientist Bill Dally. “They’re working on some of the most important problems in computer science, and we’re delighted to support their research.” Zhu’s research will explore extreme-performance hybrid switched-capacitor voltage regulation modules for ultra-high-power GPUs, which enables highly efficient and ultra-compact vertical power delivery with fast transient response.
Submitted by Matthew Santillan on January 25, 2023 – 4:51pm
Yicheng Zhu wins NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship | EECS at UC Berkeley
NVIDIA Awards $50,000 Research Fellowships to PhD Students
EECS graduate students turn e-waste into art
EECS graduate students use leftover printed circuit boards (PCBs) to create art. The result is a beautiful Cal EECS bear in Berkeley blue, centered over the letters E-E-C-S in green, all made up of PCBs, on a towering six by seven plywood base held together by very-high-bond (VHB) double-sided tape. Rahul Iyer, an EECS Ph.D. student advised by EE Prof. Pilawa-Podgurski, had the idea over Thanksgiving break to make use of what would otherwise be e-waste. With the help of Rod Bayliss III, Maggie Blackwell, Sahana Krishnan and Nathan Brooks, all Ph.D. students advised by Pilawa, they set out to repurpose the leftover PCBs, first by printing the silhouette of the Cal bear on a mounting board, tracing the outline of the bear, and then using VHB to tape the PCBs onto the mounting board, filling in the outline. “It was a great bonding activity over Thanksgiving break, especially recollecting projects and past memories when we came across some of the boards,” said Rahul. “I’m so glad I had an opportunity to share in this creative endeavor with my peers. Looking forward to another project in a few years when we collect more PCBs!”
Submitted by Matthew Santillan on December 15, 2022 – 4:01pm
EECS graduate students turn e-waste into art | EECS at UC Berkeley
Rod Bayliss and Vivek Nair win 2022 Hertz Fellowships
EECS graduate students Roderick Bayliss III (advisor: Robert Pilawa-Podgurski) and Vivek Nair (advisor: Dawn Song) have been selected to receive 2022 Hertz Fellowships. One of the most prestigious awards of its kind, Hertz Fellowships support PhD students whose research show “the greatest potential to tackle society’s most urgent problems.” Bayliss is developing more efficient and power-dense types of power converters—devices that change the current, voltage or frequency of electrical energy—and inductors, which store energy, to help reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. He earned his B.S. and M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from MIT. Nair is developing cutting-edge cryptographic techniques to defend digital infrastructure against sophisticated cyberthreats. He was the youngest-ever recipient of a B.A. and Master’s in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and is the founder of Multifactor.com. Their fellowships will fund up to five years of graduate research with “the freedom to pursue innovative ideas wherever they may lead.” Hertz Fellows also receive lifelong professional support, including mentoring and networking with a powerful community of more than 1,200 researchers.
Submitted by Magdalene L. Crowley on June 6, 2022 – 11:19am
Rod Bayliss and Vivek Nair win 2022 Hertz Fellowships | EECS at UC Berkeley