December 16, 2014 – Tony Chung—a professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering—was named the inaugural SaskPower Research Chair in Power Systems Engineering earlier today.

“As SaskPower Chair, Chung will be working to advance academic activities and applied research in power systems engineering development in the province,” said Georges Kipouros, dean of the College of Engineering.

Before joining the university, Chung was an associate professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and has previously worked in Powertech Labs Inc. and the University of Alberta. Among his research interests are smart grids and renewable energy, and power system stability and control. His research has generated 180 publications, and has also resulted in new commercial software packages developed for power system analysis, says SaskPower.

The $3.5 million to fund the Chair comes from SaskPower and supports the chair position, laboratory improvements, scholarships, research and curriculum development related to power systems engineering, which deals with the generation, transmission, distribution and utilization of electric power and the electrical devices connected to such systems, e.g. generators, motors and transformers.

“By working to make sure that the teaching in the classroom matches the needs of the business, future graduates will be able to hit the ground running with all the training and knowledge they need to be a valuable part of SaskPower’s business from day one,” said Bill Boyd, minister responsible for energy and resources.

The funding will support renovations, currently underway, to enhance power and energy technology laboratories in the College of Engineering. The lab improvements—including the purchase of new, more energy-/space-efficient equipment—will allow students to participate in a greater number and range of experiments, says SaskPower. The number of lab stations has been increased from six to 14, allowing for smaller student group sizes while accommodating increasing enrollment in electrical engineering.