March 13, 2015 – Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Energy now boasts three full-time Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) research fellows thanks to IESO funding.

Bob Singh, Jessie Ma (both distinguished research fellows) and Reza Ghaffari (visiting research fellow) will be researching the challenges facing Ontario’s electricity sector.

“It is a great opportunity for me to further my research on energy storage in such a supportive and rigorous environment like CUE,” said Ghaffari, who was awarded a PhD from Ryerson last September.

Ma, a business development advisor at Hydro One Networks, will investigate the integrated delivery of electricity, gas and water conservation. She said the fellowship offers her the opportunity to combine her academic background in engineering and public administration with her experience in the electricity sector.

Singh, a former manager at Hydro One Networks, said he wants to use his decades of experience at utilities to explore ways in which the distribution system can respond to an “unprecedented level of change on all fronts” and that he hopes to find “pragmatic and cost-effective solutions.”

Founded in 2010, CUE houses 34 projects conducted by 70 researchers involving faculty, staff and students that are collectively worth about $21 million, according to the university. CUE continues to grow and its funding sources now include Schneider Electric Canada, PowerStream and the Ontario Ministry of Energy.

“CUE and the research of its fellows is a perfect fit for Ryerson as an urban university that is integrated into the city’s downtown core,” said Mohamed Lachemi, Ryerson provost and vice-president academic. “With strong collaborations with academia, and the public and private sector, CUE researchers are developing and commercializing relevant and responsive solutions to urban energy issues.”