Teaching the next generation of engineers is one of the most rewarding part of being a professor. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign we offer a large number of undergraduate and graduate courses in the Power and Energy area. Below are courses that I have taught, with a brief description. I take the teaching component of my job very seriously, and am proud to have been recognized as a “Teacher Ranked as Excellent by Their Students” each year since I started at UIUC. Moreover, I have received the recognition of “Outstanding” (top 10% in department) rating for five courses in four years. I strive to continue to improve my teaching each year, and am looking forward to develop new and exciting courses for the engineering professional of tomorrow.
ECE 330 – Power Circuits and Electromechanics (Course description)
Taught in 2012 (Student rating 4.5/5.0)
Official Description: Network equivalents; power and energy fundamentals, resonance, mutual inductance; three-phase power concepts, forces and torques of electric origin in electromagnetic and electrostatic systems; energy conversion cycles; principles of electric machines; transducers; relays; laboratory demonstration. Course Information: Prerequisite: ECE 210.
ECE 464 – Power Electronics (Course description)
Taught in 2012 (4.9/5.0), 2013 (4.7/5.0), 2015 (4.9/5.0), 2016 (5.0/5.0)
Official Description: Switching functions and methods of control such as pulse-width modulation, phase control, and phase modulation; dc-dc, ac-dc, dc-ac, and ac-ac power converters; power components, including magnetic components and power semiconductor switching devices.
My Description: This is the course to take if you want to learn how electric power is converted between various form. At the end of the course, you will understand how a solar inverter operates (dc-dc and dc-ac), a laptop or electric vehicle charger (ac-dc), and a modern drive system for an electric car (dc-dc, dc-ac). Moreover, you will understand how to design a transformer and inductor – from first principles – and will know how to analyze a number of power converter topologies. Finally, you will understand the importance of practical considerations, such as choice of semiconductor technology (Si, SiC, GaN, etc.), gate driving, and parasitic inductance in circuits.
ECE 469 – Power Electronics Laboratory (Course description)
Taught in 2012 (4.9/5.0), 2013 (4.7/5.0), 2015 (4.9/5.0), 2016 (5.0/5.0)
Official Description: Circuits and devices used for switching power converters, solid-state motor drives, and power controllers; dc-dc, ac-dc, and dc-ac converters and applications; high-power transistors and magnetic components; design considerations including heat transfer.
My Description: This is the course to take if you want to learn how to actually build power converters. You’ll get a chance to drive electric motors, rectify ac voltages, charge batteries, solder, blow things up (wear safety googles!), and learn the intricacies of design and debugging. For many students, this course reminds them of why they wanted to become electrical engineers in the first place!
ECE 598RPP – Advanced Power Electronics (Course description)
Taught in 2014 (4.7/5.0), 2016 (5.0/5.0)
Official Description: This course covers advanced topics in power electronics, including control, circuit topologies, inductor and transformer design, and high efficiency techniques such as resonant power conversion and light-load operation. Numerous application examples will be provided, such as solar photovoltaics, power-supply on a chip, and low-voltage, low-power converters used in portable electronic devices.
My Description: This is the course to take if you want to learn about more advanced power electronics. If you are (or are considering becoming) a graduate student in power electronics, it is highly recommended. We discuss small signal modeling, switched-capacitor power converters, advanced inductor and transformer design, and multi-level and resonant converters.