About me
I am a Professor at the Department of Wind and Energy Systems at DTU. I am heading the Section for Power Systems. We are a group of about 33 researchers (5 faculty, postdocs, PhD students, and research assistants) that do a lot of exciting research in the cross-section of AI, control, optimization and dynamic systems to ensure the secure operation of electric systems with 100% renewable sources! We work using our brain (just a little bit :) ), our computers, and our labs at PowerlabDK! Our Section belongs to the Division for Power and Energy Systems, a team of over 120 people dealing with all aspects of energy systems.
Before the DTU-wide reorganization, I was an Assistant and Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at DTU, and I belonged to the Energy Analytics and Markets (ELMA) group. This, in turn, belonged to the Center for Electric Power and Energy. A bit complicated, huh? Well, it's all about structure! I was in the same group with Pierre Pinson and Jalal Kazempour. (have you checked their websites?)
Before coming to Copenhagen, I was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT working with Konstantin (Kostya) Turitsyn. (by the way, check out Kostya's website!).
Before that I was a postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and member of the Grid Integration Group, headed (then) by Sila Kiliccote.
And before that I was at ETH Zurich for my PhD, working with Göran Andersson.
And...this whole thing wouldn't have started if I didn't do my undergrad at the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. Check out my CV for more details or go on reading!
Education
PhD
ETH Zurich, 2013
Diploma (MSc Equivalent)
National Technical University of Athens, 2007
Research
My research focuses on power system operation and planning, working with machine learning, optimization techniques, and non-linear dynamic systems. Over the years it has spanned a broad spectrum of topics ranging from distribution grids and microgrids to transmission grids and supergrids. For a more complete overview take a look here.
Currently at DTU, I am working on topics about physics-informed machine learning and verification, quantum computing, zero-inertia systems, and optimization and stability of combined AC and HVDC grids. Together with my PhD students, research assistants, and postdocs we are looking on new methods at the interface of machine learning and optimization, convex relaxations, data-driven approaches, and non-linear control. Exciting!
At MIT I was working on Lyapunov-based transient stability certificates incorporating power system control. These are topics that I try to continue working on while at DTU.
During my time at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, I had the technical lead for the development of a cosimulation platform we call VirGIL. VirGIL captures the interactions between building dynamics and power systems for demand response. More info? Here is a presentation. In 2015 we applied for and got awarded a US$5 million project from the US Department of Energy to develop VirGIL into a tool for utilities!
During my PhD I proposed formulations to incorporate corrective control of HVDC lines in security-constrained optimal power flow problems. I further developed analytical approaches for power system planning, and introduced this concept. For my PhD work you can take a look at the publications.
Before my PhD I spent a year as a research assistant at NTUA, where we carried out the first field test of multi-agent technology on a real microgrid. This summarizes part of that work. And here are some photos from the Kythnos Microgrid Symposium in 2008 presenting our experiments.
More about me
During my undergrad I organized together with 11 friends and fellow ECE students the First National Student Conference of Electrical and Computer Engineers in Greece. The conference had an attendance of over 850 participants from all over Greece. Since 2007, the conference is organized almost every year in different Greek cities. More info here: http://sfhmmy.gr/ (in Greek) and some more background to follow here.
Checkpoints
Below are a couple of links related to my... academic checkpoints.
Faculty:
Technical University of Denmark
DTU Personal Website
Postdoc:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
PhD:
ETH Zurich - Power Systems Laboratory
Undergraduate Studies:
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Research Assistant:
NTUA Electric Power Systems Laboratory
Exchange:
University of Liege - Damien Ernst (during PhD)
Technical University of Munich (during undergrad)
High School:
Geitonas School