EE 680 – Power Systems 1 (Required: Winter Quarter, Year 1)
Power and energy in AC circuits. Single-phase, three-phase and poly-phase circuits in balanced and unbalanced regimes. Measurement of three-phase power. Determination of three-phase sequence. Single-line diagrams. Per-unit method of representation and computations. Transformers and synchronous machines in power systems. Parameters of transmission lines.
EE 681 – Power Systems 2 (Required: Spring Quarter, Year 1)
Wave-propagation in transmission lines. Analysis of power networks, load-flow solutions and control. Three-phase faults and symmetrical components. Power system protection. Stability of power systems.
BOE 610 – Fundamentals of the Business of Energy (Required: Summer Quarter, Year 1)
An initial umbrella course designed to acquaint the student with the complexities of the present-day power system and how we arrived at this point. It will include a brief history of the industry evolution and will encompass various fuels, types of generation, regulatory authorities, power transmission, distribution, control & dispatch, planning, power markets and revenue flows.
ES 510 – Project Management (Required: Fall Quarter, Year 1)
This course will focus on project management from a decision-making perspective and how projects can be used to implement organizational strategy. The course follows the project life cycle model from project initiation to implementation to termination. Topics covered include such things as project scope development, project selection, organizational strategy, leadership, team building, planning, conflict resolution, budgeting, resource allocation, information management, control, auditing, and termination procedures. Computer applications such as MS Project, case studies, project simulations and student project teams will be an integral part of the course. This course satisfies the educational prerequisite for the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications.
EE 537 – Power Systems Protection (Required: Winter Quarter, Year 2)
Power system fault performance, protective system goals, fault sensing and protection algorithms. Applications to generator, transformer, bus transmission line, and distribution line protection. Distributed generation and the connection to the grid.
EE 638 – Grid Connected Renewable Energy Systems (Required: Spring Quarter, Year 2)
Power grid energy resources. The solar resource, photovoltaic cell characteristics, solar array performance. Wind energy principles, wind turbine characteristics. Maximum power point operation. Energy storage systems. Grid integration issues.
EE 639 – Electric Power Distribution Systems (Elective Option: Fall Quarter, Year 2)
A graduate level course on modern electric power distribution systems, with topics selected from: overhead and underground lines, voltage regulation, distribution faults and protection, reliability and power quality, lightning protection, grounding, interconnection of distributed generation, and distribution system control and communications.
EE 559 – Microgrid Design and Control (Elective Option: Winter Quarter, Year 3)
The focus of the course will be microgrid design with PV, Wind, and Energy Storage, and their control and integration into the power systems using power electronics devices. Various topics will be covered in this course to provide students with cutting-edge knowledge in microgrid applications, design, and control. In this course, students will have a chance to 1) learn power converters (DC/DC, DC/AC, and AC/DC) and utilize the converters to create an AC or DC Microgrid with PV, Wind, or Batteries, 2) learn how to control the power quality (voltage, frequency) in islanded and grid-connected modes, 3) learn how to regulate the power flow in islanded and grid-connected modes, and 4) learn about anti-islanding controls and low voltage ride through requirements.
EE 531 – Power System Planning (Elective Option: Spring Quarter, Year 3)
Long-term planning will identify a financially viable and physically feasible mix of resources, including traditional generation and transmission sources as well as advanced techniques such as renewable generation, demand response, and the microgrid, to enhance the overall reliability of power systems. This course will introduce the students generation and transmission expansion planning of a vertically integrated utility and in a competitive market.
EE 535 – Power System Reliability (Elective)
Power system reliability will take a close look at modern electrical power systems from the generation/transmission/distribution capacity planning (“adequacy”) point of view. The main topics will include the application of probability theory to power systems including generating capacity, loss of load expectation, expected energy not supplied, interruption frequency indices, interruption duration indices, and service availability indices. This course will cover the computational techniques for the above probabilistic metrics of power system reliability. Commercial reliability software will be introduced into the class to help students get hands-on experiences on industry power system reliability studies.
EE 539 – Dielectrics (Elective)
Dielectric properties of materials and polarization models. Complex permittivity and relaxation spectra. Electrical breakdown in gases, liquids and solids.
EE 530 – High Voltage Techniques and Measurements (Elective)
Generation of high-voltage AC, DC and impulse. High-voltage dielectric loss measurements. Discharge measurements. High-voltage insulation problems
EE 552 – Optimization Techniques in Engineering (Elective)
Introduction to optimization techniques in engineering. Topics include: engineering applications of optimization, types of optimization problems, linear programming and the simplex method, one-dimensional optimization, unconstrained nonlinear programming, nonlinear programming with equality and inequality constraints, advanced optimization techniques, practical aspects of optimization.
Additional electives in power engineering may also be available.