Faculty

Tiefu Zhao, Ph.D.   

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC)
University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Address: EPIC 1160, 8700 Phillips Rd, Charlotte, NC 28223
Phone: 704-687-0939
Email: Tiefu.Zhao@uncc.edu

 

Education
  • Ph.D., North Carolina State University, USA, 2010
  • M.S., Tsinghua University, China, 2005
  • B.S. with Excellent Graduate Honor, Tsinghua University, China, 2003
Industry Experience
  • Eaton Corporate Research & Technology, Milwaukee, WI, 2010 – 2016
Honors
  • 2015 IAS Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Award (to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the profession by an IAS member less than 35 years of age)
  • 2015 STEM Forward Young Engineer of the Year Award (to recognize an outstanding contributor to the engineering profession from the greater Milwaukee area under the age of 40)
  • As the Chair of IEEE Milwaukee Section IAS/IES Joint Chapter led the chapter with winning the 2015 IES Best Chapter Activity Award for demonstrated and outstanding performance.

Editorial Services

  • Associate Editor for IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, 2014 – 2019
  • Associate Editor for Chinese Journal of Electrical Engineering, 2018 – present
  • Reviewer of IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics, IEEE Transaction on Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, and various national and international IEEE conferences, including ECCE, APEC, IECON, PEDG, and ITEC.

Conference Organization

  • Track Chair for IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), 2022
  • Topic Chair and Session Chair for IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), 2022 and 2021
  • Session Chair for IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference (ITEC), 2021
  • Session Chair for the 4th IEEE International Conference on DC Microgrids (ICDCM), 2021
  • Award Chair for IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) 2019, Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Publicity Chair for IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) 2018, Portland, Oregon.
  • Publicity Chair for International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG) 2018, Charlotte, NC.
  • Invited Session Chair for IEEE International Power Electronics and Application Conference and Exposition (PEAC) 2018, Shenzhen, China.
  • Topic Chair for International Conference on Power Electronic (ICPE 2019-ECCE Asia), Busan, Korea.
  • Publicity Chair for IEEE International Electric Machines and Drives Conference (IEMDC) 2017 at Miami, Fl.
  • Publicity Chair and Topic Chair for IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) 2016 at Milwaukee, WI.
  • Chair of IEEE Milwaukee Section IAS/IES Joint Chapter, 2012 – 2016.
  • Program Chair and Technical Session Chair for International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), Milwaukee, WI, 2014.
  • Tutorial Chair for IEEE Symposium on Power Electronics & Machines for Wind and Water Applications (PEMWA 2014), Milwaukee, WI, 2014.

Professional Committee

  • IEEE IAS Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Achievement Award Committee, 2016 – Present
  • Member of IEEE PELS TC6 (Emerging Power Electronic Technologies) Sub-Committee on New Initiatives and Conferences, 2020 – Present
  • Member of IEEE International Technology Roadmap of Power Electronics for Distributed Energy Resources (ITRD), Working Group (WG4) on Security and Protection for DERs, 2020 – Present
  • Industry Advisory Board Member of National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) – Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center, at North Carolina State University, 2014 – 2016.
  • IEEE Senior Member Review Panelist, Milwaukee, WI, 2012.

IEEE Standard Working Group

  • IEEE SASB/SCC21 (Standards Association, Standards Board/Standards Coordinating Committee 21) 1547 Working Group Member, 2021 – Present

Local IEEE Service and Outreach

  • Founding Chair of IEEE Charlotte section PELS/IAS/IES Chapter, 2016 – Present. Led the chapter to bring together over 300 attendees from the region’s industry leaders, university faculties, and students for knowledge exchange and collaborations.
  • Chair of IEEE Milwaukee IAS/IES Joint Chapter, 2011- 2016. As the Chair of IEEE Milwaukee Section IAS/IES Joint Chapter, led the chapter with winning the 2015 IES Best Chapter Activity Award for demonstrated and outstanding performance.