Fifty-two faculty members from the UConn College of Engineering have been recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists in 2024, according to Stanford/Elsevier’s Top 2% Scientist Rankings. This annual ranking highlights the most widely cited researchers across diverse scientific disciplines, underscoring their significant contributions to research and their global impact.

The Stanford rankings evaluate over 6 million researchers globally, identifying the top 100,000 based on career-long or single-year outputs in 22 scientific fields and 174 subfields. These rankings are determined through a comprehensive citation score (c-score), calculated from six key metrics, including total citations and authorship roles. Scholars who place within the top 100,000 worldwide based on these metrics, or who rank within the top 2% in their specific subfields, are included on this prestigious list.

The top 2% career-long faculty members from UConn’s College of Engineering are: Mark Aindow, Emmanouil Anagnostou, Rajeev Bansal, Yaakov Bar-Shalom, Ali Bazzi, Jinbo Bi, C. Barry Carter, Baki Cetegen, Ki Chon, John DeWolf, Avinash Dongare, Pu-Xian Gao, Amir Herzberg, Bahram Javidi, Thomas Katsouleas, Theo Kattamis, David Kleinman, Lee Langston, Cato Laurencin, Yu Lei, Baikun Li, Tianfeng Lu, Radenka Maric, Jeffrey McCutcheon, Nejat Olgac, Krishna Pattipati, Sanguthevar Rajasekaran, Montgomery Shaw, Luyi Sun, Chih-Jen Sung, Ali Tamayol, Jiong Tang, Guiling Wang, Robert Weiss, Kay Wille, Peter Willett, Ji-Cheng Zhao, Junbo Zhao, Guoan Zheng, Shengli Zhou, and Xiao-Dong Zhou

The 2023 single-year top 2% winners are: Osama Bilal, Yang Cao, Caiwen Ding, Swapna Gokhale, Suining He, Chao Hu, Jeongho Kim, Walter Krawec, Julián Norato, Hugo Posada-Quintero, and Chuxu Zhang.

This recognition highlights the high caliber of UConn’s engineering faculty, whose research spans critical fields such as biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, and chemical engineering. Their work not only advances academic knowledge but also offers innovative solutions to pressing global challenges in health care, energy, and materials science.

“It is with immense pride and admiration that I congratulate the College of Engineering faculty being recognized among the top 2% of scientists worldwide,” says Anne D’Alleva, UConn’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “This distinction is a testament to their innovation and dedication, and the far-reaching impact of their work. Their achievements not only elevate the reputation of our College of Engineering but also inspire us all to strive for excellence.”

UConn President Radenka Maric, who is a professor in UConn College of Engineering, is in the top 2% list together with the Dean of Engineering Ji-Cheng (JC) Zhao. The top five highest ranked professors from UConn College of Engineering are: Yaakov Bar-Shalom, Bahram Javidi, Cato Laurencin, Ji-Cheng (JC) Zhao, and Thomas Katsouleas.

“Hearty congratulations to our esteemed faculty for their remarkable achievements and dedication to excellence in their fields,” says Zhao. “Their exceptional scholarship leads to both high-quality education and societal impact.”

ince the start of 2024, federal officials have been sounding alarms over the critical threat of cyberattacks to the country’s energy infrastructure.

Researchers at UConn are answering the call for the development of innovative technologies and defense systems, as well as education and training programs for the energy-sector workforce, through a new regional collaborative that brings together universities and industry partners to tackle the cybersecurity infrastructure needs of the northeast corridor.

The new Northeast University Cybersecurity Center for Advanced and Resilient Energy Delivery, or CyberCARED, will formally launch in early May following a commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of $2.5 million over the next two years to support the project.

The project is one of six nationwide that were selected by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) to address gaps in research surrounding energy security.

“This investment in university-based cybersecurity centers will enable us to simultaneously grow the U.S. cyber workforce and build the expertise we need to take on the evolving cyber threats to our nation’s energy systems,” says CESER Director Puesh M. Kumar. “The U.S. competitive advantage has always depended on cutting-edge research and a high-skilled workforce. Through these projects, we are advancing our economic and national security.”

A team of industry partners have committed an additional $1.1 million – for total project funding of $3.6 million – to launch the initiative out of UConn’s Eversource Energy Center, based at UConn Storrs.

“The main goal for this center is to build and unify the regional collaborations across academic institutions and power industry enterprises across northeast, along with the participation of national laboratories and regional government agencies,” says Junbo Zhao, an assistant professor in UConn’s College of Engineering, associate director at the Eversource Energy Center, and the principal investigator for CyberCARED. “It’s paramount to develop and broaden innovative programs dedicated to cyber-security education, training, and workforce development within the power industry. Currently, the northeast region lacks such a curriculum tailored specifically for the energy sector.”

The five northeastern universities joining UConn in the effort include the University of Rhode Island, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Vermont, Central Connecticut State University, and New York University. Also involved in the project as either partners or team members are an additional 20 public and private-sector stakeholders, including Eversource Energy, Avangrid, and the National Renewable Energy Lab.

“Continuing to enhance the security of our grid is a high priority for the state and the regional grid operator, the ISO-New England,” state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes says. “The cybersecurity center led by UConn is a welcome addition to these efforts and will significantly increase our ability to maintain a secure grid while adding smart technologies, which help optimize grid performance at the lowest possible cost.”

In addition to education, continuing education, and training programs, the center will engage in high-level research to further development of new tools for the energy sector that consider the distinctive characteristics of the northeast’s electric system and infrastructure network.

UConn is uniquely positioned to lead this research effort, explains Emmanouil Anagnostou – the Eversource Energy Chair in Environmental Engineering at UConn and director of the Eversource Energy Center – because of the resources that the University has developed through its years-long partnership with Eversource but also because of the trust that the University has built with both federal regulators and the industry.

“Cybersecurity research is important for ensuring reliable and resilient grid operation,” Anagnostou says. “Eversource has contributed significantly to our ability to conduct these efforts through the donation of the Advanced Real-Time Digital Simulation lab, which has been a critical stepping stone. Our lab and our center have established a well-defined framework to do this kind of research, and eventually to also expand this work into educational activities, due in large part to the faith Eversource has in the capabilities of our team.”

Anagnostou adds, “Through our extensive work on projects involving issues like resiliency and clean energy, we have developed a very trusted relationship with the utilities and the utility industry that spills to other companies that come to work with us. For cybersecurity, this is even more important.”

“Eversource is committed to providing its customers with safe and reliable service,” says Digaunto Chatterjee, vice president of system planning and interim senior vice president of engineering for Eversource. “Cybersecurity is a significant emerging threat to the power grid, especially given the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and climate change-driven weather events. Eversource is therefore proud to support the cybersecurity research performed at the RTDS lab within the Eversource Energy Center as well as to be the utility partner in the CyberCARED DOE award.”

The new CyberCARED center also builds on a growing legacy of cybersecurity research, development, and education at UConn.

The University has been designated three times as a National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Security Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research and is home to several additional research and education centers focused on cybersecurity, including the Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST), the Synchrony Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity at UConn Stamford, and the Center for Voting Technology Research (VoTeR).

“Cybersecurity is one of UConn’s key research pursuits, and with good reason,” says Pamir Alpay, UConn’s vice president for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. “With so much personal information out there, it’s incumbent on us to understand how we can safeguard our future against cyberattacks and other threats. We’ve been recognized for our work in cybersecurity, evidence of the excellence of our faculty and student researchers who are leaders and pioneers in the field.”

CyberCARED, however, takes UConn’s cybersecurity research and development into a new domain, says Zhao.

“This presents an incredible opportunity to collaborate with other centers in tackling the challenges within the energy domain,” Zhao emphasizes. “They’ve already established a strong reputation, which paves the way for collaboration. Now is the moment for energy.”

For more information about the research and initiatives underway at the Eversource Energy Center at UConn, visit eversource.uconn.edu.

Conn’s College of Engineering (CoE) has announced the creation of the Connecticut Power Electronics Center of Excellence (CONPEX), representing the College’s efforts to advance research and education in power electronics ranging from semiconductor materials to systems. CONPEX is currently housed in CoE’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Ali Bazzi has been named director, and Georges Pavlidis associate director for Research.

In a letter to UConn faculty introducing the new Center, CoE Dean JC Zhao spoke to the importance of remaining competitive in this field and said that CONPEX will play an integral role in the development of sustainable energy solutions, electric vehicles, and smart grid technologies.

“CONPEX will provide a dedicated platform for interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty, students, and industry partners,” Zhao wrote. “By focusing on innovative research projects and educational initiatives, the Center aims to drive advancements in power conversion technologies and their applications across various sectors. Dr. Bazzi’s extensive expertise in power electronics and commitment to fostering innovation will be instrumental in guiding the Center’s mission. Additionally, Dr. Pavlidis’s experience in research collaboration and technology transfer will be vital as we work to build strong partnerships with industry and other academic institutions.”

Bazzi is excited about his new role and the University’s commitment, and says this is the right time to grow and focus on this important field.

“We’re lucky to have so much relevant industry right here in Connecticut, and to be working with local and regional partners who share our interests in advancing semiconductor and power-conversion technologies,” Bazzi says. “We’ll be looking at top-down priorities, including systems and materials, and how best to support vertical integration. And we already have a strong technical team in place with expertise in wind, hydro, solar photovoltaics, batteries and fuel cells.”

Bazzi explains that the Center’s mission is extremely timely, given the exponential growth in transportation electrification (cars, ships, rail and aerospace), manufacturing, and defense. And being in Connecticut – midway between New York and Boston, and in the backyard of defense industry leaders such as General Dynamics/Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Kaman and others – is instrumental to research and collaboration. He also cites geographic proximity to Canadian hydro resources, offshore wind power, and the work being done in the state on alternative energy.

The Center will focus its efforts in three main areas: research projects, collaborative opportunities, and educational programs. This triad, says Pavlidis, is critical for supporting CONPEX’s many stakeholders.

“We’ll be engaging in advanced research that addresses critical challenges in power electronics and related areas,” he explains. “Collaboratively, we’re looking to foster partnerships with industry leaders, government agencies and other academic institutions to enhance the impact of our research efforts. And we’ll also be helping to develop specialized curricula, training programs and workshops to equip students and industry professionals with the skills needed to thrive in this evolving and dynamic field.”

Bazzi explains that CONPEX will be looking at two primary funding models, with the goal of achieving financial self-sufficiency. The first involves pursuing industry and government grants, working with manufacturing partners and potential contractors like the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Energy. The second path involves inviting companies and organizations to become CONPEX members, with different tiers established for levels of participation and advisory roles. They’ll also explore various hybrid funding models.

He and Pavlidis share a vision of CONPEX growing organically. For now, they’ll be utilizing existing labs and infrastructure and, eventually, hope to build a one-megawatt to two-megawatt test facility in a dedicated space featuring state-of-the-art labs and a variety of related amenities. Another one of their goals, they say, is to attract undergraduate and graduate students from industry and other programs. Additionally, the program’s reputation in power electronics is already drawing transfer students and new or prospective faculty with different backgrounds and expertise.

“The future includes systems that can self-diagnose and heal themselves, and the ongoing miniaturization of technology to create smaller, more efficient energy systems,” Bazzi explains. “We already have 12 faculty members onboard from several CoE departments and intend to integrate research into teaching and create a variety of short courses on subjects such as power electronics and sustainability. This center can serve as a vital hub – we are primed for growth and will complement existing research at UConn, as well as bigger-picture opportunities.”