The distinguished professor has received the 2023 Nari Hingorani Custom Power Award from IEEE Power & Energy Society, recognizing his significant contributions to Custom Power technologies and their applications.
Deepakraj M. Divan, the John E. Pippin Chair Professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been honored with the prestigious 2023 Nari Hingorani Custom Power Award by the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES). The award is granted to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the progress of Custom Power technologies and their applications.
The award pays tribute to Dr. Narain Hingorani, who pioneered the concepts of flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) and Custom Power — two related technologies used in the field of power systems engineering to improve the efficiency, stability, and reliability of electricity transmission and distribution networks.
Divan received the award in recognition of his, “contributions to distributed and decentralized dynamic control of transmission and distribution systems”. He was honored at the annual PES General Meeting on July 18 in Orlando, Fla.
As a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholar and the director of the Center for Distributed Energy, Divan has dedicated his research efforts to power electronics, power systems, smart grids, and distributed control of power systems.
With impressive academic and industrial experience spanning over 40 years, Divan holds more than 85 issued and pending patents and has authored more than 400 refereed publications. His contributions have earned him recognition as an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a member of the National Academies Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, an IEEE Fellow, past president of the IEEE PES, and a recipient of the IEEE William E. Newell Field Medal. He was also an invitee at the 2022 White House Electrification Summit and has presented at the 2023 UN Global Solutions Summit.
He has founded and led several companies including Soft Switching Technologies, Varentec, Innovolt and Smart Wires. He currently serves as CTO for GridBlock and GigaGrid, companies that are based on technologies developed at the Center for Distributed Energy.