This fall, a new textbook by Professor Daniel Kirschen will be introduced into the UW ECE power and energy systems undergraduate curriculum.
By Wayne Gillam | UW Electrical & Computer Engineering
August 2, 2024
This fall, a new textbook providing students with an up-to-date overview of modern power systems will be introduced into the University of Washington (UW) Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) power and energy systems undergraduate curriculum. “Power Systems: Fundamental Concepts and the Transition to Sustainability” helps students learn the ins and outs of how power systems work as well as the fundamental constraints that guide design and operation of these complex technologies. The textbook will also help to prepare students to engineer power systems capable of incorporating large amounts of renewable energy into electrical grids, which supports efforts across the globe aimed at protecting the environment and addressing climate change. This textbook is on-track to become an integral part of the UW ECE power and energy systems research and education program, which is viewed by academics and professionals alike to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and in the world.
The textbook was written by Daniel Kirschen, who is the Donald W. and Ruth Mary Close Endowed Professor in Electrical Engineering at UW ECE. Kirschen is a member of the UW Clean Energy Institute (CEI); is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow; is the editor in chief of the journal IEEE Transactions on Energy Markets, Policy and Regulation; and he is known internationally for his power and energy systems research at the Renewable Energy Analysis Lab. He was recently elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in recognition of his work on the integration of renewable energy sources into electrical grids. Kirschen is also well known for co-authoring “Fundamentals of Power System Economics,” a textbook that is considered to be essential reading for graduate students and practicing engineers working with power systems.
Over the last few years, Kirschen noticed that power systems textbooks for undergraduate students were becoming outdated.
“The existing textbooks for undergraduate students did not cover material that students need to know to be prepared to support the transition to sustainable power systems,” Kirschen said. “My new textbook provides a more recent, modern perspective on power systems. It also acknowledges that things are changing and will continue to change for several years.”
An undergraduate textbook based on UW ECE curriculum
This new textbook is based on courses Kirschen teaches at the UW. He said that the book also encapsulates the way power and energy systems are taught in the Department by a wide range of outstanding instructors. Other UW ECE professors that teach about power and energy systems include Jungwon Choi, Scott Dunham, June Lukuyu, Alex Mamishev, Joshua Smith, and Baosen Zhang. Both Lukuyu and Zhang, who are also CEI Member Faculty, contributed to the textbook.
Kirschen’s textbook covers important topics that are essential to understanding power systems, such as the modeling of power system components, power flow, fault calculations, and maintaining power system stability. In addition, the textbook includes a detailed discussion of the demand for electricity and how that affects the operation of power systems, an overview of the various forms of conventional and renewable energy conversion, a primer on electronic power conversion, a careful analysis of the technical and economic issues involved in load generation balancing, and an introduction to electricity markets.
Kirschen said that he wrote the textbook with the intent of explaining not only the “what” and the “how” about power systems but also the “why.” This approach helps the reader better understand standard processes and procedures used in power systems and provides a knowledge base for developing solutions to modern problems resulting from rapid change. He aimed to keep the topics and the language he used accessible to undergraduate students.
“I’ve written a textbook in a very student-friendly manner, trying to keep the explanations very clear,” Kirschen said. “I focused first on providing students with an intuitive understanding of the material and then related it to the more rigorous matters later, after they have acquired this more intuitive understanding.”
On the horizon — an updated textbook for graduate students
Now that he has completed this undergraduate-level textbook, and it is making its way into UW ECE curriculum, Kirschen has begun working on the third edition of his textbook for graduate students (mentioned above). He anticipates that this updated version will be published within the next couple of years. He noted that power systems economics has been very much affected by the increasing reliance on renewable energy sources, and the landscape has changed greatly since the last edition of his graduate-level textbook, which was published in 2019.
“The world of power systems is changing rapidly, and so there is a tremendous demand from industry, government, and nonprofit organizations for people who understand our systems and could help drive these changes. Our responsibility as educators is to provide students with an education that provides them with the basics and the ability to understand and solve new problems,” Kirschen said. “The basic principles remain the same, but the applications keep changing so fast. Really being on top of the new research and new ideas and being able to incorporate those in your teaching is essential.”
Learn more about Professor Daniel Kirschen on his UW ECE bio page. More information about UW ECE power and energy systems research, graduate program, and undergraduate curriculum is located on the department website.
