April 9, 2015

College of Engineering UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON

Supported by a grant from The Grainger Foundation

GraingerPower Engineering

Awards March 31, 2016

Steve Bye Matthew Doran

2016 AWARD RECIPIENTS

Alexander Klintworth

Seth McElhinney

Eric NipkoJoel Neher

Joseph Snodgrass Timothy Stone

Adam Shea

Hayden Peterson

Eden Werner

Vishram Deshpande

PHD

3

5:00 P.M.

5:30 P.M.

6:15 P.M.

The Grainger Foundation of Lake Forest, Illinois, established in 1949 by Mr. and Mrs. William Wallace Grainger, has provided substantive support over the years

to a broad range of organizations, including museums and educational, medical, and human services institutions.

David W. Grainger, President of The Grainger Foundation, received his BS in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1950.

GrainGer Power enGineerinG awards

RECEPTION

OPENING REMARKS

• Jake Blanchard, professor and executive associate dean

DINNER

AWARDS PRESENTATION(Undergraduate and graduate awards)

• Jake Blanchard

• Power engineering faculty: Thomas Jahns Robert Lorenz Dan Ludois Bulent Sarlioglu

24

Steve Bye

Steve Bye grew up next to a dam in

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, which

quickly became the source of his

earliest interests in power and electricity.

“I was fascinated by how the power plant used

water to create electricity and I always liked

looking at the substations and power lines form from the plant,”

Bye says. “From this interest in electric machines and energy

delivery sprang my desire to become an engineer.”

He started his undergraduate career as a nuclear engineer,

but soon switched over to electrical, and more specifically,

power engineering. “Power engineering interests me because

it is so vital to our common way of life,” he says.

He draws on this applicability to motivate his future career.

During his time at UW-Madison, he held two summer internships,

the first at Siemens in Norwood, Ohio, a manufacturing facility

where he helped design large induction motors for industrial

applications. During summer 2015, he was an intern at Alliant

Energy in Madison, Wisconsin, working in the distribution

planning department. This allowed him to model electric

distribution systems and draft radial and contingency analysis

of certain substation circuits.

In addition to his degree in electrical engineering, Bye will

be graduating in May 2016 with a degree in mathematics and

two certificates, one in engineering for energy sustainability

and another in physics. After taking a self-guided trip to Europe

over the summer, he will be starting a full-time engineering

position with Alliant Energy.

In addition to his work as an engineer, Bye holds leadership

positions with a number of Catholic entities on campus, and

also enjoys singing as a hobby.

5

Matthew Doran

Matthew Doran, a student of

various talents and interests,

pursued engineering with the

motivation of figuring out how things work.

His experience with power engineering started

with ECE 356: Electric Power Processing for Alternative

Energy Systems, where he learned about DC-DC converters for use

in solar cells, and AC motors/generators for use in wind turbines.

From there, he continued to focus on power engineering.

In addition to his coursework, Doran has made important

contributions to campus life. He conducted research with the

Computer Sciences Professor Karu Sankaralingam for almost

two years. He helped to develop the curriculum for ECE 252:

Introduction to Computer Engineering, by implementing robotics

projects into the class and changing some of the homework sets

to incorporate the Arduino microcontroller. Aside from his work

in engineering, he has been a member of the UW-Madison Band

trumpet section throughout his undergraduate career.

Doran has also taken part in internships. While working with

GE Healthcare in Aurora, Ohio, after his junior year, he developed

an automated testing environment to test MRI coils with minimal

input from the technician, as a participant in the MRI coil develop-

ment group. The summer after his senior year, he interned with

the GE Power and Water in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he worked

with its remote monitoring and diagnostics group. He helped to

develop a remote monitoring system that gathers data from large

internal combustion engines used to drive auxiliary equipment.

He graduated in Dec. 2015 with a degree in electrical engineering

and began working in General Motors’ electrified powertrain division

in March 2016 in Pontiac, Michigan, focusing on inverters, DC-DC

converters and electric motors in their hybrid and electric vehicles.

Doran refers to himself as an avid outdoorsman. He enjoys fishing,

camping, four wheeling, snowmobiling, boating, scuba diving and

photography.

26

Alexander Klintworth

Alexander Klintworth has always

been passionate about the

environment. From a young age,

he volunteered at his local nature center

in Neenah, Wisconsin, and fostered a love for

nature. “I realized the combination of my passion for

alternative and clean energy and my interest in math and

problem-solving was ideal for a career in engineering,” he says.

For Klintworth, wanting a career in renewable energy naturally

led to electrical engineering, with a focus on power engineering. He

is also obtaining a certificate in engineering for energy sustainability,

to help him develop a more interdisciplinary background.

Klintworth has participated in a co-op with Wisconsin Public

Service Corporation as a plant engineer. This involved designing

plant system updates and improvements on both the electrical

and mechanical level. The ultimate goal was to optimize safety,

effectiveness and economic payback.

He plans to graduate in December 2016, and then pursue a

master’s degree, with his research aimed at electrical engineering

and renewable energy.

Klintworth is heavily involved with the UW Triathlon Team,

competing at the collegiate nationals and serving as an officer

throughout his undergraduate career. He is a member of the

student organization Energy Hub, and was involved with the El

Salvador project of the UW-Madison Engineers Without Borders

student chapter for two years. In his free time, he enjoys camping,

backpacking, biking, ultimate Frisbee, tutoring, and playing the

cello and guitar.

7

Joel Neher

Joel Neher has always had a strong

interest in building, creating and

innovating, and his passion for

engineering was cultivated at an early age.

However, it was his desire to take part in the

energy revolution that prompted his interest in power

engineering. “Electricity is the foundation on which nearly all

modern technology stands, and being able to efficiently

generate, transmit, store and manipulate this energy is crucial

to technological advancement,” he says.

Neher, originally from Janesville, Wisconsin, spent much of his

undergraduate career working as a research assistant under Electrical

and Computer Engineering Professor John Booske and Associate

Professor Nader Behdad. He worked on a project that involved

rebuilding and troubleshooting the pulsing circuitry for a 50

kilowatt pulsed magnetron, as well as electromagnetic simulations

for a metamaterial reflector. He continued to work as a research

assistant in the summer, creating an inductor with an inductance

that varied based on the voltage difference placed across its core.

After his junior year, Neher worked as an intern at the MIT Lincoln

Laboratory. He designed a printed circuit board to filter and distribute

power to components of a receiver system, developed a program to

control digital attenuators within the front-end of this system, and

diagnosed arcing at the output of a high-power radar magnetron.

Neher graduated with a bachelor of science degree in electrical

engineering in May 2015, after which he moved to Boulder, Colorado,

to work at Plexus, an electronics manufacturing services company,

as an analog engineer. His role includes a variety of responsibilities,

including EMC troubleshooting, functional test fixture design, PCB

layout and power supply design.

On top of his responsibilities as an engineer, Neher enjoys

spending time in the mountains, whether it be hiking, mountain

biking, rock climbing or skiing.

28

Eric Nipko

Eric Nipko started attending UW-

Oshkosh in 2011, where he decided

to study physics. However, he was also

drawn by the electromagnetics courses he

took while completing his physics degree, so he

decided to pursue a dual degree program there and

at UW-Madison. This would provide him with the continued rigor

of math and physics courses, combined with the opportunity to

apply his knowledge via engineering.

After taking ECE 356: Electric Power Processing for Alternative

Energy Systems, and ECE 427: Electric Power Systems, he developed

an interest in power engineering, due to its similarities with

physics. He was drawn especially to the topic of alternative energy

sources. “I think there will be great opportunities in the future

to continue improving renewable energy technologies, as it

becomes more necessary to move toward cleaner energy sources,”

Nipko says.

When not focusing on his studies, Nipko participates in various

basketball and football leagues, both in Madison and Oshkosh,

his hometown. Through his dual degree program, he is due to

graduate in May 2016 with a bachelor of science degree in physics

from UW-Oshkosh, and a bachelor of science degree in electrical

engineering from UW-Madison. Upon graduating, he hopes to find

an in-state job in electrical engineering.

In addition to watching and playing sports, Nipko enjoys

boating, waterskiing and fishing. He makes sure to keep up on

advancements in his field by reading technical articles, but also

enjoys reading James Patterson novels.

9

Hayden Peterson

For Hayden Peterson, it was a

fascination with building things

that opened him up to a major in

engineering. From Luxemburg, Wisconsin,

Peterson has always had a fervent interest in

the sciences, but it wasn’t till he took a class in astronomy

during his freshman year, and watched Iron Man for the first time,

that he realized physics and engineering could be a good match

for him.

Peterson focused on power engineering mostly due to its

connections with renewable energy. “I love the creativity and

innovation of the ideas for storing and using electrical power,”

he says. “It truly takes advantage of the physics of nature and

makes the most out of it.”

He currently is on a co-op at Extreme Engineering Solutions

of Middleton, Wisconsin, where he tests computer boards for

rugged environments by running functional tests of the boards

in various settings such as high or low temperatures, shocks,

vibrations and humidity. Peterson has also been a tutor and

supplemental instructor in the college Undergraduate Learning

Center for physics and electrical engineering courses for the

past two semesters.

Peterson plans to graduate in December 2016 with degrees

in physics and electrical engineering. He would like to find a job in

renewable energy, particularly in solar or electrical energy storage.

In his spare time, Peterson enjoys reading mystery and sci-fi

novels, working out, playing the guitar, cooking and playing

video games.

210

Joseph Snodgrass

Although Joseph Snodgrass’ interest

in power engineering didn’t fully

develop until he took a class on

electric machines and drives while abroad

in Finland, he has always been an engineer at

heart. As a child, he would keep a notebook of ideas

and designs to record his inventions. “I always wanted to be taking

on new challenges and coming up with solutions to unique

problems, and engineering seemed to fit these skills, interests

and aspirations,” Snodgrass says.

Upon returning to UW-Madison from Finland, he started taking

classes relevant to power engineering, pursuing coursework in

electromechanical energy conversion, power systems analysis

and power processing for renewable energy. For the first time,

he found himself immersed in his classes, and motivated to excel.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the challenges presented in these

classes and the helpfulness of the professors teaching them,”

Snodgrass says.

He has been able to apply his skills as a member of the electrical

design team for WiscWind, an interdisciplinary team of engineers

and business students aimed at designing a small wind turbine to

compete in the Department of Energy’s Collegiate Wind Competition.

He also held an internship in 2014 as a project manager for Gephart

Electric and Parson’s Technologies in Minneapolis, Minnesota,

working on site at the construction of the U.S. Bank Stadium.

He joined the IEEE student chapter in his fourth year at

UW-Madison and was appointed industrial relations chair. He

was also philanthropy chair of his fraternity.

Snodgrass, who grew up in Madison, will graduate in May 2016

with a degree in electrical engineering and a certificate in

international engineering. He hopes to work in the renewable

energy industry. And in his free time, he enjoys playing a variety

of instruments and running.

11

Timothy Stone

Timothy Stone has been an

engineer in the making ever since

career and technical student

organization SkillsUSA gave a presentation

in his 8th grade class, imbuing him with the

desire to invent, innovate and create. He grew up in

Pulaski, Wisconsin, and came to UW-Madison to cultivate his

interest in engineering.

Stone engaged in a variety of internship and co-op experiences,

the first taking place at Marinette Marine, a shipbuilding company

in Marinette, Wisconsin, where he was part of a team that oversaw

construction of new LCS Naval ships. He also interned at C3

technology, a 3D mapping company, where he contributed his

logic programming skills to automate small, specialized machines.

At Georgia-Pacific, an American pulp and paper company based

in Atlanta, Georgia, Stone took part in a co-op that allowed him to

estimate and design safety systems for large paper machine winders.

“After completing my co-op, I wanted to continue specializing

in safety systems, and one huge part of that is electrical power

isolation,” he says.

This experience inspired him to take a power class during

his last semester as an undergraduate. “Working at a paper mill,

where we generate almost all of our own power, it is important

to have a grasp on power engineering,” he says.

Stone graduated in May 2015, and currently works at a Georgia

Pacific location in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as an electrical project

engineer. He works in a corporate engineering group responsible

for large capital projects, which requires traveling around the

country to support other facilities. He specializes in designing and

implementing safety systems, but also works on energy isolation

to remove hazardous energy from an operator’s workplace.

Stone enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and canoeing as well

as building willow furniture in his spare time.

212

Eden Werner

Growing up in Muskego, Wisconsin,

as the daughter of a power engineer,

Eden Werner was exposed to the

utility industry at a young age. Through

the years, power engineering piqued her

interest. With a mind for problem solving, science and

mathematics, Werner decided to study electrical engineering at

UW-Madison.

In addition to her schoolwork and a membership with the IEEE

UW-Madison student chapter, Werner interned for three summers

at the American Transmission Company, which operates the

electricity transmission systems in various parts of the Midwest. For

two of those summers, she was a system planning engineer intern,

which involved running power flow analysis to see how varying

loads were affecting the transmission system. In her third year, she

interned with the company’s Energy Management System group,

updating one-line diagrams of the transmission system. These

experiences solidified her interest in power engineering as a

future career.

Werner graduated from UW-Madison in December 2015, and now

works at We Energies, a Milwaukee-based company that provides

electricity to areas in Wisconsin as well as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

As a transmission planning engineer, Werner runs analysis to see

how varying factors, such as location and transmission, affect

energy prices.

While not dedicating herself to the ins and outs of electrical

transmission, Werner enjoys traveling, photography, and spending

time with family and friends

Vishram Deshpande

Vishram Deshpande developed a

keen interest in power electronics

during his undergraduate education,

due to the influence of physics in power

engineering. This interest was further

developed during his time at UW-Madison, where he

was impressed by the research projects in electrical and computer

engineering, and the strong connections between industry and

research on campus.

After receiving a bachelor of science degree in electrical

engineering from Sardar Patel College of Engineering, an affiliate of

the University of Mumbai, Deshpande started his career as a junior

engineer, later taking the role of technical manager. He migrated

to the United States in 2001, leading a research and development

group of seven associates at TDK-Lambda in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

Shortly after, he began his studies at UW-Madison, where he received

his master’s degree in electrical engineering in 2006.

Deshpande is currently conducting research on extending the

auxiliary commutated resonant pole converter to a generalized

design space; the converter can be applied to faster switching

devices based on DC-to-DC converters and inverters to achieve

lower overall losses.

Deshpande plans to graduate with a PhD in electrical engineering

in May 2016. He hopes to bring his research to a career in creating

more efficient products.

Aside from his research, Deshpande enjoys playing cricket. He

played cricket during his undergraduate education and recently

was captain of a cricket team in a New Jersey softball cricket league.

Deshpande also likes chess, listening to music and audio books,

and writing poetry.

PhD recipient

13

PhD recipient

214

Seth McElhinney

Seth McElhinney asserts that power

engineering is highly relevant to

today’s most pressing environmental

and social problems. A PhD student in

electrical engineering, with a minor focus in

mechanical engineering, McElhinney has an inherent

fascination for energy conversion and electric power. “I think power

engineering offers me a good career where there is a lot of room for

very useful and groundbreaking new work,” he says.

McElhinney grew up in Los Osos, California, and received a

bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and a master

of science degree in electrical engineering from the Rose-Hulman

Institute of Technology in 1998 and 2001, respectively.

For several years, he worked for Busek Company Inc., a

Massachusetts spacecraft propulsion company, where he focused

on instrumentation systems, as well as electrical and mechanical

design. For two years, he was with Diversified Technologies Inc.,

working on power electronics, magnetics and associated embedded

systems. In summer 2011, he worked for the National Renewable

Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, where he modeled electro-

magnetic losses in electric motors for hybrid vehicles with the power

electronic and electric machines group.

McElhinney’s range of experience in the field brought him to

UW-Madison, where he does research on improved cooling

methods, specifically centrifugally pumped heat pipes for cooling

rotors. He hopes to graduate in 2017, and later work on research

and development related to improved electric machines, and

energy conversion systems for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Outside of engineering, McElhinney enjoys making metal

sculptures. He is a co-chair for rock climbing in Hoofers, and

enjoys bike riding, hiking, rock climbing, and a variety of other

outdoor activities.

15

PhD recipient

Adam Shea

For Adam Shea, a native of Rochester,

Minnesota, there’s nothing quite like

the thrill of driving a power system

that he designed and built from scratch.

“Power engineering is the part of electrical

engineering where you can really feel when something

works, or doesn’t,” he says.

Shea, a PhD student in electrical engineering, conducts research

on how to control a machine with multiple independent motor

drives without any tight inter-module communication requirements.

Finding solutions in this area allows for a greater degree of fault

tolerance and greater system flexibility.

He grew up with an interest in engineering, introduced to

the field at an early age by his father, also an electrical engineer.

“Engineering is how people can make imaginary things actually

happen,” Shea says.

He received his bachelor of science degree in electrical and

computer engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2009.

He developed a specific interest in power engineering during his

undergraduate experience with the University of Minnesota Solar

Vehicle Project, focusing on motor control and Maximum Power

Point Tracking systems.

He plans to graduate from UW-Madison in May 2017, and then

go into industry research and development to help increase

electrification and develop more efficient solutions to current

problems in power.

Shea’s interests range from studying metrology, astronomy,

computer security and life support technology for small closed

systems to going on bike rides or sailing with the Hoofers sailing

club at UW-Madison.