Wei Qiao

Wei Qiao

Contact Information:

City Campus (Lincoln)
SEC C290G
(402) 472-3771
wqiao3@unl.edu

Personal Links:

• Power & Energy Systems Laboratory

Professional Memberships:

• IEEE Fellow
• AAIA Fellow

Clyde Hyde Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Chair of Electrical Engineering Graduate Program

Academic Degrees

  • Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, 2008
  • M.S., Singapore-MIT Alliance, National University of Singapore, 2003
  • M.Eng., Zhejiang University, China, 2002
  • B.Eng., Zhejiang University, China, 1997

Areas of Research and Professional Interest

  • Modeling, design, prognostic condition monitoring, control, and optimization of renewable energy systems, power electronic systems, energy storage systems, and electric motor drives
  • Emerging electrical energy conversion devices
  • Power and energy system control and optimization
  • Decision making and risk management in the electricity markets with high penetrations of renewable energy
  • New electricity market design
  • Modeling and control of complex systems

Research Profiles:

In the News: Powered by the Nebraska Engineering News

Inventions/Patents

  • W. Qiao and X. Gong, “Detecting faults in turbine generators,” U.S. Patent US10359473B2.
  • L. Wu, Y. Zhao, and W. Qiao, “Methods of estimating a position of a rotor in a motor under transient and systems thereof,” U.S. Patent US10333439B2.
  • W. Qiao, T. Kim, and L. Qu, “Rechargeable multicell battery,” U.S. Patent US10297855B2.
  • W. Qiao, Z. Wang, and L. Qu, “Monitoring aging of power semiconductor devices based on case temperature,” U.S. Patent US10288672B2. 
  • W. Qiao, L. Qu, and H. Wang, “Electromagnetic power converter,” U.S. patent US10290417B2.
  • W. Qiao, Z. Zhang, and L. Qu, “Direct torque control of AC electric machines,” U.S. Patent US9831812B2.
  • L. Wu, Y. Zhao, and W. Qiao, “Methods of estimating a position of a rotor in a motor under transient and systems thereof,” U.S. Patent US9577555B2.
  • L. Wu, Y. Zhao, and W. Qiao, “Drive systems including sliding mode observers and methods of controlling the same,” U.S. Patent US9088241B2.
  • W. Qiao, F. Chen, and L. Qu, “Scalable universal space vector pulse width modulation scheme for multilevel inverters,” U.S. Patent Application No. 62/382504.
  • W. Qiao and X. Gong, “Detecting faults in wind turbines,” U.S. Patent Pub. No. US 2013/0325373 A1.
  • W. Qiao, J. Wang, and L. Qu, “Detecting faults in wind turbines,” U.S. Patent Pub. No. US 2018/0335366 A1.

Courses Taught

About Wei Qiao

Dr. Wei Qiao joined the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) as an assistant professor in August 2008, was the UNL Harold and Esther Edgerton Assistant Professor from 2011-2013 and a tenured associate professor from 2013-2017, and was promoted to a full professor in March, 2017. Since July 2021, he has been the Clyde Hyde Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Professor Qiao’s research interests include modeling, design, prognostic condition monitoring, control, and optimization of renewable energy systems, power electronic systems, electric motor drives, and energy storage systems; power system control and optimization; decision making and risk management in the electricity markets with high penetrations of renewable energy; new electricity market design; emerging electrical energy conversion devices; and modeling and control of complex systems. His research has been sponsored by NSF, DOE, DOT, Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR), Nebraska Research Initiative (NRI), and industry.

Professor Qiao is an Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion and the IEEE Power Engineering Letters, an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and the IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, and the secretary of the IEEE PESL Sustainable Energy Systems Technical Committee.  He was the Corresponding Guest Editor of a special section on Condition Monitoring, Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Health Monitoring for Wind Energy Conversion Systems of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics from 2014 to 2015, an Associate Editor of IET Power Electronics from 2014 to 2018, and an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications from 2010 to 2013.  In 2011 he established a new IEEE PES/PELS/IAS Joint Student Branch Chapter at UNL and has served as the advisor of the Chapter since then.  He was a Plenary/Tutorials/Townhall Meetings Co-Chair of the 2015 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE 2015), the Publications Chair of ECCE 2013, and a founding chair of the IEEE Symposium on Power Electronics and Machines in Wind Applications (PEMWA) in 2009.  He served as an Organizing Co-Chair of PEMWA 2016, the Publications Chair of PEMWA 2014, a Technical Program Co-Chair and the Publications Chair of PEMWA 2012, and a Technical Program Co-Chair and Finance Co-Chair of PEMWA 2009.

Professor Qiao is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Fellow of the AAIA. He was the recipient of the 2021 IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) Sustainable Energy Systems Technical Achievement Award, a 2010 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 2010 IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Award, the 2012, 2017 and 2021 UNL College of Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Activity Awards, the 2011 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award, and the 2011 UNL College of Engineering Edgerton Innovation Award.  

Honors and Awards

  • IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) Sustainable Energy Systems Technical Achievement Award, 2021
  • UNL College of Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Activity Award, 2021
  • IEEE Fellow (Elevated in November 2019)
  • Second-Place Prize, IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) Motor Vehicles Challenge 2019.
  • Second Prize of the Best Paper Awards, the 50th North American Power Symposium (NAPS 2018), 2018.
  • Third Prize of the Best Paper Awards, the 50th North American Power Symposium (NAPS 2018), 2018.
  • UNL College of Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Activity Award, 2017.
  • Advisor of the UNL IEEE PES/IAS/PELS Student Branch Joint Chapter, IEEE IAS 2013 Outstanding Student Branch Joint Chapter Award.
  • First Prize, 2012 Best Paper Awards of the IEEE IAS Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conversion Systems Committee, 2013.
  • Best Paper Prize, 2012 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo (ITEC 2012)
  • UNL College of Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Activity Award, 2012
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award, 2011
  • UNL College of Engineering Edgerton Innovation Award, 2011
  • NSF CAREER Award, 2010
  • IEEE IAS Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Award, 2010
  • IEEE IAS Industrial Automation and Control Committee 2007 Second Prize Paper Award
  • First Prize, 2006 IEEE PES General Meeting Student Poster-Paper Contest

Funding

Research Projects:
  • Online Nonintrusive Identification and Monitoring of Internal Weak Points of Electro Energy Devices Using Package Surface Temperature, $337,897, 6/15/2017-5/31/2020, NSF.
  • Voltage and Frequency Power Converter Based on Electromagnetic Induction, $493,349, 9/1/2016-8/31/2017, DOE ARPA-E
  • An Online Intelligent Prognostic Health Monitoring System for Wind Turbines, DOE EERE, 12/15/2014-09/30/2016, $1,499,981 (plus $166,999 cost share).
  • PFI:  AIR−TT:  Smart Battery, NSF, 09/15/2014-08/31/2018, $245,937.
  • An Optimal Dynamic Operation Model for Participation in the Southwest Power Pool’s Energy Market, NCESR, 1/1/2015-6/30/2017, $149,778.
  • Cognitive Prediction-Enabled Online Intelligent Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis for Wind Energy Systems, NSF, 06/01/2013-05/31/2017, $359,852.
  • CAREER: Stochastic Optimization and Coordinating Control for the Next-Generation Electric Power System with Significant Wind Penetration, NSF, 08/15/2010-07/31/2016, $407,999.
  • Development of a Multitype Sensor-Based Condition Monitoring System Framework for Wind Turbines, CSIC (Chongqing) Haizhuang Windpower Equipment Co., Ltd., 1/5/2015-4/5/2015, $91,463.
  • A Roadway Wind/Solar Hybrid Power Generation and Distribution System: Toward Energy-Plus Roadways, DOT-FHWA, 04/13/2010-12/31/2014, $1,118,179 (plus $394,599 cost share).
  • Intelligent Optimal Mechanical Sensorless Control of Variable-Speed Wind Energy Systems Considering System Uncertainties, NSF, 08/01/2009-07/31/2013, $214,755.
  • Online Nonintrusive Condition Monitoring and Fault Detection for Wind Turbines, DOE, 11/01/2009-02/29/2012, $380,398 (plus $117,014 cost share).
  • Rotor Position/Speed Sensorless Control for Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines, Deere & Company, 04/04/2011-12/31/2012, $110,110.
  • Directed Research – Power Electronics Software, Deere & Company, 05/16/2011-04/15/2012, $41,150.
  • Optimal Participation of Intermittent Renewable Energy Sources in Competitive Electricity Markets, Nebraska Research Initiative (NRI), 07/01/2012-06/30/2014, $100,000.
  • Online Nonintrusive Wind Turbine Fault Diagnosis, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) through Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR), 01/01/2010-06/30/2012, $139,728.
  • A Nationwide Consortium of Universities to Revitalize Electric Power Engineering Education by State-of-the-Art Laboratories, DOE (Subcontract from the University of Minnesota), 08/01/2010-07/31/2013, $25,000.
  • Online Nonintrusive Intelligent Health Management for Power Electronic Systems – A Preliminary Study, UNL Layman Award, 06/01/2012-05/31/2013, $20,000.
  • UNL College of Engineering Edgerton Innovation Award, UNL College of Engineering, $20,000.
  • Energy Storage for Future Power Grids−A Preliminary Study, UNL Research Council Faculty Seed Grant, 01/01/2009-12/31/2009, $10,000.

Selected Publications

Ph.D. Dissertation:

  • Integrated Control of Wind Farms, FACTS Devices and the Power Network Using Neural Networks and Adaptive Critic Designs, Georgia Institute of Technology, July 2008.

Book Chapters:

  1. W. Qiao, “Chapter 8: swarm intelligence for power system control and optimization,” inEvolutionary Computing for Intelligent Power System Optimization and Control, Nova Science Publishers, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-61728-031-3.
  2. W. Qiao, “Chapter 28: Power Electronics for Renewable Energy,” in The Electric Power Engineering Handbook: Power Systems, 3rd Edition, CRC Press, May 2012, ISBN: 9781439856338.

Refereed Journal Papers:

  1. Z. Zhang, Y. Zhao, W. Qiao, and L. Qu, “A discrete-time direct-torque control for direct-drive PMSG-based wind energy conversion systems,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, accepted for publication.
  2. T. Kim, Y. Wang, Z. Sahinoglu, T. Wada, S. Hara, and W. Qiao, “A Rayleigh quotient-based recurve total-least-sequre online maximum capacity estimation for lithium-ion batteries,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, accepted for publication.
  3. X. Bai and W. Qiao, “Robust optimization for bidirectional dispatch coordination of large-scale V2G,” IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, accepted for publication.
  4. J. Zeng, W. Qiao, and L. Qu, “An isolated three-phase bidirectional DC-DC converter for photovoltaic systems with energy storage,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, accepted for publication.
  5. X. Bai, W. Qiao, H. Wei, F. Huang, and Y. Chen, “Bidirectional coordinating dispatch of large-scale V2G in future smart grid using complementarity optimization,” International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems, accepted for publication.
  6. J. Zeng, W. Qiao, and L. Qu, “LCL-resonant single-switch isolated DC-DC converter,” IET Power Electronics, accepted for publication.
  7. Z. Wang and W. Qiao, “An online frequency-domain junction temperature estimation method for IGBT modules,” IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, accepted for publication.
  8. T. Gachovska, B. Tian, J. L. Hudgins, W. Qiao, and J. Donlon, “A real-time thermal model for monitoring of power semiconductor devices,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, accepted for publication.
  9. Y. Zhao, W. Qiao, and L. Wu, “Dead-time effect analysis and compensation for a sliding-mode position observer-based sensorless IPMSM control system,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, accepted for publication.
  10. X. Gong and W. Qiao, “Current-based mechanical fault detection for direct-drive wind turbines via synchronous sampling and impulse detection,” IEEE Trans. Industrial Electronics, accepted for publication. (Available online in IEEE Xplore)
  11. Y. Zhao, Z. Zhang, W. Qiao, and L. Wu, “An extended flux model-based rotor position estimator for sensorless control of salient-pole permanent-magnet synchronous machines,” IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, accepted for publication. (Available online in IEEE Xplore)
  12. Y. Zhao, W. Qiao, and L. Wu, “Improved rotor position and speed estimators for sensorless control of interior permanent magnet synchronous machines,” IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 627-639, Sept. 2014.
  13. Z. Zhang, Y. Zhao, W. Qiao, and L. Qu, “A space-vector modulated sensorless direct-torque control for direct-drive PMSG wind turbines,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 2331-2341, Jul./Aug. 2014.
  14. J. Zeng, Z. Zhang, and W. Qiao, “An interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based controller for a DC-DC boost converter with a constant power load,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 2314-2322, Jul./Aug. 2014.
  15. Y. Zhao, W. Qiao, and D. Ha, “A sliding-mode duty-ratio controller for DC/DC buck converters with constant power loads,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 1448-1458, Mar./Apr. 2014.
  16. J. Zeng, W. Qiao, L. Qu, and Y. Jiao, “An isolated multiport DC-DC converter for simultaneous power management of multiple different renewable energy sources,” IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 70-78, Mar. 2014.
  17. S. Kahrobaee, S. Asgarpoor, and W. Qiao, “Optimum sizing of distributed generation and storage capacity in smart households,” IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 1791-1801, Dec. 2013.
  18. Y. Zhao, C. Wei, Z. Zhang, and W. Qiao, “A review on position/speed sensorless control for permanent magnet synchronous machine-based wind energy conversion systems,” IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 203-216, Dec. 2013.
  19. T. Dai and W. Qiao, “Trading wind power in a competitive electricity market using stochastic programming and game theory,” IEEE Trans. Sustainable Energy, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 805-815, Jul. 2013.
  20. Y. Zhao, W. Qiao, and L. Wu, “An adaptive quasi sliding-mode rotor position observer-based sensorless control for interior permanent magnet synchronous machines,” IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, vol. 28, no. 12, pp. 5618-5629, Dec. 2013.
  21. X. Gong and W. Qiao, “Bearing fault diagnosis for direct-drive wind turbines via current demodulated signals,” IEEE Trans. Industrial Electronics, vol. 60, no. 8, pp. 3419-3428, Aug. 2013.
  22. J. Zeng and W. Qiao, “Short-term solar power prediction using a support vector machine,” Renewable Energy, vol. 52, pp. 118-127, Apr. 2013.
  23. T. Kim, W. Qiao, and L. Qu, “Power electronics-enabled self-X multicell batteries: A design toward smart batteries,” IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 4723-4733, Nov. 2012.
  24. X. Gong and W. Qiao, “Imbalance fault detection of direct-drive wind turbines using generator current signals,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 468-476, June 2012.
  25. J. Zeng and W. Qiao, “Short-term wind power prediction using a wavelet support vector machine,” IEEE Trans. Sustainable Energy, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 255-264, Apr. 2012.
  26. W. Qiao, X. Yang, and X. Gong, “Wind speed and rotor position sensorless control for direct-drive PMG wind turbines,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 3-11, Jan/Feb 2012.
  27. T. Kim and W. Qiao, “A hybrid battery model capable of capturing dynamic circuit characteristics and nonlinear capacity effects,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 1172-1180, Dec. 2011.
  28. L. Qu and W. Qiao, “Constant power control of DFIG wind turbines with supercapacitor energy storage,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 359-367, Jan/Feb 2011.
  29. F. Li, W. Qiao, H. Sun, H. Wan, J. Wang, Y. Xia, Z. Xu, and P. Zhang, “Smart transmission grid: vision and framework,” IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 168-177, Sept. 2010.
  30. J. Liang, W. Qiao, and R. G. Harley, “Feed-forward transient current control for low-voltage ride-through enhancement of DFIG wind turbines,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 836-843, Sept. 2010.
  31. W. Qiao, L. Qu, and R. G. Harley, “Control of IPM synchronous generator for maximum wind power generation considering magnetic saturation,” IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 1095-1105, May/June 2009.
  32. W. Qiao, G. K. Vanayagamoorthy, and R. G. Harley, "Missing-sensor-fault-tolerant control for SSSC FACTS device with real-time implementation," IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 740-750, Apr. 2009.
  33. W. Qiao, R. G. Harley, and G. K. Vanayagamoorthy, "Coordinated reactive power control of a large wind farm and a STATCOM using heuristic dynamic programming," IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 493-503, June 2009.
  34. W. Qiao, G. K. Venayagamoorthy, and R. G. Harley, "Real-time implementation of a STATCOM on a wind farm equipped with doubly fed induction generators," IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 98-107, Jan./Feb. 2009.
  35. W. Qiao, W. Zhou, J. M. Aller, and R. G. Harley, "Wind speed estimation based sensorless output maximization control for a wind turbine driving a DFIG," IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1156-1169, May 2008.
  36. W. Qiao, R. G. Harley, and G. K. Venayagamoorthy, "Fault-tolerant optimal neurocontrol for a static synchronous series compensator connected to a power network," IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 74-84, Jan./Feb. 2008.
  37. W. Qiao, R. G. Harley, and G. K. Vanayagamoorthy, "Fault-tolerant indirect adaptive neurocontrol for a static synchronous series compensator in a power network with missing sensor measurements," IEEE Trans. Neural Networks, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 1179-1195, July 2008.
  38. W. Qiao, G. K. Venayagamoorthy, and R. G. Harley, "Optimal wide-area monitoring and nonlinear adaptive coordinating neurocontrol of a power system with wind power integration and multiple FACTS devices," Neural Networks (Elsevier), vol. 21, no. 2-3, pp. 466-475, Mar.-Apr. 2008.
  39. W. Qiao, Z. Gao, R. G. Harley, and G. K. Vanayagamoorthy, "Robust neuro-identification of nonlinear plants in electric power systems with missing sensor measurements," IFAC Journal: Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence (Elsevier), vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 604-618, June 2008.
  40. W. Qiao and R. G. Harley, "Indirect adaptive external neuro-control for a series capacitive reactance compensator based on a voltage source PWM converter in damping power oscillations," IEEE Trans. Industrial Electronics, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 77-85, Feb. 2007.
  41. W. Qiao, Z. N. Chen, and K. Wu, "UWB monopole antenna with a top-hat sleeve," International Journal of Microwave and Optical Technology, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-27, June 2006.