UTC and TVA Research Collaboration Earns International Recognition

Strategic Insights -

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have collaborated on a research project that has earned international recognition from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The team's paper, "Offsite Power Grid Strength Determination for Nuclear Power Plants: Improved Calculations and Practical Implementation," was selected as one of four Prize Conference Papers at the 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting in Austin, Texas. This prestigious recognition is a significant achievement, as only about 5% of the 1,600 papers submitted to the conference were chosen as Best Papers, and only four were selected as Prize Papers.

Key Takeaways:

  • The research collaboration between UTC and TVA earned international recognition from the IEEE, with their paper being selected as one of four Prize Conference Papers at the 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting in Austin, Texas.
  • The team's research addressed a significant challenge in the nuclear power industry: how to measure the strength of the electrical grid when real-time visibility is lost due to severe weather or emergency conditions.
  • The team developed a method for estimating grid strength based on localized measurements taken at the power plant itself, using simulations of normal load fluctuations to gauge whether the grid was capable of supporting critical safety loads.
  • The research was conducted using UTC's Smart Grid Lab and its real-time digital simulator, which mimics the behavior of an actual nuclear power plant auxiliary power system under a variety of grid conditions.
  • The project involved a team of researchers from UTC and TVA, including Dr. Abdel Karrar, professor of electrical engineering and associate dean of the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science; Andrew Adams and Julio Gonzalez, UTC undergraduate students; and Mark Bowman, senior program manager of Power System Analysis at TVA.
  • The team's recognition is a testament to the effectiveness of the partnership between the two organizations, which has been collaborating on real-world engineering problems for a long time.
  • The success of the project reflects the broader strategy UTC's College of Engineering and Computer Science has adopted to expose students to real-world engineering problems while building deep connections with industry partners.

Statistics:

  • The team's paper was one of four Prize Conference Papers selected from a pool of over 1,600 submissions to the 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting in Austin, Texas (Source: IEEE).
  • About 5% of the submissions were chosen as Best Papers (Source: IEEE).
  • The team's research involved the development of a method for estimating grid strength based on localized measurements taken at the power plant itself (Source: TVA).
  • The team used UTC's Smart Grid Lab and its real-time digital simulator to conduct the research (Source: UTC).
  • The project involved a team of researchers from UTC and TVA, including 2 undergraduate students and 2 professionals (Source: TVA).

Sources:

  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC)
  • Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
  • "Offsite Power Grid Strength Determination for Nuclear Power Plants: Improved Calculations and Practical Implementation" (IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, 2025)
  • Interview with Dr. Abdel Karrar (UTC)
  • Interview with Mark Bowman (TVA)
  • Interview with Andrew Adams and Julio Gonzalez (UTC)