Members
Principal Investigator
Dr. Matt Woongkul Lee - Matt has a comprehensive interest in cutting-edge motor drive systems, power electronics, electric machines, and the integration of distributed energy resources, focusing on the critical role of efficient energy conversion in fostering a sustainable future. His academic journey included a postdoctoral research associate at WEMPEC, University of Wisconsin-Madison, from 2019 to 2020, after spending six years at the same university for his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering. In 2020, Matt took up a position as an assistant professor at Michigan State University, where he continued his work in power electronics and electric machines, contributing to advancements in energy efficiency and sustainability. In 2024, he joined Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue Univeristy as assitant professor. His commitment to advancing energy efficiency and sustainability was recognized in 2024 with the prestigious NSF CAREER award and ARPA-E IGNIITE Early Career Award.
- B.S. Yonsei University
- M.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Postdoctoral Research Associates
Dr. Haitao Sun received the B.Sc. degree in automation and the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, China, in 2012 and 2016, respectively. Dr. Sun received his Ph.D. in electrical energy, metals, mechanical construction and systems at Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. His research interests include switched reluctance motor drives and high-power density drive design.
Dr. Hyunwoo Kim received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2017, 2019, and 2022, respectively. From 2022 to 2024, He had worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher with a Research Institute of Industrial Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea. From Mar. 2024 to Sep. 2024, he was a Research Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea. Since Sep. 2024, he has been a Postdoctoral Research Assistant with Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA. His research interests include the design, analysis, and control of electrical machines that are applied in mechanical and electrical systems.
Dr. Taewoo Kim received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea, in 2019, and the M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea, in 2021, and 2025, respectively. His research interests include high power density dc/dc converter, low EMI noise dc/dc converter, fault-tolerance, digital control, and AI data center applications.
Junhyuk Im (Member, IEEE) received the bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from Incheon National University, Incheon, South Korea, in 2017, 2019, and 2022, respectively. Following the completion of his doctoral studies, he spent one year as a Research Professor at Incheon National University. In 2023, he worked as a Senior Researcher at Daegu Mechatronics and Materials Institute, Daegu, South Korea. In 2024, he transitioned to his current role as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, where he continues to contribute to the field of electric machines.
Graduate Students
Mostafa Fereydoonian - Mostafa received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Shahid Beheshti University, Abbaspour School of Engineering, Tehran, Iran, in 2012. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Michigan State University. His research interests include rare-earth magnet-free electric machines, integrated motor drives, and high-power density drive design.
Mikayla Benson - Mikayla received B.S. degrees in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Kettering University in Flint, MI in March 2020, and M.S. degree from Michigan State University in May 2023. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Michigan State University. Her research interests include WBG applications, power converters, and multilevel inverters.
Kangbeen Lee - Kangbeen received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Yonsei University in 2016 and a M.S. degree from Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2019. He was a research engineer at Hyundai Motors company from 2016 to 2021. Since 2021, he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Michigan State University. His research interests include partial discharge and EMI in AC machine drives.
Avinash Dornala - Avinash completed bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Masters in Power Systems in 2016 from India. Since then, he worked in Power Generation industry in maintenance, commissioning and erection activities in both Hydel and Thermal Power Plants. Since 2023, he is working towards Ph.D. program at Michigan State University.
Ali Halawa - Ali received his bachelor’s degree from Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan, in 2022. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering department at Michigan State University. His research interests include characterization of WBG devices, multilevel and multiphae inverters for EV applications.
Gavin Gardner - Gavin received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 2023. He is currently a M.S. student in the electrical and computer engineering department at Michigan State University with research focus on optical power transfer, high-speed electric machine/generator, and lightweight and aerodynamically optimized electric drones.
Mikhail Lopes - Mikhail earned his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PES University, India, in 2018. Subsequently, he joined Collins Aerospace as an Associate Electrical Engineer, where he worked on the design and testing of Electronic Control Units for urban air mobility. Since 2024, he has been pursuing M.S. degree in Power and Energy Systems within the ECE Department at Purdue University. His current academic focus includes reliability and sustainable energy solutions.
Karen Reyes - Karen received her B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, in 2018 and 2021, respectively. Afterward, she joined Rohm Semiconductors as an Applications Engineer from 2021 to 2024, where her work focused on providing technical support for the testing and evaluation of SiC power MOSFETs and accelerometers. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. at Purdue University, focusing her research on wide bandgap (WBG) and ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) devices.
Jun (Junghoon) Kim - Jun’s research interest is in optical power transfer, gate driver, WBG power device and quantum computing for power electronics. He has been working on high voltage high power inverter design in GE Aerospace(Aug 2023 - Current), General Motors(Jan 2020 - Aug 2023) and Ford Motors Company(Jan 2017 - Jan 2020). Before Ford, he was doing electrical engineering for 1.5 years in Inalfa and i-Tech. He earned MS in electrical engineering - circuits from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor(May 2014), and BS in electrical engineering from Hanyang University, Ansan in South Korea(Feb 2012).
Roshan Varadharajan - Roshan completed bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering from India in 2022. He worked in renewable energy industry in power equipment sizing and control system development in both wind and PV projects. Since 2023, he is working towards MS program at Michigan State University. His research interests include renewable energy, grid integration and power converters.
Undergraduate Students
Ben Schuchardt
Prerana Gunda
Ryan Atkinson
Alumni
Saurabh Shah (M.S. 2022) Application Engineer at MPS
Yuchen Wang (B.S. 2021) Engineer at Bosch
