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.
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.
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
