Prof. Omar H. Abdalla, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

Professor Omar Hanafy Abdalla (Fellow of the Egyptian Society of Engineers (ESE), Life Senior Member of the IEEE, Member of Cigre-Egypt Study Committee C2) was born in Cairo, Egypt on 11 May, 1945. He received the Ph. D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Liverpool, England, in 1979. Since B. Sc. graduation in 1967, he has been appointed in various positions in university as follows: Engineer 1967, Demonstrator 1970, Lecturer 1976, Associate Professor 1983, Professor 1987, Head of Department of Electrical Power and Machines Engineering 1987, Vice-Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Research 1997, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering 2002, Professor Emeritus 2005-now. He has published over 180 papers in Journals and conferences. He is a Reviewer for many national and international periodicals and conferences: (e.g. Proceedings IET, IEEE Transactions, IJPSR, JPEL, MEPCON, Cigre, etc.). He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Emerging Electrical Power System, and the Journal of Electrical Systems, and a member of the Editorial Board of the Trends in Advanced Sciences and Technology Journal. He has been a leader of many research and consulting activities with industry including electrical power systems, electricity distribution networks, urban village planning, modern control systems, etc. He has been engaged in many activities with professional and social societies including IEEE, ESE, and others. As a Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, he has introduced new programs in the faculty departments and led the promotion of essential administration and students' activities. He has organized, supervised and participated in conducting training courses for engineers and technicians. He was the Head of Consultation Board, and Head of the Automatic Control Department at the Technical College, Jeddah, KSA, 1988-1993. Prof. Omar H. Abdalla was a member of Board of Directors of the South Cairo Electricity Distribution Company 2004-2007. From January 2007 to February 2014, he was on leave from Helwan University; working (System Studies Advisor) with Oman Electricity Transmission Company, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. He was involved in various technical activities and leading strategic planning and transmission system technical studies such as the Transmission Master Plan 2014-2030, Five Year Annual Transmission System Capability Statements, planning and design of new generation and bulk industrial load connections, HV and EHV grid-stations, transmission lines of 400 kV, 220 kV and 132 kV levels, network expansions and reinforcements, Pre-Investment Appraisal Techno-Economic Studies for new projects, etc. He was also involved in the technical studies and practical operation of the interconnection between Oman and UAE. Prof. Omar Hanafy Abdalla received the encouraging Prize of State in Engineering Sciences, 1984, the First Class Distinction of Sciences and Arts, 1985, Helwan University Appreciation Prize in Engineering Sciences and Technology of the year 2007, and the “IEEE PES Chapter Outstanding Award”, for years of dedicated volunteer service to the chapter and to valuable contribution to the Power & Energy Society, IEEE PES Egypt Section, 2018
Speech Title: Technical Design Specifications and Criteria for Integrating Wind Farms into Grids
Abstract: The objective of this keynote is to present basic information on the technical design specifications, criteria, technical terms and equipment parameters required for successfully integrating wind farms to electricity grids. For example, power quality definitions, measures and their cause and impact on the system as referred to in the grid code will be discussed and explained. The technical specifications include permitted voltage and frequency variations in addition to power quality measures such as limits of harmonic distortion, phase unbalance, and flickers. Wind turbine generating unit operational limits, capability requirements, active power and frequency control, reactive power and AVR, power factor, etc. will be explained and discussed. Planning studies for connecting a 50 MW wind farm to a real power system are presented taking into consideration the grid code requirements and the security criteria. The subject is most useful for researcher in academia and practice engineers who are involved in integration of renewable energy sources in practical power systems.

Prof. Giuseppe Buja, University of Padova Padova, Italy

Giuseppe Buja (Life Fellow, IEEE) received the Laurea degree (with Hons.) in power electronics engineering from the University of Padova, Padova, Italy. He is currently a Senior Scholar with the University of Padova.,He has carried out a pioneering research work in the field of power and industrial electronics,originating the modulating-wave distortion for pulse-width modulation inverters, initiating the application of digital signal processors to the control systems of power electronics converters, conceiving cutting-edge techniques for the control of electric drives, and advancing the design of powertrain and charging systems for electric vehicles. His current technical research focuses on the deployment of sustainable electric grids.,He was the recipient of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES) Eugene Mittelmann Achievement Award “in recognition of his outstanding technical contributions to the field of industrial electronics,” and the 2016 Best Paper Award from the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. He was with IEEE in several capacities, including as the General Chairman of the 20th Annual Conference of the IES (IECON) in 1994. He is currently a member of the Steering/Technical Committee of International Conferences, Editorial Board of Scientific Journals, and a Senior Member of the Administrative Committee of the IES.
Speech Title: Update Soon

Prof. Jianhua Zhang, North China Electric Power University, China

Zhang Jianhua (Female, born March 1969) obtained her Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering in 1990, 1993, and 1996, respectively, from North China Electric Power University, the Beijing Graduate School of North China Electric Power University, and Beihang University (BUAA). She served as a Senior Visiting Scholar at UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology), UK, from January 2000 to January 2001. Promoted to Associate Professor in 1998 and full Professor in 2004, she was appointed as a Doctoral Supervisor in 2008. Professional Affiliations & Service: Committee Memberships: Executive Director of the "Internet of Things" Committee of the Chinese Society of Instrumentation; Executive Director of the Energy Internet Optimization and Control Committee of the Chinese Association of Automation; Executive Director of the IEEE PES Sub-committee on Smart Grid and Artificial Intelligence. Editorial Roles: Associate Editor for Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control; Editorial Board Member for Energies. Expert Reviewer: Has served as a correspondence reviewer for the National/Beijing Natural Science Foundation (General/Excellent Young programs) and the National Natural Science Award. Also served as a panel reviewer for key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, international cooperation projects under the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation. Served as a Technical Program Committee (TPC) / International Program Committee (IPC) member for numerous international conferences and delivered keynote/special invited speeches at seven international conferences. Research Interests: Her primary research focuses on process control, fault diagnosis, stochastic control, and state estimation. Her recent work emphasizes the intersection of Smart Grids and Artificial Intelligence. Research Achievements: Led a total of 20 vertical research projects (including 7 national-level and 13 provincial/ministerial-level projects), 1 project funded by the UK Royal Society Newton Fund, and 1 horizontal project. Authored over 50 SCI-indexed papers. Awarded the Third Prize of Beijing Science and Technology Progress as the principal investigator.

Prof. Gheorghe Grigoras, "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University of Iasi, Romania

Gheorghe Grigoras, senior lecturer, Ph. D. was born in 1976, February 28, in Vatra Dornei, Romania. He graduated in 1999 from “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Electrical Engineering Faculty and began his academic career the same year. He was awarded the PhD scientific degree in the Power Engineering field in 2005. His scientific activity materialized in 12 published books, 1 book chapter, 185 scientific papers as main author and co-author published in conference proceedings and journals. Since 1999, he was a team member in 15 scientific research projects. As part of The National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation PNII (2007-2013) from Romania, in the Human Resources - Awarding Research Results programme, he has three awarded papers. In the last two years, he was a member in the scientific committee of prestigious international conferences: 7th International Conference on Deregulated Electricity Market Issues in South – Eastern Europe, 2012, Romania, 7th International Conference and Exposition on Electrical and Power Engineering, Romania, 2012, Science and Information Conference, London, UK, 2013, 2nd International Conference on Computation Theory and Information Technology Taiwan, 2013, 4th International Conference on Computing and Informatics, Malaysia, 2013. He is a reviewer for international journals: International Journal of Advanced Research in Artificial Intelligence, International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Energy, WSEAS Transactions on Power Systems, Network and Communication Technologies Journal, Journal of Electrical and Control Engineering, Journal of Energy and Power Engineering.