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Professor Wei-Jen Lee – Managing Power in a Big Way

Some men seek power; Wei-Jen Lee just wants to manage it – it being electric power.

Wei-Jen Lee is a professor of electrical engineering and the director of UT Arlington’s Energy Systems Research Center, an internationally-recognized source of all things related to the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power. To say that Dr. Lee is an expert in the field is an understatement. Consider this listing in his resume of his Areas of Specialization: Power Systems Analysis; Load Forecasting; Power Quality; Distribution Automation and Demand-side Management; Utility Deregulation; Renewable Energy; On-line, Real-time Equipment Diagnostic and Prognostic Systems; and Microcomputer-based Instruments for Power Systems Monitoring, Measurement, Control and Protection.

Dr. Lee received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering at National Taiwan University before coming to UT Arlington for his Ph.D. He liked the University so much that, after graduating, he stayed to become a faculty member in 1986. Over the years, Dr. Lee has supervised 26 Ph.D. graduates and currently oversees the performance of seven others.

He has received recognition for his teaching abilities, his research, his journal and conference papers and book chapters, and his leadership roles at myriad power system committees, conferences and symposia. Dr. Lee was involved in the revision of IEEE Standards 141, 339, 551 and 739, and he is the associate editor of IEEE/IAS and International Journal of Power and Energy Systems.

Recently, Dr. Lee has focused his research on the development of MicroGrid (independent units of an interconnected electric power transmission system) and SmartGrid (using communications, advanced sensors and distributed computers to improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of power delivery) technologies and approaches. He has also proposed a modified MicroGrid for the holistic development of rural electrification in Africa. The United States Agency for International Development honored him several times running for his contributions to power system operations around the world. Dr. Lee has conducted short courses on power generation, transmission and regulation in Canada, China, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

One of the highest honors bestowed on Dr. Lee is that of the rank of Fellow of the IEEE, which he received in 2007. Also that year, he received The University of Texas at Arlington’s Research Achievement Award. He had previously received the College of Engineering’s Research Excellence Award in 2004. Dr. Lee has been the principal or co-principal investigator in research projects achieving funding in excess of $7 million.

Dr. Lee was recently appointed project manager of an IEEE/National Fire Protection Association research collaboration on arc flash phenomena. The results of this multi-year project will be used to refine existing IEEE and NFPA standards.