Prof. Athula D. Rajapakse is leading the research at intelligent Power Grid Laboratory (iPGL). He joined the University of Manitoba as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2004, and currently holds a rank of Professor. He has a diverse background in Power and Energy Systems related areas and his current research activities mainly focuses on Power System Protection and Renewable Energy Integration. Prof. Rajapakse is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Registered Professional Engineer in the province of Manitoba, Canada, and a Fellow of Engineers Canada. He is an active member of a number of Cigre and IEEE working groups.
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 1990
M.Eng. in Energy Technology | Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand | 1993
Ph.D. in Quantum Engineering & Systems Science | University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan | 1998
Research Interests:
Power system protection | Wide area monitoring, control and protection systems | Grid integration of distributed and renewable energy systems | AC and DC micro-grids | Protection of HVDC grids | Off-grid renewable energy systems | Application of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Power and Energy Systems
PhD Students
Education:
B. Tech in Electrical Engineering | University of Calicut | India
M.Sc in Energy | Asian Institute of Technology | Thailand
Research Interests:
Power system reliability | Distributed Energy Resources | Electric Vehicles | Power Distribution Systems
Collaborations:
Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship | Manitoba Hydro | Winnipeg, Canada
Awards:
Faculty of Graduate Studies Research Completion Scholarship
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2016
Research Interests:
Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems | Energy Management | Microgrid Control | Techno-Economic Analysis | Power System Optimization
Collaborations:
NSERC Engage Program | Solar Solutions Pvt. Ltd | Winnipeg, Canada
Research Manitoba Program | Solar Solutions Pvt. Ltd | Winnipeg, Canada
Contract Researcher | Manitoba Hydro International Pvt. Ltd| Winnipeg, Canada
Awards:
NSERC CREATE- Sustainable Engineering in Remote Areas
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship
Edward R. Toporeck Graduate Fellowship in Engineering
Faculty of Graduate Studies Research Completion Scholarship
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka | 2016
Research Interests:
Transmission Line Protection | Fault Type Identification | Faulted Phase Classification
Collaborations:
Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship | ERLPhase Power Technologies Ltd. | Winnipeg, Canada
Contract Researcher | Kalki Communication Technologies Ltd | Karnataka, India
Awards:
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2017
M.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Manitoba, Canada | 2020
Research Interests:
Power System Voltage Stability | Machine Learning | Real-Time System Monitoring | Power System Dynamics
Awards:
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2017
M.Phil (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2019
Research Interests:
Renewable Energy Systems | Microgrid control and energy management | DC network protection
Awards:
Engineering class of 1946 Scholarship
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2010
M.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Manitoba, Canada | 2014
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2013
M.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Manitoba, Canada | 2016
M.Sc. Students
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka | 2018
Research Interests:
Renewable energy systems | Short circuit analysis | Co-simulation
Awards:
Faculty of Graduate Studies Research Completion Scholarship
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical Engineering | Philadelphia University, Jordan | 2019
Research Interests:
Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems | Microgrid Control | Real-Time system testing
Collaborations:
Research Manitoba Program | Solar Solutions Pvt. Ltd | Winnipeg, Canada
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electronic Engineering | Universidad Pintificia Bolivariana (Medellín, Colombia)
Research Interests:
HVDC | DC power systems | Inverter based generation | Microgrids | Simulations and modeling | Machine learning
M.Eng. Students
Education:
B.Sc (Eng.) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering | Chandigarh University, India | 2015
Research Interests:
Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems | Optimization and Feasibility of Grid Connected Systems | Power System Protection
Alumni
Post Doctoral Fellows
- Charles Adewole
Doctoral Students
2016-2020
- Naushath Haleem
- Amila Pathirana
- Tao Chen (Co-Supervised)
- Dinesh Gurusinghe
- Gayan Wijeweera (Co-Supervised)
2011-2015
- Kasun Nanayakkara
- Francisco Gomez
- Lidula Nilakshi
- Nuwan Perera
2006-2010
- Qun Zhou (Co-Supervised)
M.Sc Students
2016-2020
- Kalana Dharmapala
- Yunfei Bai
- Shan Jayamaha (Co-Supervised)
- Neethu Raaju
- Chun Fang
- Sampath Liyanage (Co-Supervised)
- Yaojie Cai
- Sachintha Kariyawasam
2011-2015
- Achintha Wickramasuriya
- Saranga Edirisinghe (Co-Supervised)
- Naushath Haleem
- Amila Pathirana
- Jeremy Sneeth
- Onyinyechi Nzimako
- Ruben Almiron Bonnin
2006-2010
- Andrew Issac
- Kasun Nanayakkara
- Nuwan Perera
- Dwayne Aming
- Gayan Wijeweera (Co-Supervised)