Jordon Grant, England
Second year ISE student conducting thesis research in Mexico
Name: Jordon Grant
Age: 31
Hometown: Manchester, England
Academic Background: B.Eng. in Electronic Engineering, Queen Mary University of London, England
Major & Class: Sustainable Energy Engineering, Class of 2018
Location of thesis research: Mexico City, Mexico
How did you discover your thesis opportunity?
I was informed that an agreement was made between ISE and National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) to collaborate on power systems research projects. I subsequently researched the institution and found that they had some interesting opportunities. I established a connection from then on.
What motivated you to travel and study in Mexico City, Mexico?
In a class on smart grids and sustainable technology I started to research the potentials of direct current transmission and wanted to know more. I was researching high voltage DC lined and a professor at UNAM, Dr. César Angeles Camacho, was an expert in the field who had published many articles so I was interested in working with him.
What thesis research are you conducting?
I am designing a microgrid on DC for a small island in Belize. I will be working with a small company on the specifics of the design. The system will include renewable energy generation, DC loads and energy storage. The energy generation, usage and storage will mainly be in the form of DC therefore an all DC microgrid will increase the efficiency of the system due to the reduction of conversion losses.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I hope to have a design for a microgrid on DC that can function independently of the main grid. The energy storage will be designed so that it can smooth out the fluctuations of the renewable energy generation and improve the power quality of the microgrid. The system will be designed with MATLAB Simulink and then exported to C code so that the system can be simulated in OPAL RT with hardware in the loop testing to see the operation of the system in a more realistic scenario.
What are you most excited for during your time there?
Working on a real project where I can analyze the benefits between AC and DC with a company. It will be interesting to see what power system design the developer chooses at the end of the project.
What do you expect will be your biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge may be the language but it is also something I am looking forward to. I would like to improve my Spanish so this is a great opportunity for me.
How will your research abroad compliment the rest of your studies with ISE?
This opportunity will give me a great insight into another area in the energy industry. At UNAM I am based in the renewables department so I am able to collaborate with students working on many other projects and I am getting an insight into the energy industry in Latin America.