Jesus D. Vasquez Plaza is focused on converter-dominated power system models, microgrid controls, power electronics, and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) experiment and validation – all work aimed at advancing the stability and reliability of renewable energy systems.
Vasquez Plaza grew up in a small Colombian town and earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the Universidad del Valle before heading to Puerto Rico for graduate studies. It was there, in Mayaguez, that one day he was tasked with showing officials from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) around the lab where he was conducting doctoral research.
That willingness to be pressed into service as a tour guide paid off well: Vasquez Plaza so impressed the group that he was offered a post as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Engineering graduate researcher.
In recent years, Vasquez Plaza – who was inspired to pursue a STEM career by his father, a high school science teacher – has worked on a variety of projects, including designing and implementing simulations that will help determine how best to integrate electric-vehicle charging stations into power grids, and studied ways of enhancing the resiliency of power systems in isolated regions. “Working in Puerto Rico, you get a big-picture idea of how your work is actually impacting the community, not just from a technical standpoint but a social one,” he says.
Puerto Rico’s power grid faces significant challenges due to its exposure to extreme weather events, including hurricanes and tropical storms that often cause widespread damage and disruptions. These conditions highlight the urgent need for more resilient and adaptive energy systems, making the island a critical location for researching distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and grid modernization. Vasquez Plaza’s work aligns with these efforts, focusing on strategies to improve power system stability and integrate renewable energy solutions effectively.
He has also spent much of his time supervising projects, providing guidance to graduate and undergraduate students, and fostering a collaborative academic culture. It’s gratifying, he says, to introduce aspiring researchers to new methodologies and help them build a strong foundation for future contributions.
His own future contributions, he hopes, will be made in one of the Department of Energy’s national labs. “That would be the dream job,” he explains.