Day 1: Review of GO Competition Challenge 2

Tuesday, October 5th, 2021

Time Event

12:00 – 12:05pm

Welcome and Housekeeping Notes: Nancy Hicks, Booz Allen Hamilton 

12:05 – 12:10pm 

Introduction: Dick O’Neill, ARPA-E 

12:10 – 12:20pm 

Evaluation Metrics: Steve Elbert, PNNL 

12:20 – 12:40pm 

Benchmark Model: Carleton Coffrin, LANL 

12:40 – 12:50pm 

Q/A with GO Competition Team: Dick O’Neill, Steve Elbert, and Carleton Coffrin 

Competitor Presentations

(20 minute presentations with 10 minutes reserved for discussion) 

12:50 – 1:20pm 

Hassan Hijazi, team: GravityX

1:20 – 1:50pm 

Hsiao-Dong Chiang, Global Optimal Technologies, team: GOT-BSI-OPF

1:50 – 2:05pm 

Short Break 

2:05 – 2:35pm 

Daniel Bienstock, Columbia University, team: NU_Columbia_Artelys

2:35 – 3:05pm 

Marko Jereminov, Pearl Street Technologies, team: Pearl Street Technologies

3:05 – 3:15pm 

Short Break 

3:15 – 3:45pm 

Andy Sun, Georgia Institute of Technology, team: GMI-GO

3:45 – 4:15pm 

Constance Crozier, University of Colorado Boulder, team: Electric Stampede

4:15 – 5:00pm 

Panel Discussion on Challenge 2 Topics:

Hassan Hijazi, Hsiao-Dong Chiang, Daniel Bienstock, Marko Jereminov, Andy Sun, and Constance Crozier 

5:00pm 

Closing Remarks

 


Day 2: Computational Challenges in Power Systems

Wednesday, October 6th, 2021

Time Event

12:00 – 12:30pm

Introduction: Jennifer Gerbi, Deputy Director for Technology and Acting Director of ARPA-E, and Dick O’Neill, ARPA-E

Key Industry Speakers

(20 minute presentations with 10 minutes reserved for discussion)

12:30 – 1:00pm

Khaled Abdul-Rahman, CAISO

1:00 – 1:30pm

Keyurbhai Patel, PJM

1:30pm – 1:45pm 

Short Break 

1:45 – 2:15pm 

Tongxin Zheng, ISO-NE

2:15 – 2:45pm 

Ryan Schoppe, SPP

2:45pm – 3:00pm 

Short Break 

3:00 – 3:30pm 

Kwok Cheung, GE Digital 

3:30 – 4:30pm 

Open Discussion on Computational Challenges 

4:30pm 

Closing Remarks

 


External Speakers

 

STEVE ELBERT 

Senior Member, Optimization and Control Group 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Dr. Stephen Elbert is a senior member of the Optimization and Control Group within the Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings Division of the Energy and Environment Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and a recipient of the PNNL Pathway to Excellence 2021 award. Dr. Elbert's work focuses on the use of high performance computing to solve critical, energy related problems. He has over 25,000 citations on Google Scholar. Dr. Elbert has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Washington under National Academy of Science member and National Medal of Science winner Ernest R. Davidson. Before joining PNNL he was a Senior Solutions Scientist at IBM, a Program Director at NSF (CISE) and DOE (ASCR), and Director of the Scalable Computing Lab at Ames Laboratory. 


CARLETON COFFRIN 

Staff Scientist 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

Dr. Carleton Coffrin is a staff scientist in Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Advanced Network Science Initiative, an interdisciplinary team that investigates the application of emerging optimization and machine learning methods to problems in critical infrastructure systems. Dr. Coffrin’s work focuses on developing novel optimization methods for network design, operation, and restoration for AC power networks. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, his work on power system optimization has been recognized by the IEEE PES 2014 Optimal Power Flow Competition and Los Alamos National Laboratory's Early Career Researcher award. Dr. Coffrin received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Brown University in 2012, under the supervision of Pascal Van Hentenryck. Before joining Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2016, Dr. Coffrin was a staff scientist at NICTA, Australia’s premier computer science research laboratory. 


HASSAN HIJAZI 

Staff Scientist 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

Hassan Lionel Hijazi received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Aix-Marseille University while working at Orange Labs - France Telecom R&D. During his early career, Hassan was part of the computer science laboratory of the Ecole Polytechnique in France and a senior lecturer at the Australian National University. Hassan is currently a staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. His main field of expertise is mixed-integer nonlinear optimization with applications in energy systems. Hassan was the laureate of the 2015 Rising Star Award by the Australian Society for Operations Research. Hassan is currently working on Gravity, a modeling language for mathematical optimization.


HSIAO-DONG CHIANG 

President, Bigwood Systems, Inc. 

Bigwood Systems and Global Optimal Technology 

Hsiao-Dong Chiang (M’87–SM’91–F’97) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. He is currently a Professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. He and his research team have authored more than 450 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings with a H-index of 62. He holds 25 U.S. and overseas patents and several consultant positions. He is the author of two books: Direct Methods for Stability Analysis of Electric Power Systems: Theoretical Foundations, BCU Methodologies, and Applications (Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2011) and (with Luis F. C. Alberto) Stability Regions of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems: Theory, Estimation, and Applications (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2015). He is the Founder of Bigwood Systems, Inc. (1995) and of Global Optimal Technology, Inc. (2000), both located in Ithaca, NY, USA. 


DANIEL BIENSTOCK 

Liu Family Professor of Operations Research and Applied Mathematics 

Columbia University 

Daniel Bienstock is Liu Family Professor of Operations Research and Applied Mathematics, with affiliation in Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. His research focuses on computational and theoretical aspects of optimization and on applications of optimization and data science to power systems. He is an INFORMS Fellow, and received a PhD in Operations Research from MIT. 


MARKO JEREMINOV 

Senior Research Scientist 

Pearl Street Technologies 

Marko Jereminov was born in Belgrade, Serbia. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. Prior to joining as a PhD student, Marko interned at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon, where he pioneered the foundational technology that later led to the development of the SUGAR tool for simulation and optimization of electrical power system response. His research interests are centered around the topic of embedding domain-specific knowledge within optimization theory and algorithms. He is presently a Senior Research Scientist at Pearl Street Technologies, where he leads the research on generalizing the optimization capabilities of the SUGAR framework, as well as works on developing algorithms to improve the efficiency and scalability of the software. Marko is a member of IEEE since 2015 and has published numerous papers in the field of power systems simulation and optimization, including a best paper award-winning submission on SUGAR at the IEEE PES General Meeting in 2017. 


ANDY SUN 

Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering 

Georgia Institute of Technology 

Dr. Andy Sun is an associate professor and the David McKenney Family Associate Professor at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering in Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Sun’s research focuses on developing new optimization models and algorithms for large-scale power system computation, such as OPF, unit commitment, transmission switching, and stability analysis. He has also collaborated with the utility industry on robust unit commitment and renewable integration.


CONSTANCE CROZIER 

Postdoctoral Associate 

University of Colorado Boulder 

Constance Crozier is a postdoctoral associate at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the main developer in the Electric Stampede team. She obtained her M.Eng in Information Science and D.Phil in Electrical Engineering in 2016 and 2019 respectively, both from the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research was focused on developing optimal electric vehicle charging algorithms that protected the electricity grid without inconveniencing consumers. She then spent a year working for the UK government advising on EV policy and researching the future requirements for energy storage, before joining CU Boulder to work on the GO competition. 


JENNIFER GERBI 

Deputy Director for Technology 

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy 

Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Deputy Director for Technology at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), leads the Agency’s development, launch, and execution of high-risk, high-reward energy R&D programs. Previously as a Program Director at the Agency, her programmatic focus at ARPA-E included improving the energy efficiency and management of buildings via advanced sensing systems and storage, novel insulating materials for windows, and renewable energy generation via photovoltaics. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Gerbi worked at Dow Corning in multiple capacities. She started at the company in 2011 as a Program Leader in the company’s Business and Technology Incubator. In this role, Gerbi built and led a next-generation solar portfolio. Gerbi then managed a global team as a Business Builder, leading new business development for a lithium-ion battery program. Gerbi’s most recent role at Dow Corning was as an Applied Engineering and Technical Service Leader, where she led an electronics application engineering and development team, working directly with large global customers to enable technical solutions via silicones in consumer and crossover healthcare electronics markets. From 2007 to 2011, Gerbi served as a Senior Materials Scientist at The Dow Chemical Company, focusing on the copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar technology effort, which included growing a small lab-scale environment into a commercial-scale effort within three years. Gerbi served her postdoctoral fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory, developing thin film diamond coatings for electronics and healthcare markets. She also worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois on novel diffusion barriers. Dr. Gerbi holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also received an M.S. in Physics from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Physics from Bard College.


KHALED ABDUL-RAHMAN 

Vice President of Power Systems and Market Technology 

CAISO 

Dr. Khaled Abdul-Rahman is the Vice President of Power Systems and Market Technology at the California ISO, where he oversees the integration of power system and market technology systems to implement policy initiatives and operational tools required to maintain grid reliability under large penetration of renewable resources and other smart grid technology. Dr. Abdul-Rahman is also the Executive sponsor for the Western Imbalance Energy Market (WEIM) and RC West reliability tools. Prior to joining CAISO, Dr. Abdul-Rahman has extensive national and international power system and electricity market experience having worked on many engagements with power systems’ software vendors, Consulting Companies, and electric utilities. Dr. Abdul-Rahman earned a Ph.D. in power systems engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, IL in 1993.


KEYUR PATEL 

Senior Engineer 

PJM Interconnection 

Keyur Patel supports the development and implementation of Market Design enhancements in Day-Ahead and Real Time Energy and Ancillary Service Market. Patel has worked for PJM since 2010 in various market roles. Prior to joining PJM, Patel worked for NYISO for 3.5 years in TCC and Day-Ahead Energy Market. Patel earned a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. 


TONGXIN ZHENG 

Director, Advanced Technology Solutions 

ISO-NE 

Tongxin Zheng is the Director, Advanced Technology Solutions at ISO New England Inc. He is responsible for research and development in wholesale electricity market design, analysis and operations, smart grid and power system emerging technologies. He also oversees the development of various market clearing and simulation software. He received his Ph.D. degree from Clemson University in electrical engineering in 1999. He has served as an industry advisor for DOE, NSF and PSERC projects, and the market stem vice chair of PSERC. 


RYAN SCHOPPE 

Lead Engineer, Market Design Group 

SPP 

Ryan Schoppe is a lead engineer working in SPP’s Market Design group with experience in network modeling, EMS application support, operator training system support/scenario creation, market integration/testing/analysis/support/product design, drafting tariff/protocols changes, external outreach, and supporting a wide variety of special projects. His personal interests are in better understanding the large changes occurring in the industry in order to provide value to SPP’s membership. 


KWOK W. CHEUNG 

Director of Global Market Management Solutions 

GE Digital 

Dr. Kwok W. Cheung, the Director of Global Market Management Solutions at GE Digital responsible for managing the overall worldwide business and product solutions for electricity market and system operations. He is also an Affiliate Research Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. His current research interests include grid integration of renewable and distributed energy resources, optimization-based market applications, power system stability, machine learning and data analytics for grid operations. Dr. Cheung has over thirty years of experience in the electric power industry and he has authored and co-authored over a hundred technical papers published in international journals and conference proceedings, six U.S. patents and three book chapters. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Power & Energy Society, and a registered Professional Engineer of the State of Washington.