But to him, power means the energy of electricity, the magic that happens after converting the various petrochemicals and turning on the light switch.
“It is very important that electric energy gets importance at the University of Houston,” he said. And so, in the past year since he’s been at the Cullen College, Rajashekara has gone about creating the certificate program to prepare students to design electrical systems for the power and energy industry. The program offers two certificates – one in power electronics and renewable energy technologies and the other in power systems and the smart grid. The next step is to launch a curriculum offering a master’s of science in electrical engineering in power and energy systems.
He hopes to grow his small lab and the program and welcome industry representatives to the lab to witness students tackling some of the greatest challenges in the power industry, like making the power grid smart and incorporating renewable energy into it.