EDUCATION

• Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, July 1997
  University of Catania - Italy
  Thesis title: " Reduction of Electromagnetic Emissions in Power Electronic Converters" (in Italian)
  Academic advisor: Professor Alfio Consoli
• Laurea (MS) Electrical Engineering, March 1993
  Graduated with honors - first in class - 5 year degree
  University of Catania - Italy
  Thesis title: "Electrical and chemical-physical characterization of PVC materials employed for power cables insulation" (in Italian)
  Academic advisors: Professors Alfio Consoli (University of Catania, Italy) and Luigi Centurioni (University of Genova, Italy)

EXPERIENCE

Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Monterey, CA
Research Assistant Professor - April 2008 to present:


• Contributing to the development of the laboratories for the courses EC4150 "Advanced Solid State Power Conversion" and EC3150 "Solid State Power Conversion".
• Participating to the kick-off of the Energy Research Program at NPS.

Power Engineering Consultant - July 2000 to March 2008:


• Teaching EC4150 "Advanced Solid State Power Conversion", EC3150 "Solid State Power Conversion", TS3000 "Electrical Power Engineering" and EC2100 "Circuit Analysis" at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
• DSP programming for motion control
• Modeling and simulation of power converters and drives
• Electromagnetic interference (EMI) analysis and solutions for electric drives
• Stability analysis of DC distribution systems
• Reliability and life cycle predictions for power systems

SatCon Technology Center, Cambridge MA
Staff Engineer - 1999-2000:


• Development of innovative three phase solid state power converters for Navy applications
• Power quality and reliability trade studies in power converters

United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford CT
Associate Research Engineer - 1998-1999:


• Physics-based dynamic modeling, computer simulations and lab demonstrations of innovative electric power control (EPC) systems including: solid state power converters and their controls, electric machines and drives, power quality control systems (four invention disclosures filed and US Patent 6,108,223 awarded)
• Digital design and implementation in PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices) of power converter control
• EMI testing of variable frequency drives
• Program management and documentation on company intranet using HTML language

Wisconsin Electric Machines & Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC)
University of Wisconsin, Madison - Research Intern - 1996-1998


• EMI measurements of three phase inverter/motor drives.
• Design of resonant DC link (RDCL) power converters.
• Characterization, modeling and simulation of common mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) in inverter/motor drive systems
• Analysis of control techniques for common mode voltage reduction
• SP programming to control power converters.

Department of Electrical and System Engineering
University of Catania, Italy -Ph.D. Student 1993-1995

• Analytical study of a power MOSFET when used as the switching device of DC power supplies to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI).
• Measurements of conducted and near field radiated emissions of DC power supplies.
• Teaching experience presenting electrical machine models using ACSL software.
• Electrical and chemical measurements of PVC insulating materials to fully characterize them (performed at Tratos Cavi S.p.A plant, Catania zona industriale, Italy).

ERASMUS Project European Community's exchange program for undergraduate students
January - July 1992
Completed 2 terms at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, as an Electrical Engineering student.

AWARDS

1993 Laurea's grant ($650 US) from the Professional Association of Engineers of Catania for the valedictorian of the class

1993 Laurea's grant ($1300 US) from the Catania Association of Industries for Research for the research work reported in the thesis which was accomplished in collaboration with an industry sponsor

2002 IEEE IAS Outstanding Young Member Award

ADDITIONAL SKILLS - MEMBERSHIPS

• Fluent in Italian and in English
• XHTML, HTML and Java programming
• Studied piano for 9 years at the Musical Lyceum "Vincenzo Bellini" of Catania, Italy
• IEEE Senior Member. Member of the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) and of the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS). Vice-chair of the IAS Industrial Power Conversion Systems Department (IPCSD). Served as Chair (�06-�07), Vice-Chair (�04-�05), Secretary (�02-�03) of the IAS Industrial Power Converter Committee.

PATENT & PUBLICATIONS