Rate My Professor Martina Calais

Dr. Martina Calais is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Energy at Murdoch University. She commenced her academic career as an engineering student at Murdoch University, engaging early with research in renewable energy systems. She completed her engineering degree in Germany and returned to Western Australia for postgraduate research on the application of power electronics in solar photovoltaic systems. Joining Murdoch University in January 2000 as a lecturer, she has advanced engineering education by coordinating the establishment of Australia's first Renewable Energy Engineering degree and serving as the Engineering Professional Practice Unit Coordinator. Her career includes research on engineering students' industry placement experiences, initially focusing on female students and now expanding to both genders in collaboration with Murdoch University and University of Melbourne colleagues to develop gender-specific guidance.

Calais's research specializations encompass power electronics for solar photovoltaic systems, microgrids with high photovoltaic penetration, and short-term solar forecasting for renewable energy control in microgrids, including partnerships with the German Aerospace Centre. She contributed to a clean energy research project with Horizon Power, recognized in 2019. Calais held a fellowship at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg in Delmenhorst, Germany, from September 2014 to January 2015. Key publications include 'An evaluation of options to mitigate voltage rise due to increasing PV penetration in distribution networks' (2017, with Craig E. Carter), 'Short-term solar forecasting based on sky images to enable higher PV generation in remote electricity networks' (2017, with Thomas Schmidt), 'Output power fluctuations of distributed photovoltaic systems' (2020, with M. Moghbel and Farhad Shahnia), 'Solar Irradiance Nowcasting System Trial and Evaluation' (2022, with R. Samu), and 'A systematic literature review of digital twin research for photovoltaic systems: Trends, challenges and opportunities' (2025, with A. Elnosh and David Parlevliet). Her work supports the transition to 100% renewable electricity generation and inclusive engineering practices.