Rate My Professor Zhifang Wang

Zhifang Wang, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, a position she has held since August 2012, initially appointed as Assistant Professor. She directs the Electric Power and Energy Systems (EPES) Research Lab and leads the power systems engineering track launched in collaboration with Dominion Energy. Dr. Wang earned her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University in August 2005, with a dissertation on Bluetooth Enabled Wireless Network and Its Application in Electric Power Systems advised by Dr. Robert J. Thomas. She received her M.S. in Electrical Power Engineering from Tsinghua University in 1998 and B.S. in the same field in 1995, both in Beijing, China. Prior to joining VCU, she served as Associate Specialist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Davis from 2010 to 2012, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Information Trust Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2008 to 2010, and Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University from 2005 to 2008.

Dr. Wang's research focuses on power system modeling and optimization, integration of renewable generation, grid vulnerability analysis, voltage stability and controls, and smart grid communication architecture. Her scholarly contributions include key publications such as 'For the Grid and Through the Grid: The Role of Power Line Communications in the Smart Grid' (Proceedings of the IEEE, 2011), 'Generating Statistically Correct Random Topologies for Testing Smart Grid Communication and Control Networks' (IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, 2010), 'Validation Metrics to Assess the Realism of Synthetic Power Grids' (IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2017), and works on impacts of wind power uncertainty and improved synthetic power grid modeling. These publications have contributed to her Google Scholar profile exceeding 7,600 citations. She has received the IEEE Donald G. Fink Award in 2013, HICSS-48 Best Paper Award in 2015, IEEE Senior Member elevation in 2012, Cornell Graduate Fellowship in 1998, and Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering Scholarship First Prize in 1995. Dr. Wang serves on committees including VCU School of Engineering NWCIT Committee, Grade Appeal Committee, ECE Graduate Committee, Faculty Search Committee, and Strategic Plan Committee, and coordinates ECE Graduate Seminars. Under her mentorship, students have earned awards like the VCU ECE Outstanding Graduate Award in 2017.