Dr David Wetz

Professor, UT Arlington

David Wetz, Ph.D., is currently a Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the UTA College of Engineering’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, since September 2017. He earned his B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Texas Tech University in 2003 and then went on to earn his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the same in 2004 and 2006 respectively. During his time at Texas Tech he worked as a graduate Research Assistant in the Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics where his research focused in the areas of pulsed power system design, pulsed dielectric breakdown of liquids, and ion thruster optimization. Following graduation from his Ph.D. program he worked as Postdoctoral Fellow, and later as a Research Associate, at the Institute for Advanced Technology (IAT) at the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010 at the rank of Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015, and Professor in 2018. His research currently focuses on the areas of pulsed power, MicroGrids, and understanding the limitations of using electrochemical energy storage devices in transient power systems. He has authored or co-authored over 160 publications including 60 peer refereed open journal papers, 12 peer refereed publications at classified US Symposiums, and 90 international conference papers. He has graduated 8 MSEE students and 14 PhD EE students since joining UTA in 2010. He was Vice Chair of IEEE Pulsed Power Science and Technology Committee (PPS&T), a subcommittee of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences (NPSS) Society from 2017 to 2019 and then Chair from from 2019 - 2021. He was recognized as the IEEE 2006 Pulsed Power Student of the Year. Additionally, in 2008 he was recognized as an Outstanding Young Researcher at the 2nd Euro Asian Pulsed Power Conference, received an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in 2011, and has been employed as a Summer Research Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratories Ship Systems Engineering Station (NSWC-SSES) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the summers of 2014 through 2018, respectively. He has served multiple times as a Guest Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (TPS) and once for the IEEE Transactions Dielectrics and Insulation (TDEI). He was Technical Co-Chair of the 2015 IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference, the 2014 IEEE International Electromagnetic Launch Symposium, the 2017 Pacific Pulsed Power Symposium, and the 2018 IEEE International Electromagnetic Launch Symposium. He served as the General Conference Chair of the 2021 IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference.

Linh Vu

Ph.D. Candidate, Clarkson University

I received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019. I am currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA. My research interests include smart grid; ship power systems; distribution power systems; and reinforcement learning algorithms.

Dr James Langston

Research Faculty II, Florida State University

James Langston received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Florida State University in 2000, 2002, and 2018, respectively. Since 2004, he has worked at the FSU Center for Advanced Power Systems as an assistant in research, associate in research, and senior research associate, conducting research related to terrestrial and shipboard power systems. His research interests generally include simulation of power systems, real-time simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop simulation. He is licensed as a professional engineer (PE) in the state of Florida and is a senior member of the IEEE.