Marcelo Godoy Simões starts as Professor of Flexible and Smart Power Systems at the University of Vaasa

– For the last 25 years I have been working on power electronics, a key technology for integrating new renewable and flexible energy into the grid. My research areas are power electronics, power systems and smart grids, says Simões.

He heard about the professorship at the University of Vaasa from a Danish colleague. The specific field and description of the professorship seemed tailor-made for him.

– The University of Vaasa has strong resources and researchers in the field. This encouraged me to join because I believe we can do a lot of research and development to modernise electricity grids and achieve a lower-carbon, more sustainable future.

Simões is also pleased that the Vaasa region is home to a cluster of energy technology companies with which the university has good relations. He says that it would be a pleasure to get to know the companies in the ecosystem.

– I would like to meet you. Feel free to call me, he says.

Internationally renowned researcher

Simões, a Brazilian-American, holds a doctoral degree, in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee in the US, and another DSc in mechanical engineering from the University of São Paulo in Brazil. He worked in Brazil, then at the Colorado School of Mines from 2000 to 2020, when he became Emeritus Professor. Prior to that, he worked in the Department of Mechatronics at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He also has a lot of experience from other universities around the world.

– I have been a visiting Fulbright scholar at Aalborg University in Denmark and have worked as a visiting professor in France, Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Simões is also a IEEE Fellow. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology. The title is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of technology worldwide. Simões has been recognised for applications of artificial intelligence in the control of power electronics systems.

Simões has more than 100 published research papers, 12 books, more than 140 conference papers, 15 book chapters and three patents. He is one of the most cited researchers at the University of Vaasa. In addition, he has supervised about thirty doctoral theses.

Fellow professor of electrical engineering Hannu Laaksonen praises Simões as a globally renowned researcher with significant and diverse networks in universities, companies and other organisations.              

– He has cutting-edge expertise in the design, simulation and application of artificial intelligence for new power electronics applications in power grids, as well as in the development of real-time simulation environments. In addition, he has published several books, the latest of which, Artificial Intelligence for Smarter Power Systems: Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks, is very topical," says Professor Laaksonen.

Raine Hermans, Dean of the School of Technology and Innovation, points out that one of the strategic research areas of the University of Vaasa is new and environmentally friendly ways of producing energy.

– By using our unique simulation environment, our new professor Marcelo Godoy Simões is helping the University of Vaasa to create a future where future generations will be able to produce and use energy in local grids without harming the environment," says Hermans.

Support from industry

Simões' professorship at Vaasa is a five-year research-focused position.The position will be based in the University's School of Technology and Innovation and will also be linked to the VEBIC research platform on energy and sustainable development.

In addition to the University of Vaasa, the professorship is funded by ABB, the City of Vaasa, Vaasan Sähkö, Vaasa Sähköverkko, Fingrid, Wapice, the Ostrobothnian Chamber of Commerce, Sener and Wärtsilä Finland.

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Professor Marcelo Godoy Simões

• Born: 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil

• Lives: in Vaasa

• Education: PhD in Electrical Engineering (area of power electronics) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (USA) in 1995, and DSc in Mechanical Engineering (area of artificial intelligence systems) at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) in 1998.

• Academic career:  Almost 21 years at the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado (USA), teaching and conducting research in power electronics, power systems, smart-grid technology, artificial intelligence and integration of renewable energy systems; Before this teaching and conducting research at the University of São Paulo (Brazil).

Lisätiedot

Marcelo Godoy Simões, puh. 029 449 8649, sähköposti: marcelo.godoy.simoes@uwasa.fi