Prof. Janaka Ekanayake (IEEE Fellow)
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Biography:
Janaka Bandara Ekanayake obtained BScEng (First Class Honours) from Peradeniya University in 1990 and PhD from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK in 1995. He has published over 80 refereed journal papers and 100 conferences papers and co-authored 7 books. He has a Google Scholar h-index of 45 with 11839 number of citations, the highest for engineering in Sri Lanka. He has held research grants in Sri Lanka and UK that total 2 million GBP An article published by researchers from Stanford University and Elsevier BV in 2020 ranked him among the top 2% of researchers in the world (2nd in Sri Lanka). He obtained the CVCD Excellence Awards in 2018, NSF Research Award for Scientific Excellence in 2018, and 7 Presidential Awards for Research. Prof. Ekanayake is a Fellow of IEEE (USA), IET (UK), and IESL. He is also recognized as an IEEE PES distinguished lecturer. He has given keynote and invited speeches at many conferences in the UK, China, and India. Prof. Ekanayake has contributed to renewable energy generation and integration in the UK, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. He a member of the editorial board of IEEE Transaction on Energy Conversion (2007 to 2019), IET Journal of Renewable Energy (2015 to date), Journal of Wind Energy (2013 to date), and Ceylon Journal of Science (2016 to 2018). He was the Organising Vice Chairperson of the First IEEE PES conference of Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (2012) held in Tianjin, China. Prof. Ekanayake is the Chair Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the University of Peradeniya. He is also a visiting professor at Cardiff University, UK and Universiti Tenaga National, Malaysia. Further, he served as a Visiting Professorial Fellow of the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering, the University of Wollongong, Australia for the period 2017 - 2020. He is the Chairman of the Expert Committee on Renewable Energy since May 2020 and was Chairman of the NIFS (2019).
Prof. Yang Han (IEEE & IEEE PES Senior Member)
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), China
Biography:
Yang Han (S’08–M’10–SM’17) received the Ph.D.degree in electrical engineering from the Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China, in 2010. In 2010, he joined the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China, where he has been an Associate Professor in 2013 and Full professor in 2021. From March 2014 to March 2015, he was a Visiting Scholar with the Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark. He is currently with the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, UESTC. His research interests include the ac/dc micro-grids, active distribution networks, power quality, grid-connected converters forrenewable energy systems, active power filters, multilevel converters, and static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs). Dr. Han was listed as “World’s Top 2% Scientist (single-year and career)” by Stanford University in 2023, “Highly Cited Chinese Researcher” by Elsevier in 2023, and the recipient of the Young Scientist Award in CPESE 2021, the Provincial Science and Technology Award in 2020 and 2022, Science and Technology Award from Sichuan Electric Power Company in 2019, Academic Talent Award by UESTC, in 2017, Baekhyun Award by the Korean Institute of Power Electronics, in 2016.
Prof. Farhad Shahnia (IEEE Senior Member)
Murdoch University, Australia
Biography:
Farhad Shahnia (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical power engineering (first class Hons.) from the University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran, in 2004 and 2006, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, in 2011. He is currently a Professor with Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia. His research interests include distribution networks, power quality, and application of power electronic in power systems.
Prof. Dr. Saim Memon (IEEE Member)
Sanyou London Pvt Ltd, UK
Biography:
Professor Saim Memon is an accomplished CEO and Industrial Professor of Renewable Energy Engineering, renowned for bridging the gap between academic research, industrial innovation, and global market impact. With a distinguished academic career rooted in the UK, he holds a PhD in Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering from Loughborough University, England; a PGCE teaching qualification from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland; an MSc in Mechatronics from Staffordshire University, England; and a BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering, awarded with first-class distinction. Prof. Memon is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and he also holds Qualified Teacher Status awarded by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. His world-leading multidisciplinary research expertise encompasses Electrical, Mechanical, and Renewable Energy Engineering. Recognised internationally as a global public speaker, Prof. Memon ranks among the top 1% worldwide in the field of Energy and across all disciplines according to ScholarGPS over the past five years. This recognition stems from his extensive academic and research contributions, including over 140 research publications, accumulating more than 2000 citations with an h-index of over 26 and an i10-index exceeding 56. He has served as Editor-in-Chief and Guest Editor for more than five journals and has fulfilled reviewer roles for over 40 journals. Additionally, he has delivered more than 90 invited, keynote, and visiting lectures and engaged in research collaborations with over 40 countries worldwide. Throughout his teaching career, Prof. Memon has delivered 41 modules as module leader in electrical, electronic, mechanical, and renewable energy engineering, consistently achieving over 90% student satisfaction. He has also successfully supervised numerous PhD, MSc, and MEng projects. Prof. Memon's academic leadership is further evidenced by his significant contributions as a Head of research group, degree apprenticeship programs lead, course director for MSc, MEng, and BEng (Hons) programmes, Deputy Head of the School of Engineering, and overseeing programme development, accreditation, and validation.
