Babak Fahimi

Babak Fahimi

Distinguished Chair in Engineering
Professor - Electrical Engineering
 
972-883-6609
ECN3322
Tags: Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Computer Engineering

Professional Preparation

PhD - Electrical Engineering
Texas A&M University - 1999
M.S. - Electrical Engineering
University of Tehran, Iran - 1993
B.S. - Electrical Engineering
University of Tehran, Iran - 1991

Research Areas

Babak Fahimi

Dr. Fahimi is a research leader in the adjustable speed motor drives, power electronic based systems, and electrified transportation research area. He has over 20 years of industrial and academic experience in conceptualization, development, and analysis of various electromechanical actuators, energy harvesters, and sensors. He has introduced several key technologies that are in use or being pursued by industries. These include:

  • Multi-port power electronic interface (MPEI) for effective harvest, storage, and management of energy within a hybrid micro grid.
  • Double stator Switched Reluctance Motor Technology for electric propulsion of electrified transportation.
  • Position sensorless control of SRM and PMSM drives.
  • Fault tolerant operation of adjustable speed PMSM drives.
  • Elimination of acoustic noise and vibration using multi-physics modeling techniques.
  • Optimal magnetic design of electromechanical energy converters.
  • Optimal design of power electronic converters for micro harveters of energy harvesters.

Dr. Fahimi's research can be found in the form of over 190 peer reviewed journal and conference articles, 4 issued patents (7 more pending), several book chapters and technical reports.

He has supervised 8 PhD and 14 M.S. thesis to completion. His former students are all industrial and academic leaders (three assistant professors).

Publications

A. Khoobroo and B. Fahimi, "Magnetic Flux Estimation in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine Using Field Reconstruction Method", accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Energy Convers. forthcoming - Publication
D. Torregrossa, F. Peyraut, B. Fahimi, J. M-Boua, and A. Miraoui, "Multi-Physics Finite Element Modeling for Vibration and Acoustic Analysis of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine", accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Energy Convers. forthcoming - Publication
D. Torregrossa, D. Paire, F. Peyraut, B.Fahimi, and A. Miraoui, "Active Mitigation of Electromagnetic Vibrations radiated by PMSM in Fractional Horse Power Drive by Optimal Choice of the Carrier frequency", accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. forthcoming - Publication
A. Khoobroo, D. Torregrossa, and B. Fahimi, "Prediction of Acoustic Noise and Torque Pulsation in PM Synchronous Machines with Rotor Eccentricity and Partial Demagnetization using Field Reconstruction Method", accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron.. forthcoming - Publication
D. Torregrossa, B. Fahimi, F. Peyraut, and A. Miraoui, "Fast Computation of Electromagnetic Vibrations in Electrical Machines via Field Reconstruction Method and Knowledge of Mechanical Impulse Response", accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. forthcoming - Publication
A. H. Ranjbar, R. Noboa, and B. Fahimi, "Estimation of airgap length in magnetically levitated systems, accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, February 2012. 2012 - Publication
A. H. Ranjbar, A. Banaei, and B. Fahimi, "Online estimation of state of charge in Li-Ion batteries using impulse response concept, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grids, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 2012. 2012 - Publication
C. Lin, W, Wang. M. McDonough, B. Fahim, "An Extended Field Reconstruction Method for Modelling of Switched Reluctance Machines", IEEE Trans on Magnetics,Volume: 48 ,Issue:2,pp:1051 - 1054, Feb. 2012. 2012 - Publication

Appointments

Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [2010–Present]
Associate Professor
University Texas at Arlington [2008–2010]
Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Arlington [2004–2008]
Assistant Professor
University of Missouri-Rolla [2002–2004]
Research scientist
Electro Standards Laboratories Inc. [2000–2002]
Post Doctoral research associate
Texas A&M University [1999–2000]
Research Assistant
Texas A&M University [1995–1999]
Research Assistant
RWTH Aachen [1993–1995]

Additional Information

Professional Society Memberships and Services
  • Chairman, Power Electronics committee of IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 2011-2013.
  • Member of AdCom in IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 2010-2012.
  • Chair, 2009 International Future Energy Challenge, IEEE-PELS. 
  • Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE).
  • Organizer, 2007 International Future Energy Challenge, Topic-B, Integrated Starter/Alternator, IEEE-PELS.
  • Chairman, Electric machines and drives committee of IEEE Industrial Electronics Society.
  • Chairman of the standards subcommittee in IEEE Industry applications electric machinery committee.
  • Editor in Chief, IEEE PELS newsletter, 2012- present.
  • Editor, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion.
  • Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.
  • Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.
  • Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.
  • Associate Editor, Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers.
  • Member of the editorial board for international journal of electric power systems and components.
  • NSF Panelist for proposal review, Power Systems and power electronics, and SBIR 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012.
  • Member of Society of automotive engineers (SAE).
  • Member of the steering committee of IEEE-VPP conference, 2008-2010.
  • Chairman of the steering committee, IEEE-APEC 2011.
  • Member of the steering committee, IEEE-IEMDC 2008-2012.
Honors and Awards
  • Keynote speaker at IEEE-ESARS 2012, Bologna, Italy, October 2012.
  • Technical Program Chair, Inaugural IEEE International Transportation Electrification Conference and Exposition, Detroit, MI, June 18-20, 2012.
  • Plenary speaker at IEEE Applied Power Electronic Conference and Expo, Orlando, February 2012.
  • Keynote speaker at IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference, Chicago, September 2011.
  • Recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship for Summer 2011(at RWTH –Aachen, Institute for electric machines).
  • Distinguished speaker in IEEE Vehicular Technology Society, 2011-2013.
  • Guest editor for the special section of IEEE P&E Magazine on Electrification, July 2011. This issue has won the APEX Grand Prize.
  • Recipient of Ralph Teetor Educational Award from Society of Automotive Engineers, April 2008.
  • Keynote speaker at IEEE International conference on electric machines and systems (ICEMS), South Korea, October 8-11, 2007.
  • Keynote speaker “ Monitoring and fault diagnosis of DC-DC multistage converter for hybrid electric vehicles”, IEEE SDEMPED 2005, International symposium on diagnostics for electric machines, power electronics, and drives, Vienna, Austria, 7-9 September 2005.
  • Recipient of the 2nd prize paper from IEEE-IAS Transactions, in 2006.
  • General Chairman of 2010 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), Palm Springs, CA.
  • General Chairman for IEEE Vehicle power and propulsion conference in 2007, Arlington, TX.
  • Technical Program Chair for IEEE-APEC in 2009, Washington, DC.
  • Technical Program Chair for IEEE International Conference on Electric Machines and Drives (IEMDC), 2005, San Antonio, TX.
  • Guest Editor, Special section of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics on switched reluctance machines.
  • Guest Editor, Special issue of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics on adjustable speed motor drives.
  • Guest Editor, Special issue of IEEE Transactions of Vehicular Technology on electromechanical energy converters in automotive applications.
  • Recipient of the Office of Naval Research young investigator award, 2004.
  • Recipient of the IEEE Richard M. Bass outstanding young power electronics investigator award from IEEE Power Electronics society, 2003.
  • Recipient of a 2 years DAAD (German academic exchange program) fellowship(1993-1995).
  • Listed in Marquis Who’s who 2005 and 2006 in engineering and science.
  • Listed in Marquis Who’s who 2006 in engineering education. Society of automotive engineers, Member service award.4
  • Graduation with the highest distinction in BSEE, and MSEE at University of Tehran, Iran, 1991 and 1993 respectively.
Courses Taught/Developed
  1. EE205 (Electromechanics), undergraduate course at UMR, Fall 2003, Spring 2003.
  2. EE305 (Electric drives), Undergraduate/graduate course at UMR, Fall 2002.
  3. EE401 (Automotive electronics, New), Graduate course at UMR, Spring 2003.
  4. EE401 (CAD in electric machinery and lab, New), Graduate course at UMR, Spring 2004.
  5. EE5309 (Power electronics engineering, New), Graduate course at UTA, Fall 2004.
  6. EE 5315 (DSP Microprocessors), Graduate course at UTA, Fall 2005.
  7. EE 5309 (Electric Drive Control, New), Graduate course at UTA, Fall 2005.
  8. EE3310 (Microprocessors), Undergraduate course at UTA, Fall 2006.
  9. EE 4348(Power Electronics Capstone Design Project), Undergraduate course at UTA, Fall 2006.
  10. EE5309 (Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles, New), Graduate course at UTA, Spring 2007.
  11. EE5309 (Renewable Energy Sources, New), in collaboration with Dr. Lee and Dr. Tao, Graduate course at UTA, Fall 2007.
  12. EE5309 (Sustainable Energy Sources, New), Graduate course at UTA, Fall 2008.

News Articles

New Device Could Give Boost to Renewable Energy
New Device Could Give Boost to Renewable Energy A UT Dallas researcher has developed a key element in the renewable energy equation: a prototype electronic interface that routes power from renewable sources to the power grid and electrical storage facilities. “Our Multi-Port Power Electronic Interface guarantees optimal energy harvesting from solar panels and wind turbines,” said Dr. Babak Fahimi, a professor of electrical engineering in the University’s Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. “This converter utilizes an adaptive controller to optimally increase efficiency and reliability for each operational condition while performing energy management algorithms to ensure the best performance.” Five years in development, the converter would be perfect for use by small to medium-size businesses, large residential buildings and shopping centers that decide to make an investment in renewable energy, Fahimi said.
Jonsson School Electrical Engineering Professor Elected IEEE Fellow
Jonsson School Electrical Engineering Professor Elected IEEE Fellow Renewable energy leader Dr. Babak Fahimi, a professor of electrical engineering in UT Dallas' Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional association for the advancement of technology.
Fahimi
has been teaching and conducting research in the power electronics area for almost 20 years.

“This is a unique honor for me and our power group,” he said. “I am especially honored that IEEE has acknowledged my contributions at this stage of my career.”
Lab Shows Powerful, Possible Next Step in Electric Motors at Summi
Lab Shows Powerful, Possible Next Step in Electric Motors at Summi A team from the Renewable Energy and Vehicular Technology Laboratory(REVT) at UT Dallas was one of a few research groups selected for advanced participation in a Department of Energy conference aimed at presenting the next generation of energy technologies.

The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program hosts an annual summit in Washington, D.C., for researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives and government officials to share transformational research funded through the program.
Jonsson School Team Demonstrates Renewable Power of Liquid Metal
Jonsson School Team Demonstrates Renewable Power of Liquid Metal University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed a generator prototype that uses liquid metal to convert waste heat from sources such as electric cars or data centers into clean electricity.

The researchers detailed the project in the October print edition of Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments.

“Heat is an abundant renewable energy source,” said Dr. Babak Fahimi, Distinguished Chair in Engineering and professor of electrical engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. “In data centers, for example, we spend a lot of time getting rid of the heat by using chillers and air conditioning. Our work focuses on recycling that heat back to electricity.”