Smart grid is a concept that has been gaining traction and attention in the field of electric utilities. Now, the University of Vermont is announcing a new multi-disciplinary program in smart grid.Jeff Marshall is a professor in UVM’s School of Engineering. He says the UVM will train PhD students to analyze questions related to how smart grid is implemented.
"The utilities are sort of in a state where, they’re putting in all this infrastructure but they haven’t entirely thought through the implications of how are we going to use this to flatten the load curve, how are we going to use this to get more renewable type of energy," says Marshall. He also says privacy and cyber security are among the issues the students will tackle.
The multi-disciplinary program is funded by a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation.