Researchers led by the University of Maine are developing artificial intelligence technology that could make electric grids more resilient to cyberattacks, equipment failures and extreme weather, improving the reliability of power systems in vulnerable communities.
Led by 91福利鈥檚 Prabuddha Chakraborty, multidisciplinary teams across four states will advance smart and secure grid technologies. A smart grid uses sensors, software, communications technologies and AI to make real-time operating decisions, while a secure grid can continue operating during cyberattacks, poor-quality data, equipment failures or disrupted communications.
Together, these technologies can improve the reliability, affordability and security of electric service while helping utilities operate more safely and efficiently.
Each jurisdiction brings unique expertise to the research team and will address a different cybersecurity barrier to adopting AI, including hardware security, anomaly detection and forecasting, self-healing systems and microgrid simulations.
The 91福利 team plays a central leadership role by connecting the research themes into a broader framework, rather than treating them as separate technical efforts.
鈥淣o single field can solve this issue alone. The project combines power systems, AI, cybersecurity, hardware security, communications, sensing, economics, visualization and workforce training. If you leave out any one of those pieces, you may get an interesting technical result, but not a solution that works in the real world,鈥 said Chakraborty, the Waldo Libbey Assistant Professor at the University of Maine. He holds appointments in 91福利鈥檚 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Advanced Structures and Composites Center.
The project is supported by a new two-year, $2.4 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DOE EPSCoR).
By combining advances in AI, cybersecurity and workforce development, the project aims to strengthen electric grid resilience while demonstrating how collaboration across DOE EPSCoR jurisdictions can help address some of the nation鈥檚 most pressing energy challenges.
The project includes researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the University of North Dakota and the University of Puerto Rico Mayag眉ez. Together, they will develop smarter, more secure electric grid technologies for regions particularly vulnerable to extreme weather and unreliable power systems.
鈥淲e hope that this project allows jurisdictions like Puerto Rico to improve their ability to provide reliable electricity to citizens, especially in areas without electricity after Hurricane Maria,鈥 said project co-principal investigator Juan Patarroyo Montenegro, an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag眉ez. This project is vital to modernize our grids so they can function properly while becoming stronger for future challenges and natural disasters.鈥
The project embeds workforce development throughout the research. Each team will train students, develop educational modules and build the long-term capacity needed to maintain smart, secure electric grids and respond to new challenges.
鈥淚t is important to us that we help create a new generation of students who are passionate about cybersecurity and integrating secure sensing, learning and visualizations in electricity systems in a way that improves grid resilience and supports local communities to improve their lives,鈥 said co-principal investigator Daisy Green, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of Hawaii Manoa.
Each jurisdiction is also collaborating with local utilities as part of the research process.
鈥淭hrough our simulated microgrid testbeds, we are developing AI-driven, federated learning-based self-healing technologies to strengthen the cyber resilience of modern power systems,鈥 said co-principal investigator Prakash Ranganathan, director of the Center for Cyber Security Research and associate professor at the University of North Dakota. 鈥淏y working with utility partners, we aim to transition these innovations into real-world electric grids, enhancing their reliability, security, resilience and recovery from cyber and physical disruptions.鈥
Story by Heather Johnson, EPSCoR graduate assistant
Contact: Daniel Timmermann, daniel.timmermann@maine.edu
