Dr. Hariharan Krishnaswami joined the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) as an ORISE Science and Technology Policy Senior Fellow in January 2018. Hariharan is passionate about developing power electronics technology that will increase the share of renewable energy in electricity generation. Hariharan is assisting the SETO systems integration team in solar photovoltaic inverter research to ensure reliable and efficient integration of solar electricity into the power grid.

Prior to his role in the Energy Department, Hariharan served as associate professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio. There, he led research focused on systems integration challenges associated with high penetration levels of solar on the grid. He has managed, as principal investigator, projects funded by the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and local electric utility company in the areas of power electronics for solar, real-time simulation, and solar forecasting respectively.

Hariharan earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in electrical engineering in 2009, and his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Science in 2002. He has authored several papers in power electronic converters and control, and has over 15 years of experience in the power electronics field, including over 8 years of post-Ph.D. experience dedicated towards research on photovoltaic inverters, solar forecasting, and grid integration. In addition to research, Hariharan is also passionate about mentoring next generation power engineers and many of his students are now employed by electric utilities.