Kory Hedman named director of the Power Systems Engineering Research Center

Kory Hedman, associate professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University, has been named the new director of the Power Systems Engineering Research Center, or PSERC. Hedman will replace ASU Regents Professor Vijay Vittal, who has held the position for the last 15 years. 

PSERC was created in 1996 as a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center to address critical challenges in creating a modern electric energy infrastructure. The center’s mission is to empower minds to engineer the future electric energy system.

Hedman’s first involvement with PSERC was as a master’s student at Iowa State University. His relationship with the center continued as he pursued his doctorate from UC Berkeley and through his faculty appointment at ASU. Hedman has led several PSERC research projects, served as ASU site director and as the markets STEM chair. 

“Kory’s long association with PSERC through three universities that are PSERC members will serve PSERC well,” says Vittal, PSERC’s current director. “Kory also has built a long-standing association with PSERC industry members and this combined with his recent ARPA-E program director experience will serve PSERC well in guiding it in the future.”

Stephen Philips, director of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, notes, “Professor Hedman’s impressive research record, coupled with his leadership in service to both the university and federal agencies positions him to advance one of ASU’s most impactful national research centers with 12 universities and 25 industry members.”

At ASU, Hedman is an acclaimed researcher whose interests include energy systems, power system economics, mathematical programming, power systems operations and planning, transmission engineering, renewable energy, electric energy market design and pricing, cyber-physical electric power systems, smart grid, distributed energy resources and demand response.

Recent notable accolades for Hedman include the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Barack H. Obama, and the 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society Outstanding Young Engineer Award. 

Hedman holds six degrees, two bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and economics from the University of Washington, a master’s in economics and electrical engineering from Iowa State University, and a master’s and a doctorate in operations research from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Before joining ASU, Kory Hedman worked in the industry for the California ISO in Folsom, California, on transmission planning, and for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., on transmission switching. 

Kory Hedman takes the reins of PSERC in October 2020.