Age: 38
Occupation: Assistant professor, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary
Oil and gas may be the star of Alberta’s energy sector, but engineer Mostafa Farrokhabadi’s energy is focused on electricity. With demand for electrical power rising across the province, the assistant professor’s leadership is making access to electricity more sustainable, affordable and reliable for all Albertans.
“My primary area of focus is the energy transition,” he says. “In my research group, we look into improving the way that the entire electricity sector is being controlled and optimized.”
Farrokhabadi has been directing the University of Calgary’s Distribution Grids Research & Innovation (DRGI) Lab since 2022. His work involves using machine learning to develop intelligent tools that support the transition towards more sustainable, reliable and affordable electricity (e.g., by helping utility companies, including ENMAX, become more efficient at predicting electricity demand and preventing blackouts). Because the number and variety of electricity users in Alberta is expanding, the electrical grid is becoming more complex, creating unprecedented challenges, says Farrokhabadi.
“Some of the complexity can be addressed by more intelligent control optimization methods, including machine learning.”
Not only has Farrokhabadi’s research leadership earned the DGRI Lab $1.5 million in grants from the federal and provincial governments and non-profit organizations, but his team’s innovations have helped attract an estimated $5 million in public and private investment to Alberta.
Remarkably, in the last decade alone, thousands of energy researchers worldwide have cited Farrokhabadi’s work, including 39 academic papers and eight patents. The fundamental physics needed to sustain the electrical grid is identical across jurisdictions, says Farrokhabadi. Consequently, the technological advancements introduced by the DGRI Lab in Calgary can help improve reliable access to electricity around the globe.
“As engineers, our mandate is not only to make electricity more affordable and reliable,” he says, “but also more accessible for fellow human beings who don’t have access to electricity right now — the challenge of electrification is a global one.”
Given the nature of the challenge, and Alberta’s influential role in the energy sector, Farrokhabadi’s state-of-the-art lab continues to attract top researchers specializing in dynamic modelling, grid control and optimization.
“Alberta is a unique place with a lot of interesting initiatives,” he says. “It’s a really exciting place to work.”
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