teaching

Teaching is central to my academic and professional life. I have been fortunate to engage with, teach, and learn from a great many wonderful students over the years.

I have experience teaching technical topics in energy and computation to a diversity of students, from engineering graduate students to elementary school science teachers. Descriptions of my teaching engagments, and some student testimonials, are provided here.

Alameda Elementary Environmental Literacy Institute

Fall 2019

The Alameda Elementary Literacy Institute (AEEL) connects educators with scientists to explore emerging topics in science and engineering, equipping teachers with new content to enrich their classroom curricula. I introduced teachers to the fundamentals of electricity, power generation technologies, and power grids. I developed a variety of activities to communicate key concepts at a level that was accessible and engaging to non-engineers, including short readings, a hands-on activity to develop and test a solar oven, and an interactive game that introduced the challenge of continually balancing power supply and demand in the electric grid. Read more about the session here.

Introduction to Electrical Power Systems

[EE137A], Fall 2020, UC Berkeley

Graduate student instructor for Berkeley’s two semester power systems course sequence. Course description:

Overview of conventional electric power conversion and delivery, emphasizing a systemic understanding of the electric grid with primary focus at the transmission level, aimed toward recognizing needs and opportunities for technological innovation. Topics include aspects of a.c. system design, electric generators, components of transmission and distribution systems, power flow analysis, system planning and operation, performance measures, and limitations of legacy technologies.

I led discussion sections, preparing short lectures and interactive exercises. I worked directly with students on challenging topics and answered their questions in weekly office hours. Students consisted primarily of engineering undergraduates and some graduate students pursuing research in the energy space.

Introduction to Electrical Power Systems

[EE137B], Spring 2019, UC Berkeley

Graduate student instructor for Berkeley’s two semester power systems course sequence. Course description:

Overview of recent and potential future evolution of electric power systems with focus on new and emerging technologies for power conversion and delivery, primarily at the distribution level. Topics include power electronics applications, solar and wind generation, distribution system design and operation, electric energy storage, information management and communications, demand response, and microgrids.

I led discussion sections, preparing short lectures and interactive exercises. I worked directly with students on challenging topics and answered their questions in weekly office hours. Students consisted primarily of engineering undergraduates and some graduate students pursuing research in the energy space.