Sai Sowmya Nagam
Role: Final Year PhD student in Control and Power research group at Imperial College London.
Subject area: Enhancing stability of power systems with integrated renewable resources
Nationality: Indian
I’m a final year PhD student in Control and Power research group at Imperial College. My research focuses on improving stability of wind energy systems. I come from India where I’ve studied till Master’s level, and I moved to London in 2020 to pursue my PhD.
Education
GCSE and A-level equivalent) High school equivalent (Maths, Physics and Chemistry) in India
Degrees:
• BTech Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Raipur, India
• MTech Power Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
• PhD (ongoing) Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Imperial College London
Details about Sai
My research
While it is important to increase renewable energy generation to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel-based generation, we should do it without compromising the stability and reliability of existing power system. I work on ensuring stable and efficient integration of wind energy systems with the existing power system.
My inspiration
I chose electrical engineering (EE) at Bachelors’ level simply because I loved solving electric circuit problems. With time I realised EE’s impact on energy transition and climate change, which led me to pursue advanced degrees with emphasis on renewable energy.
Who is your STEM hero?
Edith Clarke, the first female electrical engineer to be professionally employed in United States. She specialised in AC circuit analysis and is well-known for the Clarke calculator and Clarke transformation. She persisted against all odds and was a trailblazer in electrical engineering field.
Most significant discovery/invention?
Discovery of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) impact on ozone layer depletion (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1995). This theory led to the landmark Montreal Protocol in 1987; the only UN environmental treaty ratified by all member nations, which in-turn gave us a fighting chance against climate change and saved millions of lives.
Career options after study
Personally, I’d like to work in power system industry where I can translate research into real-life solutions. There’re numerous other career opportunities in research labs, academia, policy and governance.
My hobbies
Reading, cooking, badminton and frisbee. Also, I follow geopolitics, which in my mind is the most incredible and complicated narrative, which happens to hold the power to make or break the world as we know it.