On January 23, at the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Grid Edge Technologies Expo held in San Diego, USA, the winners of the second IEEE PES Ph.D. Dissertation Challenge were announced. This global competition recognized four awardees, among whom Wen Yilin, a 2024 Ph.D. graduate from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA) at Tsinghua University, won the Best Research Award, while Lv Ruike, a 2021 Ph.D. student from the same department, received the Best Presentation Award. Wen Yilin was the only recipient from a Chinese university among the winners, and Lv Ruike was the only currently enrolled doctoral student from a Chinese university to receive the award.

The IEEE PES Ph.D. Dissertation Challenge is held biennially, inviting Ph.D. students worldwide to present their dissertation research findings through oral presentations. This year, 20 finalists competed in the final round, where two winners were selected for the Best Research Award and two for the Best Presentation Award, each receiving a $5,000 prize. Another Best Presentation Award winner was Dr. Chen Cong from Cornell University, who earned her master’s degree from Tsinghua University in 2019.

As one of the world's largest professional organizations in power and energy, IEEE PES has over 40,000 members across 150+ countries and regions. The society consists of 17 technical committees and 4 coordinating committees, dedicated to advancing technological innovation, establishing industry standards, and leading the development of the power sector. Furthermore, IEEE PES publishes multiple highly influential journals in the fields of power systems, smart grids, and renewable energy.

Wen Yilin

Wen Yilin was a direct-track Ph.D. student in EEA (admitted in 2020) and graduated in December 2024 under the supervision of Associate Professor Hu Zechun. His dissertation, titled "Theory and Methods for the Aggregation of Large-scale Distributed Energy Resources," focuses on research areas including demand-side management, coordinated dispatch of transmission and distribution networks, electric vehicles, and integrated energy systems. He has published multiple papers in top-tier power engineering journals such as IEEE Transactions on Power Systems (TPWRS) and IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid (TSG). His accolades include the National Scholarship for Doctoral Students and recognition as an Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate of Beijing.

Lv Ruike

Lv Ruike is a direct-track Ph.D. student in EEA (admitted in 2021), supervised by Professor Kang Chongqing. His dissertation, titled "Interaction between Industrial Users and Power Grid: A Virtual Power Plant Perspective," is based on modeling the energy consumption mechanisms of industrial loads. His research systematically addresses challenges such as missing model parameters, high computational complexity, and simplistic market interaction strategies in industrial user-grid interactions. He has published multiple papers in leading energy journals such as IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid (TSG) and Applied Energy. He has also received honors including the 2023 National Scholarship for Graduate Students and recognition as a December 9th Memorial Tutor (2024).