Electrical Engineering Seminar

What:      EE Department Seminar

Title:       Cyber-Physical Power System Restoration for Holistic Disaster Resilience

Speaker:   Yuzhang Lin, New York University

Date & Time: November 10, 2025, 2:00pm

Location:   Steinman Hall Exhibit Room

Abstract: Modern power grids have evolved into massive-scale cyber-physical systems, with interdependence between information and communication (ICT) networks and physical power grids. Unfortunately, high-impact low-probability (HILP) events such as extreme weather events, natural disasters, and malicious cyber-physical attacks often affect cyber and physical systems simultaneously, leading to cascading failures propagated between the two domains. In this talk, we will present a coordinated cyber-physical restoration approach, where the failed components are restored and brought back online with optimal sequential decision-making on system restoration actions considering the cyber-physical interdependence. The cyber network restoration will be oriented by the observability and controllability needs of the physical grid, while the physical grid restoration will be assisted by the observability and controllability regained through cyber network restoration. The talk will demonstrate how the integration of cyber and physical knowledge and coordinated actions between the two domains can render a much more resilient smart grid infrastructure than siloed practices. 

Bio: Dr. Yuzhang Lin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New York University. His research interests focus on smart power grids, particularly in the aspects of data-driven modeling, situational awareness, cyber-physical resilience, and machine learning applications. He has published 5 book chapters and more than 50 journal papers, and his research has been widely supported by NSF, DOE OE/EERE/CESER/GDO, ONR, NYSERDA, national laboratories, and the power industry. He is currently working with many utilities in New York State on smart grid technology research, development and demonstration. He serves as the Co-Chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Task Force on Standard Test Cases for Power Systems State Estimation, and the Secretary of the IEEE PES Distribution System Operation and Planning Subcommittee. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions of Power Systems. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award.

RSVP Here: https://forms.gle/vkMDtKcUZFAAz57W6

Electrical Engineering Seminar

What:      EE Department Seminar

Title:        Human-Robot Collaboration for Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing

Speaker: Weitian Wang, Montclair State University

Date & Time: December 09, 2025, 1:00pm

Location: Steinman Hall Exhibit Room

RSVP Link: https://forms.gle/rbdXkqWGMAVbMqpf9

Abstract: During the Industry 5.0 revolution, collaborative robots play a pivotal role in advancing manufacturing and remanufacturing automation and intelligence. Different from traditional industrial robots, which are fenced off from human workers on production lines, collaborative robots make a tremendous shift to coexist and collaborate with human workers in open environments for shared tasks. This makes robots capable of democratizing manufacturing industries with dynamic customer demands, high flexibility, and low cost. In human-robot collaborative manufacturing and remanufacturing, humans have unmatched problem-solving skills and develop creative and unique solutions compared to robots, which can provide physical assistance, free human partners from dangerous tasks, and lower the stress of human collaborators. In this talk, Dr. Wang will give a brief introduction to robotics and AI research and education at Montclair State University. Then he will share some of his research projects focusing on human-robot collaboration in smart manufacturing contexts, including current challenges, the needs of HRC, robot learning from human demonstrations, human factors in human-robot collaboration, and new robot system development. Experimental results and discussions in real-world human-robot collaborative contexts will be presented.

Bio: Dr. Weitian Wang (Senior Member of IEEE and ACM) is an associate professor in the School of Computing at Montclair State University and the Director of Montclair Collaborative Robotics and Smart Systems Laboratory (CRoSS Lab) and NSF MRI MCROS Site. His research focuses on collaborative robotics, artificial intelligence, smart systems, and their synergistic CRoSS-disciplinary applications in smart manufacturing and remanufacturing, healthcare, smart ecosystem, intelligent transportation, and smart agriculture. Dr. Wang is the recipient of NSFCAREER, CRII, MRI, and ERI Awards. He received the IEEE R1 Technological Innovation Award for his contributions to collaborative robotics and human-robot interaction. The results of his work have been published in numerous peer-reviewed international journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. He received multiple IEEE/ASME Best Paper/Presentation/Mentor Awards in his research activities. He serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE TASE and THMS, Treasurer of the IEEE North Jersey Section, and Chair of the IEEE NJ SMC Chapter. Dr. Wang is the recipient of the inaugural Montclair Presidential Excellence Award and the Montclair State University Advising Excellence Faculty Advisor Award.