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Biographical Information for Workshop Planning Committee Members

ANURADHA M. ANNASWAMY (Chair) is the founder and director of the Active-Adaptive Control Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her research interests span adaptive control theory and its applications to aerospace, automotive, propulsion, and energy systems as well as cyber-physical systems such as Smart Grids, Smart Cities, and Smart Infrastructures. She has received best paper awards (Axelby; CSM), as well as Distinguished Member and Distinguished Lecturer awards from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Society (CSS) and a Presidential Young Investigator award from the National Science Foundation. She is a Fellow of IEEE and the International Federation of Automatic Control. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indian Institute of Science for 2021. Dr. Annaswamy received her PhD in electrical engineering from Yale University in 1985. She has served as a faculty member at Yale, Boston University, and MIT. She is the author of a graduate textbook on adaptive control, co-editor of two vision documents on smart grids as well as two editions of the Impact of Control Technology report, author of several journals and conference publications, and a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that published the 2021 report The Future of Electric Power in the United States. She served as the president of CSS in 2020. She has been serving as a faculty lead in the Electric Power Systems workstream in the MIT Future Energy Systems Center since September 2021.

MURALI MOHAN BAGGU is the laboratory program manager for grid integration at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In his current capacity, he holds a pivotal role in overseeing various programs critical to advancing grid integration, including the Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Grid Deployment Office, and Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium initiatives at NREL. Notably, Dr. Baggu spearheads NREL’s groundbreaking research in Advanced Distribution Management Systems and plays a pivotal role in the Puerto Rico Grid Recovery and Resilience endeavor. He is also a co-principal investigator of PR100: Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transition to 100% Renewable Energy Study. Dr. Baggu’s research interests are anchored in the fields of grid integration of renewable energy systems, encompassing both wind and photovoltaic sources, energy storage system integration, and the intricate domains of distribution automation and grid operations and control. His noteworthy accomplishments are reflected in his portfolio, which includes an array of 5 patents and more than 80 publications that have significantly contributed to the advancement of these research areas. Dr. Baggu has a PhD in power engineering from Missouri S&T.

SHAY MATTHEW BANTON (they/them) is an energy systems and policy specialist and an MS candidate in energy policy and climate at Johns Hopkins University. They currently serve as a regulatory program engineer and energy justice policy advocate for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, where they lead the development of regulatory frameworks for evaluating inequities within DER interconnection processes and are co-authoring an innovative integrated distribution planning guidebook for prioritizing equity-centered, climate-resilient distribution system investments. They also consult for the non-profit Just Solutions, where they are researching resilience applications for long-duration energy storage systems in enabling economical and climate-resilient microgrids for frontline communities. One of Banton’s most significant career accomplishments was during their time with the Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, where they co-led the development of one of the agency’s most ambitious interagency programs aimed at addressing nationwide interconnection challenges, the Interconnection Innovation eXchange. Banton holds a BS in systems science and engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

JANET GAIL BESSER is a nationally recognized energy policy and regulatory strategy expert, with experience as a regulator, clean energy business association leader, utility executive, developer, consultant, and consumer advocate. She is currently moderating the New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable and undertaking other select projects. Previously,

Besser was the vice president of regulatory and business innovation at the Smart Electric Power Alliance; executive vice president of the Northeast Clean Energy Council; vice president of regulatory strategy and policy at National Grid; chair and commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities; and an executive and expert at Analysis Group and Lexecon. She held senior staff roles at the Massachusetts Energy Office and the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, was the policy director for a national IPP association, and worked for a small hydro developer and low-income consumer advocate. In 2022–2023, Besser chaired the National Academies’ Committee on the Role of Net Metering in the Evolving Electricity System. She is the chair of the Power Options Board and serves on the VEIC Board where she chairs the Impact and Evaluation Committee. She has an MPP from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a BA, magna cum laude, from Williams College.

JEFFERY DAGLE has worked at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy (DOE) since 1989. He has expertise in power system modeling, analysis, and advanced measurements, supporting or leading numerous projects in the areas of transmission reliability and security. Recent project highlights include leading the North American SynchroPhasor Initiative and serving on the leadership team of the DOE Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, leading the multi-laboratory system operations and control technical area. Dagle is the co-director of the Advanced Grid Institute, a joint institute with Washington State University. He is a senior member of IEEE and currently serves as the vice president for the eastern region of the Washington Society of Professional Engineers. He received a BS and an MS in electrical engineering from Washington State University in 1989 and 1994, respectively, and is a registered professional engineer in Washington State.

DEBRA LEW is the associate director of the Energy Systems Integration Group, which is an educational, member-driven organization that provides peer learning on state-of-the-art issues in electricity and energy systems integration. She has expertise in wind, solar, and distributed energy resources integration and a focus on 100% clean energy systems. She is a past chair of the IEEE PES Renewables Systems Integration Coordinating Committee, member of the IEEE Standards Committee 21 that focuses on DER standards including IEEE 1547, and a member of the IEA Wind Task 25. She has written numerous papers and speaks globally on issues of energy systems integration. She previously worked at NREL, GE, the International Institute for Energy Conservation, Princeton University, and was seconded to Hawaiian Electric Company during 2009–2010. She has a PhD and an MS in applied physics from Stanford University and a BS in electrical engineering and physics from MIT.