We are a team of professionals dedicated to the development of cutting-edge technologies in the field of electrical energy management. Our team is led by Professors Félix Rojas and Javier Pereda, and includes permanent collaborating researchers from various universities around the world, as well as PhD and Master’s students. In addition, we offer internship opportunities for international students, professional practice placements, and co-supervision of local students, providing access to our facilities.
Principal Professor
Félix Rojas
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Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Associate Researcher at the UC Energy Center and the Solar Energy Research Center. Leader of the Power and Energy Conversion Laboratory (PECLab) at UC. PhD in Engineering from the Technical University of Munich; Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Santiago.
His research focuses on the development of power electronic converters applied to renewable energy systems, electromobility, and currently, wireless energy transmission. He has collaborated with industry in several technological development projects, such as the creation of electronic prototypes for high-current testing in distribution network connectors, and the design of systems for high-frequency and high-current plasma generation.
Principal Professor
Javier Pereda
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Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Associate Researcher at the UC Energy Center, and at Imperial College London, UK. PhD in Engineering Science from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Director of the Electric Vehicles Laboratory and a member of the UC Energy Center and the Solar Energy Research Center (SERC), where he leads innovative technology research projects.
With a strong background in teaching and scientific dissemination, his applied research spans energy conversion, electric vehicles, renewable energy, energy storage, motor drives, and power systems. His work aims to deliver high-impact technological solutions for a more sustainable energy future.
Drazen Dujic
Associate Professor and Head of the Power Electronics Laboratory at EPFL. He earned his Engineering and Master’s degrees from the University of Novi Sad (Serbia) and his PhD from Liverpool John Moores University (UK). He has held both academic and industrial research roles, including at ABB Switzerland.
His research focuses on the design and control of advanced high-power electronic systems for power generation, conversion, and storage. He has published over 200 scientific papers and holds 22 patents.
Recipient of the Istvan Nagy Award and the EPE Outstanding Service Award. Senior Member of IEEE and Chair of the IEEE PELS Region 8.
Christoph Michael Hackl
Professor of "Electrical Machines and Drives" at Hochschule München (HM), Germany. Earned his interdisciplinary PhD in Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, and Mathematics from TUM and TUI.
Former leader of the Renewable Energy Systems Control group at TUM and current co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Systems (ISES) at HM.
His research includes modeling, control, design, and optimization of power electronics and electric machines for renewable and mechatronic systems, including wind, geothermal, and wave energy, as well as EVs.
Senior Member of IEEE and reviewer for top journals like IEEE TIE, TPEL, and TAC, with over 150 publications.
Ricardo P. Aguilera
Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Antofagasta (Chile, 2003), MSc from UTFSM (Chile, 2007), and PhD from the University of Newcastle (Australia, 2012).
Postdoctoral and senior research roles at UoN and UNSW. Currently Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
His research focuses on model predictive control for power electronics, renewable integration, and microgrids. Vice Chair of the IEEE NSW Joint Chapter PEL/IES/IAS since 2021.
Alan Watson
Senior Member, IEEE. BSc and PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Nottingham (UK, 2004 and 2008).
Senior Researcher and currently Associate Professor at Nottingham, with a focus on high-power converter topologies for grid-connected systems, including HVDC and flexible AC transmission. He has led or participated in numerous high-impact research projects.
Jon Clare
Senior Member, IEEE. BSc and PhD from the University of Bristol (UK, 1979 and 1990).
Professor of Power Electronics at the University of Nottingham and Director of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Researcher in the Power Electronics, Machines and Control Group. Expert in power converter applications and control. Recipient of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.
Andrés Mora
Associate Professor at UTFSM (Chile). PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Chile (2019).
His research includes model predictive control applied to drives, power electronics, multilevel converters, and renewable energy systems.
Co-author of influential publications such as “Latest advances of model predictive control in electrical drives” in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.
Michael M.C. Merlin
Full Professor in Energy Systems at the University of Edinburgh. Leads the Power Electronics Group.
PhD and MSc from Imperial College London, Diplôme d'Ingénieur from ENSEA (France), and DUT from IUT Belfort-Montbéliard.
His research covers modeling and control of high-power converters (AC-DC, DC-DC), both under normal and fault conditions.
Teaches courses on Advanced Control and Smart Grids. Royal Academy of Engineering Fellow, with over 60 publications and 2,800+ citations. Collaborator with Imperial, Edinburgh, and KU Leuven.
Francisco Rubio
Electrical Civil Engineer, MSc in Power Electronics. Currently Project Manager and R&D Engineer at PECLab.
Expertise: PCB design, PV system design, analog/digital hardware, multilevel and solar converters, motor drive programming.
Manuel López
BSc and MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Santiago (2022, 2023).
R&D Engineer at PECLab.
Experience in control systems for converters, EV chargers, energy storage integration, and real-time control platforms.
Works on FONDEF project ID23I10387: Fast EV Charger with Second-Life Lithium Battery Modules for Smart Charging.
Álvaro Ortiz
Electrical Civil Engineer and MSc from UTFSM (2023).
R&D Engineer at PECLab, UC.
Focus on hardware development for renewable and EV charging applications, including converter simulation in PLECS, PCB design in Altium, and control implementation in SoC/DSP+FPGA platforms.
Emanuel Cornejo
Electrical Civil Engineer from the University of Santiago de Chile (2020).
Currently R&D Engineer at PECLab, UC.
Works on FONDEF and CORFO projects in renewable energy, e-mobility, and power electronics.
Skills: PCB and DC/AC converter design, multilevel converters, embedded systems programming.
Participated in project ID20i10267 CORFO (2021–2023): Modular EV Charger with Energy Storage for Smart Demand Management.