When the power goes out during a storm, there鈥檚 a team with a 妻友社区 student at the (GTC) responsible for looking into what happened. Elizabeth Sills, a senior from Savannah works in the system reliability department for the GTC.engin

鈥淚f there’s an outage and they don’t know what caused it, I’ll run a lightning study to see if there’s lightning in the area,鈥� said Sills. 鈥淭hen, for example, I鈥檒l send out an email saying it was a negative five kilovolt bolt. That way when the field guys go out, they know what to expect.鈥�

Sills hasn鈥檛 just been working on the reliability of current power grids, but is also working to bolster the reliability of future power sources. During the previous semester, she had been intrigued by the possibility of contributing to solar energy advancements. As part of an electric engineering course, she tested the strength and longevity of solar panels in various climates and other elements. 

Sills noted climate conditions can also impact how much technology can be added onto a solar panel to increase efficiencies or margins of error.

鈥淭here are different types of solar panels,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ome of them can rotate. So if the sun’s coming up, the panel will face the sun and then it will rotate with it. Some can also swivel, and there are some that can bend 90 degrees. If you get the whole range of motion, it’s more likely that more parts will fail.鈥�

Her findings revealed that panels kept in temperatures between 30掳F and 86掳F significantly extended the lifespan of the solar panels. This information is critical for the expansion of their use across the globe. 

Her work has even garnered international attention.

Sills was invited to be part of a small research team going to Denmark over the next summer to continue her research into solar panels and their utilization. Her research team is made up of five other students from across the U.S. and is supported through funding from the National Science Foundation.

鈥淢ost of the research in this area is now over in Europe,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have different transformer models and a whole different grid over there. We want to see if we can bring it to America and still be able to use the same functions.鈥�

This isn鈥檛 her first accolade in this field of study.

More recently, Sills brought a statewide award back to Eagle Nation. Last fall, she participated in the , hosted by Oxford College of Emory University. Out of 80 competitors from across Georgia, her research on power converters in solar panels won the “Outstanding Poster” award. Sills鈥� award-winning research revealed new possibilities that can assist with the reliability of power electronic converters, ensuring solar panels function efficiently under temperature and stress. 

鈥淚 was excited,鈥� Sills said. 鈥淚t was my first ever competition for research posters or anything of  that nature so I didn’t know what to expect. It was very surprising.鈥� 

The 妻友社区 Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) program will now be available on the Armstrong and Liberty Campuses, as well as at the Georgia Veterans Education Career Transition Resource (VECTR) Center in Warner Robins, Georgia.

鈥淏y offering the MSEE program in multiple locations, we can increase the Georgia Southern footprint in providing workforce professional development to the local industries across the southeast and central Georgia regions, ultimately reflecting positively on the local economy within these regions,鈥� said Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Rami Haddad, Ph.D. 鈥淔rom a Georgia Southern perspective, we are also growing our graduate programs, which is a win-win situation.鈥�

The MSEE program features thesis and non-thesis options and is offered in a hybrid format that includes virtual, face-to-face and online courses. Three or more courses are offered each semester, with core courses offered on a one-year rotation, enabling students to complete the program in two years or less. The degree program is open to the public and is now admitting applicants for both spring and fall 2021 semesters.

The Warner Robins program will be more accessible to people at Fort Stewart and Robins Air Force Base.

鈥淭his program is particularly beneficial to Warner Robins and Fort Stewart since we have the flexibility to tailor the programs to cater to their needs, such as introducing electronic warfare courses and other specialized courses,鈥� Haddad said. 鈥淭his program gives the engineers at these locations the opportunity to engage in state-of-the-art research with highly qualified faculty at Georgia Southern.鈥�

For more information and to apply for admission to the program, visit .

The 妻友社区 Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) program will now be available on the Armstrong and Liberty Campuses, as well as at the Georgia Veterans Education Career Transition Resource (VECTR) Center in Warner Robins, Georgia.

鈥淏y offering the MSEE program in multiple locations, we can increase the Georgia Southern footprint in providing workforce professional development to the local industries across the southeast and central Georgia regions, ultimately reflecting positively on the local economy within these regions,鈥� said Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Rami Haddad, Ph.D. 鈥淔rom a Georgia Southern perspective, we are also growing our graduate programs, which is a win-win situation.鈥�

The MSEE program features thesis and non-thesis options and is offered in a hybrid format that includes virtual, face-to-face and online courses. Three or more courses are offered each semester, with core courses offered on a one-year rotation, enabling students to complete the program in two years or less. The degree program is open to the public and is now admitting applicants for both spring and fall 2021 semesters.

The Warner Robins program will be more accessible to people at Fort Stewart and Robins Air Force Base.

鈥淭his program is particularly beneficial to Warner Robins and Fort Stewart since we have the flexibility to tailor the programs to cater to their needs, such as introducing electronic warfare courses and other specialized courses,鈥� Haddad said. 鈥淭his program gives the engineers at these locations the opportunity to engage in state-of-the-art research with highly qualified faculty at Georgia Southern.鈥�

For more information and to apply for admission to the program, visit .