EE student Leonard Kapiloff earns PES scholarship to support studies in secure, sustainable grid

Leonard Kapiloff, undergraduate electrical engineering student, has been named a future power and energy leader by the IEEE Power & Energy Society, which recently awarded him a Power and Energy Society (PES) Scholarship for the 2016-17 academic year. This $2000 scholarship recognizes outstanding students committed to exploring the power and energy field. Leonard is also earning a minor in Energy Science and Policy.

Leonard wants to work in the energy industry towards a more sustainable and secure electric grid.

“I became interested in the field of power systems largely as a result of the environmental impacts associated with the generation of electricity,” says Leonard. “As I learned more about the industry, I was further intrigued by the importance of a reliable electricity supply for the economy and national security.”

In the summer of 2016, Leonard worked for Dominion Resources, a power and energy company in Virginia, as a systems operations center intern. While there, he worked on control room contingency analysis to prevent blackouts on the grid. This included developing a program for automated notification of power fluctuations to key customers, including the Pentagon and other federal agencies. He also researched methods for integrating solar forecasting into electric grid reliability studies.

Leonard has spent a great deal of time doing research, with his first experience at the Israel Institute of Technology doing battery performance analysis. In 2014 he worked as a Corrosion Research Intern at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland, studying crack repair and corrosion on naval ships and weaponry. During the 2015-16 school year he worked as a research assistant in U-M’s Bio-Plasmonics Lab, where he simulated and constructed solar energy harvesting nano-structures to determine their optimal light absorption.

Outside of his studies, he participates in Michigan Club Wrestling and has worked as a summer counselor at a camp for teens.

Leonard plans to graduate in May of 2018.

About the PES Scholarship

The PES Scholarship, sponsored by the IEEE Power & Energy Society, “supports the most promising future engineers in power and energy.” The initiative recognizes undergraduate students who have declared a major in electrical and computer engineering, are high achievers with strong GPAs and extracurricular commitments, and are committed to exploring the power and energy field. The P&E Society awarded 230 students from 110 U.S., Canadian, and Puerto Rican universities for the 2016-17 academic year.

Related Stories: Student News ◦ Power and Energy