Clemson University’s Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones has named Kevin Tomsovic executive director of Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI), Duke Energy Endowed Chair in Smart Grid Technology and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The appointment was approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Trustees on Friday, April 5.
A National Academy of Engineering member and an IEEE Fellow, Tomsovic comes from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he served as director of the Center for Ultra-Wide Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks, known as CURENT, and Chancellor’s Professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
His areas of interest include intelligent systems and optimization methodologies applied to various power system problems, including distribution system design, electricity market analysis, equipment diagnostics and maintenance, operation of dispersed energy resources and stabilization control.
This is very exciting news for Clemson University. Kevin’s leadership will bring national recognition to Clemson’s innovation campus in Charleston while positioning it as a hub for cutting-edge energy research and technology development. His scholarly achievement and groundbreaking research place Kevin at the top of his field and having him join the University in this new position elevates Clemson’s research enterprise to another level.”
Clemson University’s Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones
He has received numerous awards from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including the 2017 Research and Creative Achievement Award for excellence in research, scholarship and creative achievement, the 2016 Moses E. and Mayme Brooks Distinguished Professor Award for distinguished teaching and engineering practice and the 2015 Research Achievement Award for receiving national and international recognition in his field.
“Kevin Tomsovic’s appointment marks a pivotal moment for Clemson’s innovation campus in the Lowcountry,” said Anand Gramopadhye, dean of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. “Dr. Tomsovic brings impeccable credentials to his new role, and I look forward to working with him. We are well-positioned to advance energy research and to create the workforce of the future in Charleston and beyond.”
“I am excited about this opportunity that fits well with my own research interests on modernizing the electric power grid. The CURI facility has great untapped potential for not only state-of-the-art research in renewable energy but also as a catalyst for economic development in the South Carolina Lowcountry,” said Tomsovic, who will be based at CURI in North Charleston.
Tomsovic joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2008 as a professor and department head of electrical engineering and computer science. Before that, he had positions as an associate professor and professor at Washington State University. Tomsovic has also served as the Kyushu Electric Endowed Chair for Advanced Technology for Electrical Energy at Kumamoto University in Japan and was a National Science Foundation program director in the Electrical and Communications Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate. He has held faculty positions at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.
Tomsovic holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Master of Science and doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Washington.