Workforce Development

UG / MS / PhD Research: Throughout the year, we had five PHD students, two MS students, and two UG students from UNC Charlotte participate in testbed construction and preliminary experiments. This allowed for a full-immersion experience in experience areas such as smart home cloud systems, virtual device connections, power simulation software, fuzzing and penetration testing, and many more.

NSF REU: The UNC Charlotte College of Computing and Informatics is home to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)—CCI NSF REU Site on Smart and Secure Computing. Participants in the program helped set up the solar HIL testbed and conducted preliminary experiments. As part of their work on the ROI project, participants had the opportunity to visit Duke Energy’s Mount Holly Emerging Technology Innovation Center. This facility serves as a testing ground for various battery and solar power technologies, capable of seamlessly switching between on-grid power and operating independently (off-grid). The microgrid includes both commercial and residential setups and models multiple information technology systems. The facility supports a wide range of electrical loads with a mix of solar power, inverters, and battery storage from different vendors. High-power loads such as HVAC systems, medium-power loads like electric vehicle supply equipment, and low-power loads from smart kitchen appliances are among the consumer-grade equipment available on-site.

Photos from the visit to the center:

NSA Internship: Three UNC Charlotte students conducted a cybersecurity project as part of a summer internship in July–Aug 2024, funded by the NSA, using our HIL testbed. The students were mentored by PI Sridhar, and worked with NSA and Naval Postgraduate School coaches. NSA has expressed an interest in the topic area of CESAR, and we hope to continue this collaboration avenue.

KIT Exchange Scholar: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, has a research exchange program in energy research– MINTernship Research Exchange program. As part of this program, KIT scholars pursue research “stays” at selected partner universities and globally recognized research institutions in Europe and the United States, including with EPIC in UNC Charlotte. In 2024, a KIT scholar is working on the software-based T/D/DER testbed design and development as part of their studies.