Vigna K. Ramachandaramurthy

Prof Vigna completed his Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), United Kingdom in 1998 under the Malaysian Government scholarship. He then pursued his PhD in Electrical Engineering at UMIST, UK and completed his PhD in 2001. He then joined the Malaysian electrical utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad as an electrical engineer. In 2005, he moved to Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and is presently a Professor in the Institute of Power Engineering. Prof Vigna has received many awards for research and leadership. In 2008, he received the ‘Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Mike Sargeant Award’ in London. The award is given to a young professional who is judged to have made significant achievements in career over a number of years globally. In 2009, he received the prestigious Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Young Engineers Award. He was also the recipient of the Best Researcher Award for few consecutive years in College of Engineering and UNITEN. He has also won several gold medal at International Invention Competition. His achievement has led to him being appointed as the Chief Judge at the National Schools Robotics Competition and at the World Young Inventors Exhibition in conjunction with ITEX, a leading invention exhibition in Asia. In the professional front, Prof Vigna has served in the following portfolios: Chairman of Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Malaysia from 2009-2011, IET Council Member (2008-2010), Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Council Member (2013-2016), IET Younger Members Board representing West Asia (2007-2009), International Professional Registration Advisor & Interviewer and the Convenor for Chartered Engineering (IET) in Malaysia. Prof Vigna is also a Chartered Engineer registered with the Engineering Council of UK and a Professional Engineer registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia. In the Academic front, he has served as a Programme External Examiner for seven universities in Malaysia. He is a Fellow Member of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia and Institution of Engineers, India. Prof Vigna advocates industry based research. He heads the Power Quality Research Group in UNITEN and has successfully supervised and graduated more than 130 postgraduate students. His area of interest includes power systems related studies, renewable energy, energy storage, power quality and electric vehicle. He has also authored numerous papers in leading journals. Prof Vigna is a consultant for renewable energy industry in Malaysia. He conducts the technical feasibility of renewable energy plants to be connected to the electrical grid. To date, he has completed the technical feasibility for more than 250 projects in Malaysia in the areas of hydro, solar PV, biomass, biogas, wind and energy storage. He was also the Principal Consultant to develop the “Technical Guidebook on Grid-interconnection of Solar PV” in 2013, "Technical guidelines for Interconnection of Electric Vehicle in Distribution Network", and "Technical Guidelines for Interconnection of Energy Storage". He also worked on a special chapter for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy in the “Distribution Code for Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and FT Labuan” Version 2017.