Sahar Azad, PhD, PEng (She/Her)

Dr. Sahar Pirooz Azad is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. She received her PhD in electrical engineering, specializing in power systems, from the University of Toronto in 2013. Her doctoral research focused on designing advanced control schemes for DC-segmented AC systems to enhance grid stability and prevent large-scale blackouts.

Following her PhD, Dr. Azad was a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Applied Power Electronics (CAPE) at the University of Toronto, where she developed controllers with minimal communication requirements to improve the stability of multi-infeed HVDC systems. In 2015, she worked as an experienced researcher at Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven in Belgium, contributing to the Multi-Terminal DC Grid for Offshore Wind (MEDOW) project, a Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded by the European Commission.

From October 2015 to December 2017, Dr. Azad served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta. She joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2018.

Dr. Azad's current research focuses on the protection and control of power systems that integrate High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) lines, with an emphasis on enhancing the stability, reliability, and efficiency of modern electrical grids.

• HVDC systems

• Renewable energy sources

• Power system protection

• Electric vehicles

• Converter modelling

• Power system control

• 2013, Doctorate Electrical Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada

• ECE 260 - Electromechanical Energy Conversion
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022
• ECE 361 - Power Systems and Components
  • Taught in 2020
• ECE 6605PD - Power System Protection
  • Taught in 2022, 2024, 2025
• ECE 765 - Power System Protection and Relaying
  • Taught in 2020, 2024, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Ahmadloo F., and Pirooz Azad S., Grid interaction of multi-VSC systems for renewable energy integration, Iet Renewable Power Generation, Volume 17, 1212-1223, Canada, 2023.

• Sakib M.N., Azad S.P., and Kazerani M., Fast DC Fault Current Suppression and Fault Ride-Through in Full-Bridge MMCs via Reverse SM Capacitor Discharge, Energies, Volume 15, Canada, 2022.

• Sakib M.N., Azad S.P., and Kazerani M., A Critical Review of Modular Multilevel Converter Configurations and Submodule Topologies from DC Fault Blocking and Ride-Throug, Energies, Volume 15, Canada, 2022.

• Ahmadloo F., and Azad S.P., A Robust Controller Design for Mitigating Control Loop Interactions in Multi-VSC Systems Built by Multiple Vendors, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, Volume 127, Canada, 2022.

• Zare J., and Pirooz Azad S., A new relaying scheme for protection of transmission lines connected to DFIG-based wind farms, Iet Renewable Power Generation, Volume 15, 2971-2982, Canada, 2021.

• Zhang X., and Azad S.P., A Modified PUTT Scheme for Transmission Lines Connecting DFIG-Based Wind Farm, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, Volume 127, Canada, 2021.

• Ahmadloo F., and Azad S.P., The Impact of Control Modes on the External Control Loop Interactions in VSC-HVDC Systems, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, Volume 127, Canada, 2021.

• Filabadi M.D., and Azad S.P., Robust optimisation framework for SCED problem in mixed AC-HVDC power systems with wind uncertainty, Iet Renewable Power Generation, Volume 14, 2563-2572, Canada, 2020.

• Zare J., and Azad S.P., A new distance protection scheme for SCIG-based wind farms, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, Volume 127, Canada, 2020.

• Ahmadloo F., and Azad S.P., A comparative study on control loop interactions in VSC-HVDC systems, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, Volume 127, Canada, 2020.

• Wang X., Ai Q., Lu C., Liu F., Palensky P., Azad S., Cheng Y., Kamwa I., Freitas W., Wang X., Zhao H., Strunz K., Monti A., Chang G., Luo M., Liserre M., Bongiorno M., Messo T., Ramirez Vazquez A., Nasiri-Gheidari Z., Fan L., Bonatto B.D., Filizadeh S., Chen C., Mahseredjian J., Wang L., Faruque O., Bi T., Chen Y., and Zhang Y., Guest editorial: Modeling and simulation methods for analysis and design of advanced energy conversion systems, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Volume 35, 309-311, 2020.

• Liu D., Kish G.J., and Azad S.P., Control strategies to improve stability of LCCHVDC systems with multiple MMC taps, Iet Generation Transmission and Distribution, Volume 13, 4685-4693, Canada, 2019.

• Nassif A.B., Greenwood-Madsen T., Azad S.P., and Teshome D.F., Feeder Voltage Management through Smart Inverter Advanced Functions and Battery Energy Storage System, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, Volume 127, Canada, 2018.

• Leterme W., Azad S.P., and Van Hertem D., HVDC grid protection algorithm design in phase and modal domains, Iet Renewable Power Generation, Volume 12, 1538-1546, Belgium, 2018.

• Pirooz Azad S., and Van Hertem D., A Fast Local Bus Current-Based Primary Relaying Algorithm for HVDC Grids, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Volume 32, 193-202, Canada, 2017.

• Mokhberdoran A., Azad S.P., Van Hertem D., Silva N., and Carvalho A., Protection of HVDC grids using unidirectional DC circuit breakers and fast local protection algorithm, Iet Conference Publications, Volume 127, Portugal, 2017.

• Pirooz Azad S., Leterme W., and Van Hertem D., Fast breaker failure backup protection for HVDC grids, Electric Power Systems Research, Volume 127, 99-105, Canada, 2016.

• Leterme W., Pirooz Azad S., and Van Hertem D., A Local Backup Protection Algorithm for HVDC Grids, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Volume 31, 1767-1775, Belgium, 2016.

• Pirooz Azad S., Taylor J.A., and Iravani R., Decentralized Supplementary Control of Multiple LCC-HVDC Links, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Volume 31, 572-580, Canada, 2016.

• Azad S.P., Leterme W., and Van Hertem D., A DC grid primary protection algorithm based on current measurements, 2015 17th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications EPE Ecce Europe 2015, Belgium, 2015.