Sahar Pirooz Azad, PEng (She/Her)

Sahar Pirooz Azad received her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, specialized in power systems, from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, in 2013. During her doctoral research, she focused on designing various control schemes for DC-segmented AC systems to prevent grid instability and large-scale blackouts. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Applied Power Electronics (CAPE) at the University of Toronto in 2014. During her post-doctoral research, she focused on designing controllers with low communication requirements to improve multi-infeed HVDC systems stability. In 2015, she worked as an experienced researcher in the field of DC grid protection at the Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Her research was a part of the multi-terminal DC grid for offshore wind (MEDOW) project; a Marie Curie initial training network funded by the European Commission. She worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta from October 2015 until December 2017. She joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2018. Dr. Azad's research focuses on protection and control of power systems with embedded HVDC lines.

• HVDC systems
• Power system protection
• 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 2019, 2020
• ECE 6605PD - Power System Protection
  • Taught in 2019, 2022, 2024
• ECE 760 - Special Topics in Power Systems and High Voltage Engineering
  • Taught in 2019
• ECE 765 - Power System Protection and Relaying
  • Taught in 2020, 2024

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

• Ahmadloo F*; Pirooz Azad S (2022), Supplementary Control Design for Multi-Vendor Realization of Parallel VSCs: A Loop Shaping Approach, IEEE transactions on power delivery.
• Sakib, M N*; Pirooz Azad, S; Kazerani, M (2022), A Critical Review of Modular Multilevel Converter Configurations and Submodule Topologies from DC Fault Blocking and Ride-Through Capabilities Viewpoints for HVDC Applications, Energies, Volume 15, Issue 11, 4176-4208.
• Du, M*, Pirooz Azad, S (2022), An Adaptable Fault Current Derivative Calculation Method for Derivative Relays in HVDC Grids., IEEE transactions on power delivery.
• Ahmadloo F*; Pirooz Azad S (2022), Stability of Parallel Grid-Forming Converters, IEEE PES letters.
• Ahmadloo F*; Pirooz Azad S (2022), Grid Interaction of Multi-VSC Systems for Renewable Energy Integration, IET Renewable Power Generation.
• Radwan M*; Azad S (2022), HVDC Grids Protection: A Comprehensive Review, Energies.
• Ahmadloo F*; Pirooz Azad S (2022), Impact of DC System Model on the Stability Analysis of AC-MTDC Systems With Independently Designed Converter Controllers: A Comparative Study, IEEE transactions on power systems.
• Sakib, M N*; Pirooz Azad, S; Kazerani, M (2022), Fast DC Fault Current Suppression and Fault Ride-Through in Full-Bridge MMCs via Reverse SM Capacitor Discharge, Energies, Volume 15, Issue 13, 4595-4618.
• Zhang X*; Radwan M*; Pirooz Azad S (2022), Modified Distance Protection of Transmission Lines Originating from DFIG-Based WPPs by Considering the Impact of Fault-Induced Rotor Frequency and LVRT Requirements, International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems.
• Ahmadloo F*; Pirooz Azad S, A Robust Controller Design for Mitigating Control Loop Interactions in Multi‑VSC Systems Built by Multiple Vendors, IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, 2022.