Smart Grids ─ Clouds, Communications, Open Source, and Automation

The electric power grid is in the early stage of a sea change, and hype about smart grid is at a high point. Investment money is pouring in, searching for a "killer app" and profits. The smart grid revolution will require utilities and their suppliers to develop new business models, strategies, and processes. Nobody knows which business models will survive the Darwinian contest, but companies heeding the lessons here can increase their chances of success. This book explores the design and implementation of the smart grid.

David Bakken, is a Professor of Computer Science in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Washington State University and Chief Scientist at GridStat, Inc. His research interests include wide area distributed computing systems, middleware implementation, and dependable computing. Since 1999 he has been working closely with researchers in his department’s very strong electric power group on helping rethink the way data delivery is done in power grids over the wide area, and is considered the world’s leading expert on this. His GridStat data delivery software has influenced the shape of the emerging NASPInet. He is a frequent visitor and lecturer at utilities, electrical engineering departments, and power meetings worldwide.

Krzysztof (Kris) Iniewski is managing R&D at Redlen Technologies Inc., a start-up company in Vancouver, Canada. Redlen’s revolutionary production process for advanced semiconductor materials enables a new generation of more accurate, all-digital, radiation-based imaging solutions. Kris is also a President of CMOS Emerging Technologies Research Inc (www.cmosetr.com), an organization of high-tech events covering Communications, Microsystems, Optoelectronics, and Sensors. In his carrier Dr. Iniewski held numerous faculty and management positions at University of Toronto, University of Alberta, SFU, and PMC-Sierra Inc. He has published over 100 research papers in international journals and conferences. He holds 18 international patents granted in USA, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan. He is a frequent invited speaker and has consulted for multiple organizations internationally. He has written and edited several books for CRC Press, Cambridge University Press, IEEE Press, Wiley, McGraw Hill, Artech House, and Springer. His personal goal is to contribute to healthy living and sustainability through innovative engineering solutions. In his leisurely time Kris can be found hiking, sailing, skiing or biking in beautiful British Columbia.