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Four Students Receive IEEE Power & Energy Scholarships

December 2, 2015

group2_001Four UW EE undergraduate students have received IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Scholarships. Congratulations to Jaclyn Wilson, Bryan Bednarski, Joshua Monson and Brandon Thayer!

The recipients were selected based on their GPAs, commitment to the power and energy field and extracurricular activities. A $2,000 award helps fund tuition and other school expenses.

“I was excited to receive this scholarship, as it assists me not only financially, but also in the support of knowing that other people have confidence in my ability to achieve my goals,” Jaclyn Wilson said.

“I am quite pleased to have been granted this scholarship. Paying for school and living expenses can be quite challenging, and this scholarship is very helpful. Thanks to the IEEE and PES!” Brandon Thayer said.

In honor of their achievement, the students were presented certificates by EE Department Chair Radha Poovendran on November 30, 2015.

“Congratulations to all of you for having high standards and enjoying your experience here,” said Department Chair Radha Poovendran. “Things are changing so much for the power industry, which is moving in the clean energy direction.”

Congratulations Jaclyn, Bryan, Joshua and Brandon! More information about each recipient is provided below:

Jaclyn Wilson
A junior, Jaclyn is concentrating in Large Scale Power Systems, Power Electronics & Electric Drives, and Sustainable Electric Energy. She interned last summer at Boeing Defense, Space, & Security on the P-8 Poseidon wire design team. She will be starting research in power as an undergraduate assistant beginning next quarter. After graduation, Jaclyn plans to obtain her MSEE from UW and then go into the power industry to research and improve the smart grid.

Joshua Monson
A senior, Joshua will be graduating this June with concentrations in large-scale power systems and sustainable energy.  Two summers ago he completed an internship working for Snohomish County Public Utility District in Everett, WA as a secondary service inspector. Last summer, he interned at Burns and McDonnell Engineering Company in Denver, CO working on transmission line substation design. For the past year and half, Joshua has worked on undergraduate research under Professor Daniel Kirschen at the Renewable Energy Analysis Lab. His project has focused on analyzing the benefits that large-scale energy storage can provide to the transmission system in power balancing operations. After graduation Joshua plan to get a job working as an engineering consultant for a power engineering company.

Brandon Thayer
A senior graduating in June, Brandon is pursuing concentrations in Large Scale Power Systems, Sustainable Electric Energy, and Power Electronics and Electric Drives. He has had three internships so far. As a sophomore, he was an intern for Seattle City Light, as a junior he was a full-time electrical engineering intern for six months for Alcoa, and this previous summer he interned as a research assistant for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Brandon is still working for PNNL part time. Brandon has conducted research with PNNL, helping to develop a web-based tool that can quantify emission reductions/increases from smart grid projects. After graduation, he plans to perform research for a year in order to determine where his research interests lie before attending graduate school.

Bryan Bednarski
A third-year undergraduate student, Bryan is currently exploring concentrations options and is pursuing coursework in Power Electronics/Electric Drives and Embedded Computing Systems. Last summer, he interned with Southern California Edison, in an Advanced Technology electric drives laboratory. He gained experience running power-quality tests on vehicles and was tasked with his own design project to design and contract the construction of a new EV charge-line within the lab. After graduation, he hopes to pursue a master’s degree before or after gaining industry experience. Bryan is currently a teaching assistant for Professor Denise Wilson’s EE 215 class.