Junpeng Zhan

Education

• PhD: Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, 2014
• BS: Electrical Engineering and its Automation, Zhejiang University, 2009

Specialties / Areas of Interest

• Quantum Computing
• Optimization
• Renewable Energy
• Machine Learning
• Smart Grid
• Electric Power Systems

Biography

Hello! I am Junpeng Zhan (pronounce: June-pen), an Assistant Professor at Renewable Energy Engineering, Alfred University, starting in July 2020.

I was a Research Associate Electrical Engineer in the Renewables and Grid Analysis Group, Department of Sustainable Energy Technologies (changed to Interdisciplinary Science Department now), Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, U.S.A. from Aug. 2018 to Jul. 2020. I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and a Visiting Research Assistant at the University of Liverpool, U.K.

I enjoy teaching and doing research at the university. I am an Associate Editor of IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution and an active reviewer for 20+ different journals. My research goal is to solve the challenging science and engineering problems in the power and energy fields by developing innovative and applicable methods. I am particularly interested in NP-complete problems which are one of the most important but unsolved problems in computer science and mathematics. To solve this problem, I have recently proposed a Quantum Feasibility Labeling algorithm and a hybrid classical and quantum algorithm, Variational Quantum Search.

See my Google Site for information about me.

Current Grants:

1. “ERI: Variational Quantum Algorithm for Power System Simulation”, a two-year project awarded by U.S. NSF in Mar. 2022 ($199,980, the sole principal investigator (PI))
2. "Quantum Computing for Solving Unit Commitment", Aug. 2024 to Jul. 2026, funded by ISO-New England, partner with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), ($50,000, Alfred PI)
3. “Workforce Training: Energy Efficiency and Clean Technology”, co-PI, November 2023 to October 2026, total project cost: $1,369,960 ($466,850 from NYSERDA) Sponsored by NYSERDA and GE.

Previous Grants:

4. “Advanced Manufacturing and Characterization Research of High Temperature Materials”, funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, approved in May 2022 ($2.7M per year, co-PI)

Courses Taught

• Computer Aided Engineering
• Power System Operation and Economics
• Mechatronics
• Python for Power Systems

Research, Publications, & Presentations

Research & Publications

• Quantum Multiplier Based on Exponent Adder. J. P. Zhan. arXiv, Sep. 2023.
• Comparison of Quantum Simulators for Variational Quantum Search: A Benchmark Study. M. Soltaninia and J. P. Zhan. 27th Annual IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing Conference (HPEC), 25-29 Sep. 2023.
• Shallow Depth Factoring Based on Quantum Feasibility Labeling and Variational Quantum Search. I. K. Tutul, S. Karimi, and J. P. Zhan. arXiv, May 2023.
• Near-perfect Reachability of Variational Quantum Search with Depth-1 Ansatz. J. P. Zhan. arXiv, Jan. 30, 2023.
• Quantum Feasibility Labeling for NP-complete Vertex Coloring Problem. J. P. Zhan. arXiv, Jan. 3, 2023.
• Variational Quantum Search with Exponential Speedup. J. P. Zhan. arXiv, Dec. 16, 2022.
• Expressibility-Enhancing Strategies for Quantum Neural Networks. Y. Liao, J. P. Zhan. arXiv, Nov. 23, 2022.
• Switch Opening and Exchange Method for Stochastic Distribution Network Reconfiguration. J. P. Zhan, W. J. Liu, C. Y. Chung, and J. J. Yang. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, 2020.
• Availability Assessment Based Case-Sensitive Power System Restoration Strategy. W. J. Liu, J. P. Zhan, C. Y. Chung, and L. Sun. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2020.
• An Accurate Bilinear Cavern Model for Compressed Air Energy Storage. J. P. Zhan, O. A. Ansari, W. J. Liu, and C. Y. Chung. Applied Energy, 2019.
• A Novel Transactive Energy Control Mechanism for Collaborative Networked Microgrids. W. J. Liu, J. P. Zhan, and C. Y. Chung. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2019.
• Stochastic Transmission Expansion Planning Considering Uncertain Dynamic Thermal Rating of Overhead Lines. J. P. Zhan, W. J. Liu, and C. Y. Chung. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2019.

Affiliations & Memberships

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA

Areas of Concentration

• Quantum Computing
• Smart Grid
• Machine Learning