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/ Smart Grid Center > Events > Webinar on 12/01/2021: High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) E3 Impacts on Large-Scale Electric Grids

Webinar on 12/01/2021: High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) E3 Impacts on Large-Scale Electric Grids

Thomas J. Overbye, Ph.D., O’Donnell Foundation Chair III, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, is going to present the webinar titled “High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) E3 Impacts on Large-Scale Electric Grids” at 3 pm CST on December 1, 2021.

Abstract:

Electric grids worldwide are an indispensable critical infrastructure, and the impact of the loss of a portion of the electric grid ranges from minor inconveniences when the outage is small and short, to potentially catastrophic when the blackout covers a large region for a long duration. Electric grids are subject to several different types of such severe events. This talk focuses on one of them, providing a description and assessment of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) E3 impacts on large-scale electric grids. A HEMP, which is caused by nuclear detonation occurring at least 50 km above the surface of the earth, emits electromagnetic waves that are divided into three groups: E1, E2, and E3. This talk focuses on the impacts of relatively longer time frame HEMP E3, which has a time duration of up to several minutes. The talk will discuss the nature of the E3 waveform, its impact on large-scale electric grids, techniques for calculating these impacts, and the visualization of results. The impact of EMP E3 will be demonstrated and visualized on several large-scale synthetic electric grids.

Register here.

Speaker:

Thomas J. Overbye is a Professor and holder of the O’Donnell Foundation Chair III in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU), overbye@tamu.edu. Prior to joining TAMU in 2017 he was a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.   Before starting his academic career he was employed with Madison Gas and Electric Company. He is the original developer of PowerWorld Simulator, a co-founder of PowerWorld Corporation, and an author of a widely used Power System Analysis and Design book. He was also the recipient a University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering Distinguished Achievement Award, the IEEE Power and Energy Society Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award, and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Overbye has extensive experience in many aspects of electric power systems, including participating in or leading numerous large-scale electric grid studies.