Every day I’m working with teams to push the boundaries of efficient and sustainable electrical power systems. As a Senior Principal Scientist at ABB’s US Research Center in Raleigh, NC, my main task is to develop frontier technologies for engineering applications, drive strong project management, and coach junior colleagues along the way.
As a Senior Principal Scientist at ABB’s US Research Center in Raleigh, NC, my main task is to drive strong project management and coach junior colleagues along the way.
Our team thrives on collaboration and forward-thinking. We're industry partners with North Carolina State University and support their graduate student’s research activities and development. This allows us to leverage their expertise while working on our cutting-edge projects. From optimizing electrical system designs to integrating renewable energy sources like photovoltaics (PV), our focus is on shaping a more sustainable future.
I have led two important projects in recent years both involving the development of DC components and systems. DC allows easy integration and simpler converters when interconnecting renewables and energy storage at scale. DC protection is challenging due to the absence of natural zero crossing and fast fault transients. Cost-effective reliable protection is necessary to implement DC technologies in actual systems.
I worked on technology to make marine vessel operations more cost effective and reduce emissions. This included work on Onboard DC GridTM. We were among the first manufacturers to implement 1kV low-voltage DC technologies on marine vessels and these systems have been sold and used worldwide. More recently I worked on the SACE Infinitus circuit breaker.
While my love of engineering was inspired by my father, an engineering faculty member in a university, I also enjoy literature and reading, particularly in English. This interest enriches my technical writing and broadens my perspective. I think maintaining a wide interest helps me appreciate diverse talents.
In my career I’ve found that collaboration with colleagues from diverse backgrounds fuels creativity and drives innovation. While the engineering domain remains male-dominated, there are more and more women entering the field and I'm committed to fostering a more inclusive environment where everyone's voice is heard and valued.
Recently, I was honored to have been elevated to IEEE Fellow, in acknowledgement of my contributions to DC distribution protection and architectures of DC shipboard power systems. It has taught me the importance of staying focused and developing a deep expertise in an important area of research. It also highlights the need to be active outside my workplace in the larger engineering community.
I hope my career path inspires young men and women on how exciting an engineering career can be. It offers the opportunity to help solve real world problems and push the boundaries of what's possible day by day, one project at a time.
About the author
Lisa Qi joined ABB in Jan 2009 and is currently a Senior Principal Scientist at ABB US Research Center. She received her bachelor's degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University and her master's degree from Zhejiang University. She has a Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University. All in Electrical Engineering.
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