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Our solar testbed for photovoltaic systems
Group welcome BBQ September 2015
216 W/in^3 Google/IEEE LIttle Box Challenge entry – the highest power density reported by any academic group in the world
2 kW, 7-Level flying capacitor GaN-based inverter for solar applications
We develop panel-embedded electronics that allow the PV panel to produce maximum power, even during realistic conditions such as these shown on our test-bed.
48 V datacenter power delivery prototype with 99.8% efficiency – the highest ever reported

Welcome

[Note: Professor Pilawa is starting at UC Berkeley on January 1, 2018, and a large portion of the group will move with him. All prospective graduate students interested in working in our group are encouraged to apply to the EECS department at UC Berkeley]

The Pilawa Research Group at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign performs research in electrical energy conversion. Our goal is to address technical challenges with large societal impact, and enable a transition to a clean and renewable energy society. We drive this change through innovations in power electronics systems and its application in a number of areas, such as: solar photovoltaics, grid storage, electric vehicles, electric motor/generator drive systems, renewable energy integration, energy harvesting systems, data center power delivery, and consumer electronics. A hallmark of our research is the experimental demonstration of our techniques through hardware prototypes – we build things!