Aranya Chakrabortty

Aranya Chakrabortty is a Professor and Associate Department Head for Research in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at North Carolina State University, affiliated with the FREEDM Systems Center. He holds the University Faculty Scholar title (2019) and was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 2025. His career includes a postdoctoral stint at the University of Washington (2008-2009) and faculty roles at Texas Tech University (2009-2010) before joining NC State in 2010. He served as a NSF Program Director from 2020-2024.

Education: PhD (2008), MEng (2005) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and BEng (2004) from Jadavpur University, India. Research focuses on control systems theory applied to power grids, including wide-area control with synchrophasor technology, integration of renewables, machine learning-based controls, and cyber-security. Recent work emphasizes electric vehicle charging control, distributed energy resource dispatch, and resilient control architectures.

Key awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2011), NSF Director’s Superior Accomplishment Award (2022), and IEEE Fellow distinction (2025). His group develops advanced control methodologies for power systems, with applications in grid stability, adaptive systems, and secure cyber-physical infrastructure. Current projects include AI-enabled tools for grid cyber-hardening and reinforcement learning for multi-agent systems.

Awards and recognitions span academic excellence (e.g., Allen B. Dumont Prize for top PhD graduate) to NSF leadership accolades. His teaching includes graduate courses on power systems stability and optimal control. Active in IEEE Transactions editorial roles and conference leadership, he bridges theoretical control science with practical grid challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration.