Hector A. Pulgar

Hector A. Pulgar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He joined UT in July 2014 after holding academic positions at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Chile from 2001 to 2014. His work focuses on power system dynamics, renewable energy integration, and energy storage systems. Pulgar holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010) and MS/BS degrees from the Universidad de Concepción, Chile.

Research highlights include NSF CAREER Award (2021) for enhancing grid robustness through discrete controls, and leadership in the NSF Engineering Research Center CURENT. He teaches courses like ECE-421 (Electric Energy Systems) and ECE-692 (Advanced Power System Modeling). Pulgar is a Senior Member of IEEE and Fulbright Fellow.

Recent research trends emphasize adaptive control strategies leveraging machine learning, grid stability under renewable integration, and optimization of energy storage systems. His articles span topics like damping controller coordination, frequency response enhancement, and nonlinear grid dynamics.

• Grants: NSF Awards totaling $1.065M (2015-2026)
• Mentoring: Program for Hispanic students emphasizing reflective practice and pre-college opportunities
• Professional Affiliations: CURENT member, IEEE Senior Member