Workshops, Tutorials, & Industry Sessions

This tutorial will provide an introduction to VR technologies, covering both hardware platforms such as Meta Quest and HTC Vive, and software tools including Unity, Unreal Engine, and OpenXR, with a focus on integration with power system simulation packages like MATLAB/Simulink, PSCAD, and DIgSILENT. We will explore the role of VR in power engineering education through 3D visualization of phasors, power flow, and stability phenomena, as well as VR labs where students can build and operate virtual power grids and engage with gamified learning modules. The tutorial will also highlight applications of VR in grid operations and training, including immersive control room and SCADA interfaces, outage management, field crew safety, and real-world use cases from utilities and independent system operators (ISOs). A hands-on demonstration will showcase a live VR module for power flow and fault simulation, along with a step-by-step walkthrough of building a simple VR scene in Unity integrated with power system data, with opportunities for attendee participation using headsets when available. Finally, we will discuss research and future directions such as coupling VR with AI and digital twins, enhancing cyber-physical security training through VR, and identifying new opportunities for collaboration and funding.

This tutorial session examines the evolution from conventional synchrophasor (PMU) technology to advanced synchro-waveform (WMU) based systems, highlighting their role in modern power system quality monitoring and the growing impact of data center integration. It introduces the concept of Continuous waveform streaming and recording (CWS&R) and details its technical aspects, including device capabilities at 3 ksps and 14.4 ksps, which enable high-resolution data sampling for real-time operational analysis. A live demonstration using SEL-T35 Time-domain Power Monitor showcases how CWS&R, virtual PMU, and virtual metering is applied to derive traditional measurements, such as harmonics, and create event notifications for abnormal system detection and diagnostics. Finally, practical field applications are reviewed, including 3 ksps waveform measurement from inverter-based resources (IBRs), harmonic distortion analysis, transformer inrush detection, and mode transition studies under diverse operating conditions.

This hands-on workshop addresses the critical challenge of deploying trustworthy AI agents in production environments, using smart building energy optimization as a demonstration case. Participants will build a working four-agent system (Monitor, Analyzer, Strategy, Controller) using visual workflow automation (N8N) and learn to implement Agentic JWT—a novel authentication protocol that extends OAuth 2.0 to verify agent intentions and maintain audit trails. The workshop demonstrates how AI agents can achieve 20-30% energy savings through intelligent HVAC control and occupancy-based lighting, while addressing universal deployment challenges of trust, safety, and control that apply across all industries deploying autonomous AI systems. Through live demonstrations and practical implementation, attendees will see how agents can malfunction or be compromised and learn production-ready solutions validated with 100% effectiveness against common attack scenarios.

As data center power demand grows across the U.S., grid infrastructure faces mounting pressure, as highlighted by the July 2024 NERC incident where 1,500 MW of load cascaded offline. This session presents a coordinated control strategy using the Verrus StabiliGrid™ architecture and Power Flow Management System (PFMS) to transform data centers into active, grid-supporting assets. Through controller-hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL) validation at NLR, we demonstrate how coordinated BESS control enables voltage ride-through, fast demand flexibility, and seamless islanding without compromising mission-critical IT availability.