This E-REACT workshop features six distinguished speakers from academia, industry, and professional organisations. The workshop is open to all early career researchers and free to attend. It aims to exchange diverse perspectives and recent advancements in the energy transition, share career experiences and empower early career researchers to contribute to shaping a sustainable energy future.
By joining the workshop, you will have the opportunity to:
- Learn what academia and industry are currently working on in energy advancement
- Understand how professional bodies under IEEE and CIGRE are supporting the energy transition
- Explore the key challenges and opportunities shaping the future of energy
- Ask questions and gain valuable insights on career development within the energy community
Date and Time: Thursday, 29 January 2026 | 09:30 – 16:00
Venue: Rooms 0.01 & 0.02, Translational Research Hub, Cardiff University, CF24 4HQ
Event Chairs: Dr. Xun Jiang, Dr. Jinlei Chen, Dr. Nan Chen, Dr. Wenlong Ming
Contact/Enquiries: Dr. Xun Jiang, JiangX28@cardiff.ac.uk
Event co-sponsorship and co-organisers
EPSRC N-ZEEE Network+, IEEE UK and Ireland Power Electronics Chapter, CIGRE UK Next Generation Network, IEEE Student Branch at Cardiff.
Refreshments and lunch: will be provided, and travel expenses will be reimbursed up to £50 on a first-come, first-served basis.
AGENDA
SPEAKERS
Presentation title: Introduction of N-ZEEE Network+
Prof. Nick Baker is a Professor of Electrical Machines at Newcastle University. He has an interest in developing novel and emerging electrical machines across the renewable, automotive and aerospace sectors. He is also co-director of the N-ZEEE Supergen+ network which aims to bring together industrialists and academics across power electronics, machines and drives technology to underpin next-generation renewables and electrification.
Presentation title: Energy networks and climate action
Dr. Laiz Souto is an electrical power engineer and academic researcher with over 10 years of international experience. She is currently a Lecturer in Electrical Power Engineering at the University of Bath (United Kingdom), a Visiting Professor at the Northeast Electric Power University (China). Dr Souto obtained her degree in Electrical Engineering, option Electrical Energy and Automation, and her M.Sc. degree in Electrical Power Systems, from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), and her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence from the University of Girona (Spain). Before joining the University of Bath, she was a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bristol (United Kingdom), where she conducted research on resilience enhancements in energy networks in collaboration with academia, industry, and government. Dr Souto had visiting positions at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology during her M.Sc. program, at the University of Texas at Austin during her Ph.D. program, and at the Fraunhofer IEE (Germany) and Technical University of Denmark (Denmark) during her academic appointments in the UK. She is a co-investigator of the EPSRC Supergen Energy Networks Hub, an active member of the IEEE European Public Policy Committee, and member of the CIGRE Working Groups D2.52 (artificial intelligence application in power systems) and C6-C1-CIRED.50 (planning distribution networks under significant uncertainties).
Presentation title: System integration of sustainable technologies
Dr. Tong Zhang is a Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, with an academic background in electrical engineering and power systems developed through research and teaching experience across China and the UK. Her research focuses on energy system modelling across multiple vectors, with particular emphasis on the integration of sustainable technologies within electricity, heat, and gas infrastructures, including emerging energy vectors such as hydrogen. Her work has examined how multi-vector energy systems can be coordinated to unlock flexibility and support decarbonisation. She has contributed to multiple EPSRC-funded projects on the system integration of hydrogen and tidal range energy generation, as well as a Strategic Innovation Fund project exploring the grid benefits of geothermal heat pumps. Beyond her research, Tong is highly passionate about supporting early career researchers and fostering inclusive, collaborative academic communities.
Presentation title: From Academia to Network Operator: moving beyond the Single Line Diagram
Dr. José Barros is a Lead Planning Engineer at UK Power Networks, covering Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. He leads a team responsible for the strategic development of the low, high, extra high and 132,000-volt electricity distribution system in this part of the East of England. José accomplished a wide range of activities since joining the Asset Management department of UK Power Networks in 2013. These include network strategy documents, infrastructure delivery work, active network management integration, new internal Standards, among others. José won the “Influential Engineer of the Year” award at UK Power Networks in September 2025. In 2014, José obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Electrical and Computer Engineer, specialized in Energy and Systems, at University of Porto, Portugal. This included a Visiting Student period at Cardiff School of Engineering, between 2012 and 2013. José is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and a Chartered Engineer (CEng), registered with the Engineering Council since 2018.
Presentation title: Bridging engineering and strategy: a career in asset management
Angela PP is a Lead Asset Lifecycle Engineer at National Grid with 15 years of experience across high-voltage transmission networks in India and the UK. Her expertise spans the full asset lifecycle—from commissioning and on-site operations to asset strategy, health reviews, type registration, and technology-enabled decision-making. A central passion in Angela’s career is bringing genuine engineering insight into lifecycle thinking. Having spent many years on-site in commissioning, operation, and maintenance roles, she carries a deep appreciation of real-world asset behaviour and uses that grounding to shape strategies that are technically sound, risk-aware, and operationally practical. In her current role, Angela leads type registration, technology integration, and lifecycle planning for new HVDC systems, connecting detailed engineering understanding with long-term asset value. She has represented the UK in global forums including CIGRE and was recently recognised with the Women in Energy Award for her contributions to the industry.
Presentation title: Accelerate the integration of wind energy towards a net-zero future
Dr. Jiajie Luo is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the IET and has extensive experience in power system studies and analysis. He joined Arup as a Senior Engineer in 2023, where he has since led and contributed to projects involving offshore wind farms, high-voltage transmission systems, and power system stability assessments. Prior to joining Arup, Jiajie spent five years at Siemens Gamesa, specialising in wind turbine converter control and software development, as well as wind farm technical support. He holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, where his research focused on converter technologies for offshore wind applications. Jiajie is an active contributor to CIGRE UK. Within the Next Generation Network (NGN), he has held several leadership roles, including Secretary and Treasurer, Vice Chair, and Chair. He has served as Secretary of the CIGRE UK Technical Committee since 2022 and is a subgroup lead of CIGRE Working Group B4/C4.93, Development of Grid-Forming Converters for Secure and Reliable Operation of Future Electricity Systems.
Presentation title: Reliable and efficient power conversion solutions for Net Zero applications
Dr. Sheng Wang is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) with the Autonomous Systems and Connectivity Research Division, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland. He currently serves as the Chair of the IEEE Power Electronics Society U.K. and Ireland Chapter. From 2020 to 2025, he served as a Lecturer with Cardiff University and from 2023 to 2025, as a visiting Research Fellow with the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, supported in part by the Researchers in Residence scheme. He has nearly 15+ years of experience in DC power networks and power electronics (PE). He has acted as principal or co-investigator in 18 projects. Ongoing projects cover the development of active gate drivers, reliability analysis of PE, data-driven-based design optimisation of compound-semiconductor-based converters, DC technology for offshore wind energy integration, solar battery energy storage systems, and protection solutions for low to high-voltage DC power systems.