Dr. Chris Townsend is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering within the School of Engineering at the University of Western Australia, where he has been appointed since 2019. He received his B.E. degree in 2009 and Ph.D. degree in 2013, both in Electrical Engineering from the University of Newcastle, Australia. After completing his Ph.D., he spent three years at ABB Corporate Research in Sweden developing next-generation high-power converter technologies. Subsequently, Townsend held postdoctoral research positions at the University of New South Wales, Australia, the University of Newcastle, Australia, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is affiliated with the UWA Defence and Security Institute. His research specializations include topologies and modulation strategies for multilevel converters applied in power systems, renewable energy integration, and electric vehicle applications. Academic interests encompass power electronics, renewable energy, circuits and systems, electric drives, microgrids, energy storage, energy conversion, and energy efficiency. Townsend has authored more than 50 published technical papers and has been involved in several industrial projects and educational programs in power electronics. He is a member of the IEEE Power Electronics Society and the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society.

Key publications include "Discontinuous PWM Operation of a Single-Phase PV Generator With Low-Voltage Energy Storage" (2025, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics); "Influence of Discontinuous Modulations on DC Capacitor Power Dissipation and Capacitor Lifetime in Cascaded H-Bridge StatComs" (2025, IEEE ECCE-Asia 2025); "A Review of State-of-the-Art Flexible Power Point Tracking Algorithms in Photovoltaic Systems for Grid Support: Classification and Application" (2024, Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy); "Distributed Power Reserve Control in Grid-Connected Cascaded H-Bridge Converter-Based Photovoltaic Systems" (2024, IEEE Access); and "Minimum Voltage Operation of Cascaded H-Bridge StatComs Using Discontinuous Modulation" (2024, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics). His contributions advance power conversion technologies for sustainable energy systems.

Professional Email: chris.townsend@uwa.edu.au