Rate My Professor Jef Beerten

Jef Beerten serves as associate professor BOF in the Faculty of Engineering Science at KU Leuven. He is head of the Subdivisie EnergyVille Electa - Beerten, member of Divisie EnergyVille, and member of KIES – KU Leuven Institute for Energy and Society. Affiliated with the Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) and the Electrical Energy Systems and Applications (ELECTA) laboratory in Leuven (Arenberg), his work centers on advancing power systems for the future energy landscape. Beerten obtained his Master's degree in electrical engineering and PhD degree in engineering science from KU Leuven, with the PhD completed in 2013 summa cum laude and with congratulations of the Board of Examiners for the thesis entitled "Modeling and Control of DC Grids." Earlier in his career, he was a postdoctoral researcher funded by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO).

Beerten's research interests encompass power system modeling and control, power electronics modeling and control, and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies. His expertise includes HVDC grids, multi-terminal HVDC systems, grid-forming converters, small-signal and transient stability analysis, harmonic filtering, and the integration of renewable energy sources like offshore wind farms into power systems. He has contributed significantly to the field through over 160 peer-reviewed publications, with notable works such as "Generalized Steady-State VSC MTDC Model for Sequential AC/DC Power Flow Analysis" (IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2012), "Analysis of Power Sharing and Voltage Deviations in Droop-Controlled VSC-HVDC Grids" (IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2013), and "Development of an Open Source Power Flow Software for High Voltage Direct Current Grids (MATACDC)" (IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution, 2015). His research has garnered more than 7,000 citations on Google Scholar. In recognition of his pioneering work, Beerten received the inaugural ABB Research Award in Honor of Hubertus von Gruenberg in 2016, which included a US$300,000 research grant. Additionally, he teaches key courses including Power Systems, Flexible Electrical Power Systems, Power and Drive Systems & Automation, and Electrical Energy Conversion for Renewable Energy and Storage, shaping the next generation of engineers.