Rate My Professor Zhihua Qu

Zhihua Qu received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1990 and joined the University of Central Florida (UCF) Department of Electrical Engineering later that year. He holds the position of Pegasus Professor, UCF's highest academic honor bestowed in 2014, and the Thomas J. Riordan and Herbert C. Towle Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Qu previously served as Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He directs key facilities including the Smart Grid Control and Resilience Laboratory, the GE/FPL Microgrid Control Laboratory, and the UCF Center on Resilient Intelligent Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES). Throughout his career at UCF spanning over three decades, Qu has contributed to teaching, research, and leadership in electrical and computer engineering, including roles such as assistant chair of the department.

Qu's research specializes in dynamic systems, nonlinear controls, electric power systems, and autonomous systems, with specific focuses on power system stability, wide-area controls, modular data-driven designs, self-organizing microgrids, distributed energy resources, distributed optimization, and cooperative control. His interdisciplinary work in energy and power, autonomous vehicles, and networked systems includes developing AI-based methodologies for resilient infrastructure. Qu authored the book Cooperative Control of Dynamical Systems: Applications to Autonomous Vehicles (Springer Verlag, 2009, 325 pages) and two other books, along with over one hundred refereed journal papers. His publications have accumulated more than 15,800 citations according to Google Scholar. Notable recognitions include elevation to IEEE Fellow in 2010, the UCF 2026 Medal of Societal Impact for advancements in the power systems industry, Pegasus Professor title, Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership Award, and ECEDHA Outstanding Leadership and Service Award. Qu has served as Associate Editor for Automatica, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, IEEE Access, and other journals, and holds positions on the ECEDHA board and as an inaugural member of the Standing Council for the NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA). In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy since 2017, he led development of a plug-and-play grid platform and smart inverters to enhance grid integration of renewables and resiliency against cyber threats and extreme weather.