Dr. Johan Enslin Named New EPIC Director
Dr. Johan Enslin, former chief technology officer at Petra Solar, has been named director of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at UNC Charlotte. EPIC, headquartered in a new $76-million building nearing completion on the Charlotte Research Institute campus, will train a new generation of engineers and conduct research in new energy technologies.
The EPIC building will house the university’s civil and environmental, and electrical and computer-engineering departments. The building’s lab facilities will expand opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience with industry leaders, including Duke Energy Corp., Siemens, Shaw, AREVA, and others.
As chief technology officer at New Jersey-based Petra Solar, Enslin led the technology strategy and intellectual property development for the company’s unique smart energy solutions for the electric supply industry, and will continue as technology leader for the company. In addition, a collaborative agreement was formed between Petra Solar and UNC Charlotte for technology exchange and intellectual property development.
Petra Solar will become an industry partner at EPIC, with a focus on research goals and IP development in the areas of distributed PV and Smart Grid systems, management of dispatchable distributed renewable resources as a virtual power plant, high efficiency power electronic converter technologies, and distributed energy storage solutions.
At EPIC, Enslin succeeds Steve Patterson, who returns to his role as SPX Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering.
Enslin’s nearly 30-year career is marked with leadership activities in industry and universities in the U.S., Europe and South Africa. He served as an executive and consultant for private business operations and as a professor in electrical and electronic engineering.
He is a veteran in transmission and distribution planning, wind and solar renewable integration, FACTS, HVDC, Distributed Power and Energy Storage. Enslin also has held faculty positions at the University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University, both in South Africa, and Oregon State University.
He is currently an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University, and holds 14 patents.
“The Lee College of Engineering is fortunate to have someone with Dr. Enslin’s extensive industry and university experience taking over the leadership role for EPIC,” said Robert Johnson, dean of The William States Lee College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte. “Dr. Enslin will build on the excellent foundation put in place by Dr. Patterson.”
Petra Solar President and Chief Executive Officer Shihab Kuran said: “We are very pleased that Dr. Enslin’s role of Chief Technology Officer at Petra Solar has helped position him for the exceptional opportunity with UNC Charlotte to serve as leader of a world-class, multi-disciplinary energy research center in the epicenter of smart grid technology development.”
Dr. Enslin outside the new EPIC building
In January, Duke Energy and Siemens Energy announced $8.8 million in support for the EPIC center at UNC Charlotte. Critical to training new engineers and conducting research in energy technologies, EPIC will serve the diverse needs of existing and new energy companies.
In the last two years the state of North Carolina committed funds to build the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center Building on the UNC Charlotte campus and for ongoing support for new faculty. The College of Engineering has been actively recruiting more than 20 energy faculty.
Charlotte has become known as “The New Energy Capital” because of more than 240 energy-oriented organizations and more than 26,000 energy-oriented employees in its 16 counties.