SMART, the Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team, converges Information Technology, Communication Engineering and Computing fields to develop prototypes and solutions for complex applied research problems. Our group conducts applied R&D in emerging and next generation technologies and helps stimulate BC’s IT industry through joint, collaborative industry, academic, and government research.
BCIT’s Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) is a multi-faceted research team with skills and expertise in a variety of disciplines. In addition to employing a team of full-time researchers, this group draws on the expertise of BCIT faculty, staff and students and a network of research partners from industry, government, and universities across Canada.
If you have a potential project in mind, ask a SMART research expert.
Clay has over twenty five years’ experience in project management, software development, distributed systems and data communications. Currently, he is the Technical Lead on the Smart Microgrid research initiative at BCIT and coordinates activities of researchers in the areas of energy management, renewable generation integration, substation automation, smart metering, and electric vehicles (EVs) & charging stations. Clay is an advocate of EVs and owns and drives a Nissan Leaf.
Email: Clay_Howey@bcit.ca
Kelly Carmichael has 22 years of experience working in the Information Technology (IT) industry. His IT work experience ranges from employment in an embryonic entrepreneurial start up firm all the way up to large multinational giant IBM. Kelly has been involved in development projects spanning from complex distributed systems to low level operating system services. He has an interest in the theory and practice of delivering quality, reliable and maintainable information systems.
Kelly holds a diploma in Computer Science from Thompson Rivers University.
Email: Kelly_Carmichael@bcit.ca
Joey Dabell is a Project Leader with BCIT’s multi-discipline Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) department. As a faculty researcher she functions as project manager on research, development and demonstration projects as part of BCIT’s Smart Microgrid Initiative. In this role she leads development and integration of renewable energy systems, writes research reports and contributes to research publications, coordinates microgrid related training and outreach activities, and facilitates collaborations between academic, industry and community partners.
Joey’s own research interests are at the intersection of microgrids and renewable energy technologies with policy, economic and social change relating to the process of transition to sustainable communities.
Joey is an active member of BCIT’s Sustainability Committee, and has participated in international conferences on renewable energy and sustainability.
Joey holds a M.E.T. from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and a B.Tech. (Computer Systems) from BCIT.
Email: Joey_Dabell@bcit.ca
Eric Hawthorne is a research associate at the Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) within the Centre for Applied Research and Innovation of British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Vancouver, Canada. His work focusses on software and systems architecture and renewable energy microgrid energy management systems. He has extensive experience in smart grid applications, systems engineering, and software engineering. He is a co-author of “97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts”. Eric’s main research interests are smart grid control systems for renewable energy integration and demand-response.
Eric received his M.Sc. degree in computing and information science from Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada in 1988.
Email: Eric_Hawthorne@bcit.ca
Dr. Moein Manbachi, Ph.D., P.Eng, is a research associate at the Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) within the Centre for Applied Research and Innovation of British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Vancouver, Canada.
His work focusses on substation automation design, smart grid optimization, cybersecurity of smart distribution networks, microgrid energy management solutions, real-time testing and renewable resource integration projects.
Moein has extensive experience in smart grid applications, energy conservation and optimization solutions and he is familiar with different power system software tools.
Moein received the B.Sc. degree from the Shahid Beheshti Power and Water University of Technology (PWUT), Tehran, Iran, and the master’s degree from Azad University of Tehran both in Electrical Power Engineering, in 2007 and 2009, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechatronic Systems Engineering from Simon Fraser University (SFU), BC, Canada in 2015 with high GPA of 4.16 (out of 4.33).
In 2016, he received prestigious Post-Doctoral Fellowship award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) which let him pursue his academic/research career as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada.
Moein is an active member of IEEE and a member of Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC). He has published and presented more than 35 peer reviewed papers in scientific journals and conferences in different power system areas.
His current research interests are smart grids, substation automation, power system optimization, renewable energies, cybersecurity, energy conversion and energy management.
Email: Moein Manbachi@bcit.ca
Minoo received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Azad University of Tehran, Iran, and Master of Engineering Leadership in Clean Energy Engineering (MEL C.E.E.N) from the University of British Columbia (UBC), in Vancouver. She also holds a Sustainable Energy Management Advanced Certificate (SEMAC) and is a certified RETScreen expert (CRE). Minoo is a member of Engineers and Geoscientists BC (EGBC) and a senior member of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
Minoo has worked in manufacturing, consulting engineering firms, and R&D for over 20 years. She is a Research Associate at the Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) within the Centre for Applied Research and Innovation of British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Vancouver, Canada.
Minoo functions as a team leader and participant; and designs, plans and conducts smart micro-grid, renewable energy resources integration, power automation and substation automation systems projects. She also collaborates with BCIT’s various schools on the development and delivery of smart grid and renewable energy related courses.
Minoo’s main research interests are smart grids, smart micro-grids, clean energy technologies, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energies, energy management and control & automation systems.
Email: Minoo_Shariat@bcit.ca
Janet So is a research analyst in the Smart Microgrid Applied Research Group (SMART) at BC Institute of Technology (BCIT). As part of the software team for the Smart Microgrid research initiative, she has developed applications in areas of energy management systems, meter and sensor data acquisition, and demand response algorithms. Her research interests are in smart grid software control systems and demand response. Janet is an experienced software developer, particularly in web applications. She has worked on a variety of small and large software projects ranging from an e-commerce fashion website to business intelligent software suites.
Janet holds a B.SoftEng. from University of Waterloo.
Email: Janet_So@bcit.ca
Alan has been programming since grade 10. His first computer had only 1K of programmable memory. Since then Alan has worked on many software projects, big and small. He started his career at Electronic Arts Canada developing games and audio drivers and then moved to Radical Entertainment. He then branched out to work on ACCPAC for Windows Corporate Series Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable 4.1 and 4.2 at ACCPAC Canada. After that, things got interesting doing online gaming before Alan finally landed his current position at BCIT.
In 10+ years at BCIT, Alan has worked on numerous projects dealing with Smart Microgrid technologies, including Energy Management Systems; gathering, storing, and displaying data from a myriad of sources and devices; creating websites; and learning new and innovative ways to bring the future into the present. Alan also created the SMART Microgrid Card Game as a tool to teach others what Smart Microgrids are all about.
Alan has a B.Sc. from Simon Fraser University (1988) and completed the Self-Employment Program at Douglas College (2004) when he founded Everywhere Cell Phone Games and created 18 mobile games and other applications. Alan brings in a wide variety of technical skills and experience garnered from 30+ years of industry work.
Email: Alan_Stewart@bcit.ca