Three Red Bird MPhil students have successfully defensed their MPhil thesis:

–Peida Chen: Audible Noise and Harmonic Suppression Strategies for Low-Speed Sensorless Control of Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors
–Mengqiang Liu: Enhanced Optimization-Based Sensorless Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Drives through Cost Function Reformulation
–Haoda Xi: Battery State Estimation Algorithms to Increase Accuracy and Robustness under Demanding Conditions

The IEEE Industry Applications Society has announced the results of the annual Myron Zucker Programs selection. Dr. Dianxun Xiao, an assistant professor in the Sustainable Energy and Environment domain at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), has been awarded the IEEE Foundation IAS Myron Zucker Student-Faculty Grant for his team’s innovative work titled “AI-Based Online Thermal Behavior Estimation of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Using Thermal-Model Informed Neural Network.” He is the first recipient of this award from universities in mainland China and the Hong Kong-Macau region since its establishment. The project is led by Professor Dianxun Xiao, with team members including doctoral students Hao Jing and Dehui Luo.

· Huayu Ji, Topology Design and Integration of Power Converter for High-Voltage Transformerless Battery Energy Storage System
· Jiani Luo, Rotor Temperature Estimation in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Based on Data-Driven Methods
· Xi Luo, Decentralized Weak Grid Supporting Control of Grid-Forming Type-IV Wind Farms with Wide-Speed Range Operation Ability

There Ph.D. students enrolled in Fall 2023 passed the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam (PQE).
Congratulations to the three Ph.D. candidates：Jiani Luo, Xi Luo, Huayu Ji!

Our MPhil student of EPES Lab, Mr. Haoda Xi, was awarded the Outstanding RBM Project in 2025, for their impressive group project in “Revolutionizing the Chinese Sunshade Industry: Innovative Solar Umbrellas for Sustainability and Adaptability.”

The team is led by the RBM mentor, Prof. Qinghao He, and Haoda’s contributes
advanced battery management systems developed from the EPES Lab. Prof. Dianxun
Xiao is the academic supervisor of the RBM group.

The 27th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS) is one of the largest technical annual conferences in the field of electrical machines. Since its inception by the China Electrotechnical Society in 1987, the ICEMS has evolved from a domestic academic conference into a major international conference held in rotation among China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, gaining widespread influence in the global electrical machines and systems field.

The Ph.D. students Xi Luo and Huayu Ji gave oral presentations during the conference, and Xi Luo received the Student Paper Award. Congratulations!

The 7th COMAC International Science and Technology Innovation Week, jointly hosted by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC 中国商飞集团), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Chongqing University, opened successfully. This year’s International Science and Technology Innovation Week is themed “Green, Intelligent: New Opportunities for Large Aircraft.”

Professor Xiao was invited to give a talk on “High reliability drive control technology of electric reverse thrust permanent magnet motors” (电反推永磁电机高可靠性驱动控制技术) and discussed cooperation topics in high-performance motor drives for aircraft.

A delegation of ten people including the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Low Altitude Economy Research Institute of HKUST(GZ)/the fourth President of the HKUST, Professor Wei Shi, and Professors of the Low Altitude Economy Research Institute visited AVIC Xi’an Flight Automatic Control Research Institute (FACRI) (中航工业自控所).

The two sides had in-depth discussions on the possibility of strategic cooperation in the future in the eVTOL field. Pu Youhua, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the FACRI, accompanied the research visit. Two sides signed the strategic cooperation Framework Agreement on eVTOL

Two Red Bird MPhil students, Mr. Dehui Luo and Mr. Shuo Zhang, have successfully defensed their MPhil thesis. Both of them have published/submitted 2 top journal articles during their MPhil study. The thesis titles are:

Dehui Luo: Audible Noise and Harmonic Suppression Strategies for Low-Speed Sensorless Control of Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

Shuo Zhang: Model-based Observer Design for State-of-Charge/Energy Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries

The Ph.D. student, Xi Luo, participated in the 2024 8th International Conference on Power Energy Systems and Applications (ICoPESA). He gave an oral presentation:

· Xi Luo, Phase Synchronization for Multi-Module Parallel Battery Energy System of High-Speed Train based on Dual Second-Order Generalized Integrator

· Xinghao Wang, Parameter Estimation and Sensorless Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors
· Hao Jing, Rotor Temperature Estimation in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Based on Data-Driven Methods
· Zifeng Chen, Sensorless Control and Torque Ripple Minimization of Switched Reluctance Motors without Motor Parameter Characteristics

There Ph.D. students enrolled in Fall 2022 passed the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam (PQE).
Congratulations to the three Ph.D. candidates：Xinghao Wang, Hao Jing and Zifeng Chen!

The Ph.D. student, Hao Jing, visited John Hopcroft Center (JHC) for Computer Science at Shanghai Jiaotong University with his co-supervisor, Prof. Xiaohong Liu. They have a deep discussion with AI techniques in electrical machines.

The Ph.D. student, Zifeng Chen, participated in the 2024 IEEE 7th International Electrical and Energy Conerence (CIEEC). He gave an oral presentation:

· Zifeng Chen, Torque Ripple Suppression Strategy for Switched Reluctance Motor Based on Improved Active Disturbance Rejection Controller

He was awarded the BEST PAPER AWARD (Top 1%), Congratulations!

The opening ceremony of the BEST LAB at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) was held with great solemnity. Professor Ni Mingxuan, the President; Professor Qu Shaobing, the Party Secretary; Professor Wu Jingshen, the Vice President (Teaching); Professor Wu Kaishun, the Associate Vice President (Research); Professor Guan Jizu, the Associate Vice President (Coordination and Laboratory Safety); Professor Wen Weijia, the Dean of Functional Hub; Professor Chen Lei, the Dean of Information Hub; and Professor Qiu Huihe, the Director of the BEST LAB and the Head of the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Thrust, all attended the event.

Two Ph.D. students, Zifeng Chen and Xi Luo, participated in the IEEE PELS Student Symposium and Power Electronics in Asia (SSPEL-Asia) and gave two oral presentations for competition:

· Zifeng Chen, A Novel Approach to High-Speed Sensorless Control of Switched Reluctance Motor Using FOGI Without Magnetic Characteristics
· Xi Luo, Decentralized Grid-Forming Control Strategy for Frequency Regulation: Applied in High-Penetration Wind Power System

The Ph.D. student, Zifeng Chen, participated in the 2023 China Power Electronics and Energy Conversion Congress – The 26th China Power Supply Society Conference and Exhibition. He gave an oral presentation in Chinese:

· Zifeng Chen, 基于单相自适应观测器的开关磁阻电机无磁特性高速位置估计

Another Ph.D. student, Hao Jing, participated in the conference for discussing AI-based power electronics.

Two Ph.D. students, Xinghao Wang and Zifeng Chen, participated in the 26th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS) and gave two oral presentations:

· Zifeng Chen, A Novel Approach to High-Speed Sensorless Control of Switched Reluctance Motor Using Fourth Order Generalized Integrator Without Magnetic Characteristics
· Xinghao Wang, Parameter Estimation for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Based on Improved Genetic

The Ph.D. student, Jiani Luo, participated in the 2023 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition and gave an oral presentation:

· Jiani Luo, A Five-Level Low-Cost Modular Voltage Stepped-Up Converter for Photovoltaic Systems

The MPhil student, Shuo Zhang, participated in the 49th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON) and gave an oral presentation:

· Shuo Zhang, Robust State of Charge Estimation for Battery Using Self-Adaptive Super Twisting Sliding Mode Observer

Two professors, Prof. Gaolin Wang and Prof. Bo Wang, were invited to HKUST(GZ) on June 21 and May 31, 2023, respectively. Prof. Gaolin Wang hold a discussion with the first-cohort Ph.D. students at EPES Lab, and Prof. Bo Wang gave a talk on “Extreme Speed Control Techniques for AC Motors.”