Virginia Tech® home

IRES with Grenoble Institute of Technology, France

Grenoble Institute of technology

U.S.-France Program for INverter-based And Cybersecure Control and Communication for eLEctric power system (PINNACLE)

Partnering with Grenoble Institute of Technology, France

The PINNACLES IRES program trains and send U.S. students (6 each year) for 8 weeks to the Grenoble Institute of Technology, France, whose electrical engineering program is ranked one of the best in the country. The overarching theme of students’ research projects is to enable a massively inverter-based electric power system while addressing control, communication, and cybersecurity requirements and challenges. During the program, students engage in research and extracurricular activities, including language instruction, several industry visits, and integration with existing international internship program in its G2Elab. Costs covered include round-trip flights, housing in France, stipend ($500/week), overseas health insurance, and more.

Eligibility

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Enrolled full-time at a U.S. university
  • Junior, senior or graduate student standing
  • Not a full-time Virginia Tech employee
  • Have taken core power courses at your home institution
  • Minimum GPA of 2.7

Program Details

First founded in 1900, the Grenoble Institute of Technology began as an electrical engineering institute that has grown to become France’s largest technological university, consisting of eight engineering and management schools. Students selected for this program will be part of an individual project, but work on the same theme of cybersecurity and communication for control and protection of grid-forming (GFM) converters and inverter-based resources (IBR) used for integration of renewables in the power grid. Students will receive close research mentorship by our collaborators from Grenoble Institute of Technology.

Applications for Summer 2024 are now closed. 

 

Questions? Contact:  

Professor Ali Mehrizi-Sani,  mehrizi@vt.edu

This program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award #2107163).