Introduction

Electrical power plays a pivotal role in the nation’s development and China is undergoing a tremendous high speed development period for power engineering, including both power systems and electrical equipment. The special characteristics of power systems, i.e. considerable complexity, instant balance of power, extra-high voltage, integration of power flow and information flow, reflect the specialty and the frontier of power engineering. These two aspects make the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University an active and vigorous education and research institute.
The Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua carries through its research work with the idea of discovering valuable and challengeable scientific problems through key engineering projects affecting the development of China’s power engineering industry and, by solving those problems, contributing knowledge and technologies to the electrical engineering discipline and the power engineering industry of China and the world.
The research field of the Department of Electrical Engineering is mainly focused on the subjects of electrical power. The research directions of different fields are introduced as follows:
(1)Power System and its Automation: Security, stability, control and marketization of power systems;
(2)High Voltage and Insulation Technique: High voltage insulation, over voltage and its protection, electromagnetic compatibility, equipment detection and high voltage measurement;
(3)Electric Machines and Electric Apparatus: Large-scale machines, special machines, motor systems in electrical vehicles, machine protection, high voltage switchgear;
(4)Power Electronics and Electrical Drive: Basic theory and topology research in power systems and industrial application, flexible AC transmission system, electrical machine drive and control, interface and application of renewable energy system, power quality;
(5)Theory and New Technology of Electrical Engineering: Basic theory of electromagnetic field and its numerical calculation, electromagnetic measurement, wireless transmission of power energy, fault diagnosis based on electromagnetic theory.
The research work in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University is strongly connected with the State Key Laboratory of Control and Simulation of Power System and Generation Equipments, which is affiliated under Tsinghua University, was approved by the State Planning Commission in 1989. Examined and accepted by the State, the Laboratory was put into formal operation on the 17th October, 1995.
The Department has paid great attention to academic communication and collaboration domestically and internationally. Whilst cooperating with oversea institutes, the Department is also keeping close contact with domestic companies. The Power companies of State Grid and China Southern Power Grid are two key power operation companies in China.