Arash Asrari, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering

Introduction

Arash Asrari started working at PNW as an associate professor in Aug. 2023. His research/teaching focus is on modern power systems operation, smart grids cybersecurity and renewable energy systems.

Research Overview

Since joining PNW in August 2023, he has secured more than $650,000 in grants (all as a single PI) from the National Science Foundation (ERI and EPCN programs), NiSource Foundation, U.S. Department of State, and Indiana Space Grant Consortium. He has also published more than 90 papers in the fields of power systems resilience, smart grid cybersecurity, and renewable energy.

Teaching Focus

Before joining academia, he worked in the power industry. Hence, instead of overwhelming his students with complex equations and pure theory, he always ensures to primarily clarify the application of Power/Energy concepts in real world for his students. He defines the projects of his courses using academic version of the most commonly used software in the power industry (such as ETAP) to design realistic systems.

Previous Roles

• Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 08/2017 – 07/2023
• Senior Consulting Engineer, Phasor Engineering, LLC, Winter Garden, FL, 09/2015 – 07/2017

Why I Chose to Leave the Industry and Join Academia…

“I am passionate about teaching, research and industrial projects. So, this is indeed my ideal job since it makes it possible for me to do three of them.”

Selected Publications

• Naderi, E., and A. Asrari. (2025). “A remediation framework against false data injection cyberattacks targeting ULTC transformers to avoid voltage collapse in smart distribution networks,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications.
• Asrari, A., *E. Naderi, J. Khazaei, P. Fajri, and V. Cecchi. (2023). “Modern heat and electricity incorporated networks targeted by coordinated cyberattacks for congestion and cascading outages” in Coordinated Operation and Planning of the Modern Heat and Electricity Incorporated Networks, Wiley-IEEE, chapter 6, pp.115-155.
• *Naderi, E. and A. Asrari. (2024). “A deep learning framework to identify remedial action schemes against false data injection cyberattacks targeting smart power systems,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics.
• *Naderi, E. and A. Asrari. (2023). “Experimental validation of a remedial action via hardware-in-the-loop system against cyberattacks targeting a lab-scale PV/wind microgrid,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 14, pp. 4060-4072.
• Asrari, A., *M. Ansari, and *E. Naderi. (2022). “A market framework for collaboration between distribution system operator and green bank agent,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 37, pp. 3669 – 3681.
• *Naderi, E., *S. Pazouki, and A. Asrari. (2022). “A remedial action scheme against false data injection cyberattacks in smart transmission systems: application of thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC),” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, vol. 18, pp. 2297 – 2309.

*Asrari’s PhD/MS students