Our PES and IAS remains closely tied to Western North Carolina University College of Engineering and Technology.  The College offers a B.S.E. with concentrations in Electrical Power, Manufacturing, or Mechanical. The Electrical Power concentration focuses on electric power systems, power electronics, smart grid design, renewable and sustainable energy, electric machines, and drives. It emphasizes fundamental coursework in electrical and mechanical engineering. The PES/IAS offers many power and industrial applications, technical events, and presentations throughout the year. The WCU IEEE student branch often collaborates with PES to host these events.

Bora Karayaka chairs the WNC IEEE PES/IAS Chapter and is an Engineering faculty at College of Engineering and Technology, Western Carolina University. He has worked as a Senior Engineer for smart grids and wireless communication industries for over ten years. Currently, he is leading the efforts to establish electric power engineering as a discipline within the School of Engineering + Technology. This has involved outreach and recruiting activities as well as developing and delivering the curriculum.

Dr. Karayaka’s research interests include engineering education, ocean wave energy, identification, modeling, and control for electrical machines and smart grids. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Istanbul Technical University in Control and Computer Engineering and his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University.