Dr. Subarni Pradhan

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Research Focus: Control of power electric converters and electric machine drives
Industry Focus: Automotive electrification applications

Subarni Pradhan obtained her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, from the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University of Odisha, India, in 2011. Later in 2013, she received her M.Tech. in power control and drives, from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, India. After finishing her M.Tech, she worked as Assistant Professor at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University of Odisha, India. In 2021, Subarni received her Ph.D. from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, India. Currently, she is working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at McMaster University. She joined the McMaster Automotive Resource Center (MARC), Canada, in June 2022. Her research is focused on the development of advanced control strategies for electric motor drives in automotive applications. 

Full Profile

Subarni Pradhan is a focused and astute electrical engineer. Her drive has always come from her passion for science and technology. At a young age, her interest in electrical engineering was sparked, while working with her father. She knew from an early age that this was the field she wanted to pursue. During her undergraduate studies, Subarni discovered her love for electromagnetic theory, control theory, power electronics, electric motors, and their applications. Her bachelor’s project, which involved DC motor control using a microcontroller, further solidified her interest in the field. 

During the two years of her master’s degree in power control and drives, her curiosity led her to work on cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter-based electric traction drives. She explored various modulation techniques of cascaded H-bridge inverters and enjoyed implementing various control techniques, for induction motor drives used in electrical traction systems.

Her Ph.D. thesis focused on the development of improvised control algorithms for grid-connected power converters, solar energy conversion systems, and permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind energy conversion systems. The preliminary intention of her research work was based on the power quality improvement of grid-connected renewable energy sources. She also investigated the development of advanced, fault tolerant control strategies, for permanent magnet synchronous motors, operating both in motoring and generating modes.   

Currently, Subarni is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at McMaster University, where she continues to follow her passion for electrical engineering and work on innovative solutions concerning real-world problems. She is currently working at the McMaster Automotive Resource Center (MARC). There, she is focused on the development of advanced control strategies of electric motor drives, for automotive applications. She also works on industry projects for automotive electrification applications.  Not only that, but she is also a mentor to graduate students. 

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