You can find Issa Batarseh\u2019s inventions almost anywhere \u2014 from parking lots at 麻豆原创 to streets in the New York City Metro area. The Pegasus Professor of electrical and computer engineering contributed to 40 U.S. patents during his research career. He has a place in the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, alongside Thomas Edison, has been honored by the King of Jordan, commands a Wikipedia page and recently received the highest distinction possible from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the IEEE Medal of Environmental and Safety Technologies.<\/p>\n
While Batarseh has plenty of reasons to focus on what he alone has achieved, he doesn\u2019t see success as a singular effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality of the people who have passed through my labs at 麻豆原创 is extraordinary,\u201d he says of a long list that includes 45 doctoral students. \u201cTheir work is making a lasting impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Bararseh, that lasting impact among Knights began 35 years ago from a corner on campus where he began to pursue his bold (some call them \u201ccrazy\u201d) ideas.<\/p>\n
Is it true your first lab at 麻豆原创 wasn\u2019t really a lab at all? The dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Michael Georgiopolous, once said you\u2019ve done things that people thought were impossible. If you were to show us the impact of your research, where would you take us? I\u2019m deeply passionate about renewable energy technology. My students and postdocs amplify that passion, which is why I truly owe my success to them. Our shared creativity and collective dedication turn what others call \u201ccrazy ideas\u201d into something useful and real.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What about impact around Central Florida? Why are you able to see solutions where others see impossibilities? Were you a budding inventor as a kid growing up in Jordan? Most people hadn\u2019t even heard of renewable energy when you came to 麻豆原创. Why did you come here to pursue breakthroughs?<\/strong><\/p>\n I saw 麻豆原创 as a university open to innovation, hungry for growth. Renewable energy wasn\u2019t yet a mainstream research area, so I proposed to work on it through power electronics. Student interest grew rapidly as we pioneered a new field.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had opportunities in the private sector, but I love teaching and working with students. Seeing their curiosity ignite and watching them succeed is something no financial reward can replace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Among all of your patents and honors, what do you consider your hallmark? You could have done well for yourself as an inventor based in industry. Why stay in academia? Find out more about Batarseh\u2019s lab at fpec.ucf.edu.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Issa Batarseh dedicated his career to discovering renewable energy solutions before many people had heard of the concept. Where did his bold ideas lead? Look around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":152863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[973,54366,13917],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-152862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-energy-sustainability","tag-issa-batarseh"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>There was no research space available when I arrived in 1991. So, I set up a bench in a corner of the senior design lab to stay out of the way of students coming and going. After a couple of years of progress, I moved into a 200-square-foot space. When the dean came to inspect it, he saw students busy with active hardware and said, \u201cYes, Issa deserves this lab.\u201d Over the years I moved into larger spaces and eventually built the Florida Power Electronics Center, but that first lab is a reminder of why it\u2019s essential to focus on genuine work and real results, no matter where you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I believe he\u2019s referring to our development of the microinverter 20 years ago. My team and I proposed placing a small inverter on each solar panel rather than using large string inverters. Skeptics said our idea would be too expensive, too complex, and that the market would never support it. Today, hundreds of millions of microinverters have been sold worldwide.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I just took my kids to New York City for the new year. On the way to the airport in Newark, New Jersey, I saw some of the 200,000 panels that Petra Solar \u2014 a company our team at 麻豆原创 co-founded \u2014 installed on utility poles. My kids have heard me mention the panels, which we call photovoltaic (PV) modules with microinverters, but for the first time they were able to directly connect my research and entrepreneurship activities to real-world impact.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Start in our lab. You see generations of products and prototypes my students have helped design over the years. I see those prototypes as timestamps of their technical growth from academia to industry. Next, I\u2019d show you the solar chargers at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center carports and the PV system on top of the Harris Engineering Center. Several of my doctoral and master\u2019s students have founded companies in the Central Florida area, generating\u00a0millions of dollars in revenue\u00a0and\u00a0many jobs \u2014 a result of the work we\u2019ve done at 麻豆原创 and because of the constant support from the\u00a0Florida High Tech Corridor. From here, our impact extends to multi-megawatt solar projects across the U.S. and abroad.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I\u2019m deeply passionate about renewable energy technology. My students and postdocs amplify that passion, which is why I truly owe my success to them. Our shared creativity and collective dedication turn what others call \u201ccrazy ideas\u201d into something useful and real.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Believe it or not, I didn\u2019t do many hands-on projects. I didn\u2019t fix things either. But I did enjoy the problem-solving of math and science. My parents encouraged me to pursue higher education, and their support played a major role in motivating me.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>My hallmark isn\u2019t any single patent or award. It\u2019s three areas of long-term impact. First are the people who have trained in my labs. Second are the technical solutions that have helped advance renewable energy, including resonant converters and the microinverter. And third is our entrepreneurial impact. Many of my students have launched private companies, which contributes to economic growth, globally. It\u2019s all incredibly fulfilling.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>麻豆原创 has given me the freedom to pursue ideas and build meaningful research programs around them. I\u2019ve had opportunities in the private sector, but I love teaching and working with students. Seeing their curiosity ignite and watching them succeed is something no financial reward can replace. The true measure of academic success lies in the lives you influence and the lasting contributions you leave behind. I wouldn\u2019t change a thing.<\/p>\n