Winner. Scientist of the Year 2024

Shubhanker Garg

Academic title, degree: Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Fields of science: Electrical Engineering and Power Systems
Research interest: Renewable Energy Substation Design
Career Development: Senior
Organization: Westwood Professional Services, Inc.
Position: Substation Lead Engineer - P&C
City: Austin, Texas
Country: USA

Shubhanker Garg is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in Texas and Ohio, a notable achievement that underscores his advanced expertise in Electrical Engineering and grants him the authority to provide professional engineering services. He holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington, where he conducted specialized research on interconnection requirements for new electricity generation in the ERCOT region. His Bachelor’s degree in Eelectrical Engineering is from Delhi College of Engineering, one of India’s top engineering institutions. His accomplishments have also been highlighted by TechBullion.

In his current role as Substation Lead Engineer at Westwood Professional Services, Shubhanker Garg is responsible for designing renewable energy substations that are a critical part of the electrical grid, leading engineering teams, serving as Project Engineer, and performing stringent quality assurance. He has developed proprietary P&C standards, advanced protective device coordination methodologies, and automated relay settings calculators, which have earned him formal commendations from clients.

At Mott MacDonald, Shubhanker innovated the Bus Potential Transformer (BPT) transfer scheme, now a standard solution for a major client, not only resolving specific Client’s challenges but also enhancing operational flexibility and reducing costs. He managed project timelines, budgets, and deliverables, while developing comprehensive substation design packages for utility and renewable projects. Shubhanker performed several studies and calculations such as DC system sizing, AC station service sizing, voltage drop calculations, Illumination calculations, lightning protection, rigid bus calculations, and grounding study. Thus, his technical expertise extended to a wide range of calculations and regulatory-compliant studies, including NERC FAC-008 packages, which are a regulatory requirement for substations.

During his tenure at Schneider Engineering, Shubhanker Garg standardized relay input and output assignments on substation designs for streamlined SCADA monitoring by the Client. His work in the Central Texas region has been pivotal in enhancing the infrastructure necessary for efficient electricity distribution. He led the creation of substation P&C design packages and conducted studies such as protective coordination, ground grid verification, short-circuit, and arc-flash. Shubhanker defined specifications for substation equipment, conducted peer reviews of substation designs by colleagues, and interfaced with clients.

At Virginia Transformer Corp, Shubhanker Garg designed oil-filled transformers up to 20 MVA, 650 BIL, and conducted peer reviews for high-capacity transformer designs, up to 100 MVA, 900 BIL Oil filled and 20 MVA, 150 BIL Dry type. He also developed operational control systems using AutoCAD and trained new engineers.

His extensive internship experience spans prestigious organizations such as Freeport McMoRan, the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai, Alstom Projects India Pvt. Ltd., and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

At Westwood Professional Services, Shubhanker Garg led the development of proprietary substation Protection & Control (P&C) standards that substantially enhanced operational efficiency and became the foundation for the company’s renewable energy substation designs. He developed a novel approach to protective device coordination using PowerFactory software, streamlining relay settings processes and boosting productivity at Westwood. Additionally, he created proprietary Relay Settings calculators, which have reduced calculation timelines and minimized manual errors.

Shubhanker also developed P&C standards for a major client, which are now utilized by other engineering firms. As an Owner’s Engineer for Clients, Shubhanker Garg provided expert oversight and quality assurance for renewable energy substation designs produced by various engineering firms. His substation designs currently integrate 1.25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy into the U.S. electrical grid, with an additional 1.865 GW pending integration - these would collectively power around 2.6 million households.

As a Senior IEEE member, Shubhanker played a significant role in drafting the IEEE 3001.9-2023 industry standard and is an active Working Group Member and contributor to draft standards including IEEE P3001.1, P525, and P2418.5. His participation in the IEEE has included reviewing and voting on 146 standards, with 33 officially published, as well as evaluating 16 conference papers and providing comprehensive feedback for acceptance or rejection.

Shubhanker Garg is deeply committed to the continuous advancement of the electrical engineering field.