Bio


Welcome to my home page! I am currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University, sponsored by Prof. Simona Onori. I obtained my Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor working with Prof. Al-Thaddeus Avestruz. My research bridges concepts from circuits, control, and systems to address challenges in future power and energy systems. My Ph.D. dissertation focused on physics-based modeling, control, and design of energy systems. At Stanford, I broadened toward data-driven modeling, identification, and prediction of energy systems. Future energy systems can be more heterogeneous in form and more agile in actuation because of more integration of power electronics. My proposed work addressed these challenges by innovating control-aware modeling frameworks, provably-correct control policies, physics-informed learning schemes, and high-performance hardware validations.

I earned two M.S. degrees in ECE and Mathematics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I received two bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from Tsinghua University, China. I enjoy reading and hiking in my spare time. If you are interested in future energy systems, I believe my “full-stack” skillsets from theory to hardware would be a good complement to your previous experiences. Please feel free to reach out to me by email. Have a good day!

Honors & Awards


  • MTRAC Winner Award, State of Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization Program (2021)
  • Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement, University of Michigan (2021)
  • Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant, University of Michigan (2020)
  • Rackham Graduate Student Fellowship, University of Michigan (2016)
  • Meritorious Winner Award, 31st International Mathematical Contest in Modeling (2015)
  • Wu Liang Ye Award for Academic Excellence, Tsinghua University (2014)
  • First Prize, 30th China Physics Contest for College Students (2013)
  • Ultra-High Voltage Engineering Fellowship, China National Grid (2013)
  • Bronze Medal, 28th China Math Olympiad (2012)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Topic Chair, 2023 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) (2023 - Present)
  • Publication Chair, 2023 IEEE 24nd Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (2022 - Present)
  • Technical Committee Member, IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) TC 1: Control and Modeling of Power Electronics, (2021 - Present)
  • Technical Committee Member, IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) TC 7: Critical Power and Energy Storage Systems (2021 - Present)

Professional Education


  • B.S., Tsinghua University, Economics (2016)
  • B.E., Tsinghua University, Electrical Engineering and Automation (2016)
  • M.S., Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Electrical and Computer Engineering (2021)
  • M.S., Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mathematics (2022)
  • Graduate Certificate, Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Data Science (2022)
  • Ph.D., Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Electrical and Computer Engineering (2022)

Stanford Advisors


Patents


  • "United States Patent 17/348,705 Cycle-by-Cycle Digital Control of DC-DC Converters", University of Michigan
  • "United States Patent 63/090,199 Power Processing and Energy Storage", University of Michigan
  • "United States Patent 63/270,911 Control Conditioning", University of Michigan
  • "China P.Rep. Patent ZL20141083071 Optical Measuring System Used for Measuring Field Intensity of Direct-Current Electric Field", Tsinghua University

All Publications


  • Large-Signal Stability Guarantees for Cycle-by-Cycle Controlled DC-DC Converters IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS LETTERS Cui, X., Avestruz, A. 2023; 7: 763-768
  • Benefit assessment of second-life electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries in distributed power grid applications JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE Song, Z., Nazir, M., Cui, X., Hiskens, I. A., Hofmann, H. 2022; 56
  • Comparing power processing system approaches in second-use battery energy buffering for electric vehicle charging JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE Cui, X., Ramyar, A., Siegel, J. B., Mohtat, P., Stefanopoulou, A. G., Avestruz, A. 2022; 49
  • Transfer-Power Measurement Using a Non-Contact Method for Fair and Accurate Metering of Wireless Power Transfer in Electric Vehicles IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS Chu, S., Cui, X., Zan, X., Avestruz, A. 2022; 37 (2): 1244-1271
  • Lite-Sparse Hierarchical Partial Power Processing for Second-Use Battery Energy Storage Systems IEEE ACCESS Cui, X., Ramyar, A., Mohtat, P., Contreras, V., Siegel, J. B., Stefanopoulou, A. G., Avestruz, A. 2022; 10: 90761-90777
  • Potential-Based Large-Signal Stability Analysis in DC Power Grids With Multiple Constant Power Loads IEEE OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL OF POWER AND ENERGY Chang, F., Cui, X., Wang, M., Su, W. 2022; 9: 16-28
  • Region of Attraction Estimation for DC Microgrids With Constant Power Loads Using Potential Theory IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SMART GRID Chang, F., Cui, X., Wang, M., Su, W. 2021; 12 (5): 3793-3808
  • Large-Signal Stability Criteria in DC Power Grids With Distributed-Controlled Converters and Constant Power Loads IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SMART GRID Chang, F., Cui, X., Wang, M., Su, W., Huang, A. Q. 2020; 11 (6): 5273-5287
  • A compact RF power inverter with reduced EMI for a CubeSat electrothermal micro-thruster Liang, W., Cui, X., Raymond, L., Gu, L., Charles, C., Boswell, R., Rivas-Davila, J., IEEE IEEE. 2017