Dr Stephen Robson
Senior Lecturer
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a senior lecturer and deputy group leader of the Advanced High Voltage Engineering Research Centre.
My current research interests focus on 1) The application of machine learning and advanced techniques for fault location and detection on power networks, 2) Development of Power Line Communication, 3) Condition Monitoring of high voltage assets, 4) Earthing and lightning protection, 5) Optimisation techniques (discrete particle swarm optimisation) for smart asset management), 6) Simulation and modelling of travelling wave Phenomena using EMTP, 7) Use of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology for condition monitoring or edge computing.
My past and ongoing research activities:
- Development of machine learning algorithms for fault detection in future power networks dominated by power electronics. This ongoing project is a collaborative EPSRC funded project (with Imperial College London, Tsinghua University and Hefei University).
- Knowledge Transfer Partnership (academic supervisor) with Eriez, to digitalise an industrial metal detector.
- Knowledge Transfer Partnership (academic supervisor) with Kingsmill Industries, to embed earthing and lightning protection expertise
- Development of a novel Power Line Communication modulation scheme based on the LoRa physical layer, which is a more robust approach to PLC than conventional methods. I have developed advanced simulation methodologies for PLC modelling, e.g. Modelling and analysis of the Prime and G3-PLC modulation schemes.
- Development of a novel condition monitoring system for contactless measurement of trapped charge on 275kV busbars.
- Development of an Overhead Line Monitoring System (OHMS Ω) system, in collaboration with the Power Networks Research Academy (PNRA).
- Investigation of the high frequency performance of earthing rods and insulated conductors, in collaboration with National Grid.
I am a member of BSI GEL/81 (protection against lightning) and Cardiff University's representative on the Power Academy scholarship scheme.
Get in touch: please do not hesitate to contact me via email for academic inquiries: Dr. Stephen Robson's email
Biography
Education and Qualifications
2006: Awarded a Power Academy scholarship with National Grid
2007: MEng (1st Class Honours) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Cardiff University
2007-2008 - National Grid Graduate Development scheme, with placements in Asset Management and demand forecasting.
2012: PhD in Electrical Engineering, Cardiff University (Power Networks Research Academy scholarship)
2016: Postgraduate Certificate of University Teaching and Learning (PCUTL)
Honours and awards
- August 2007: Award for the best performing graduate student on the MEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree scheme
- September 2009: Award for the first prize presenter at the North American Power Symposium (NAPS) in Mississippi, USA
- September 2020: Paper award (top 5%) at UPEC 2020.
Professional memberships
- Member of the IEEE
- Membership of BSI GEL/81 Protection against lightning standards committee.
Committees and reviewing
Member of the Power Academy Council.
Chair of the Universities High Voltage Network - UHVnet (2022-2023)
Journal Reviewer for IEEE Power Delivery and IET Transmission and Distribution.
I authored the Energy Systems chapter of the Welsh Government's Material and Advanced Engineering Knowledge Exchange Strategy (MAeKES) report
Publications
We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.Teaching
- 1st Year Power Engineering - introduction to power engineering
- 2nd Year Power Engineering and laboratories
- 2nd Year FPGA digital design - introduction to Field Programmable Gate Arrays and applications
- 2nd Year Group Design Project
- 3rd Year FPGA digital design - more advanced course in FPGAs
Contracts
Awarding body | Project title | People | Duration from/ to | Value |
| EPSRC | Technology Transformation to Support Flexible and Resilient Local Energy Systems | Robson S, Haddad A | 01/01/2020-01/09/2022 | £175k via Imperial |
| Innovate UK | Digitisation of Industrial Metal Detection (KTP) | Hall J, Robson S, Anderson P, Melikhov Y | 01/03/2020-01/03/2023 | £262k |
| Innovate UK | Embedding Earthing Systems Expertise | Haddad A, Robson S | 01/03/2020-01/03/2023 | £175k |
| National Grid | High Frequency Earthing and its impact on the transmission system | Haddad A, Robson S | 01/03/19-30/07/21 | £292k |
| WEFO – European Regional Development Fund | FLEXIS West – Flexible Energy Systems | Haddad A, Robson S | 01/07/15-28/02/21 | £735k |
| WEFO – European Regional Development Fund | FLEXIS East – Flexible Energy Systems | Haddad A, Robson S | 01/07/15-28/02/21 | £126k |
| Power Networks Research Academy (PNRA) | An Overhead Line Monitoring System for 11kV lines (OHMS-1) | Robson S | 01/07/15 – 01/01/16 | £25K |
| Power Networks Research Academy (PNRA) | An Overhead Line Monitoring System for 11kV lines (OHMS-2) | Robson S | 01/02/17- 01/09/17 | £16.2K |
| National Grid | Measurement of direct voltage decay on 275kV transmission cable lines | Robson S, Haddad A | 01/03/19-30/07/21 | £12.5k |
Supervised Students
Title | Student | Status | Degree |
| Placement of Remotely Operable Switches using Particle Swarm Optimisation | OMAR Saodah Binti | Complete | PhD |
| Novel Techniques for Metal Detection using Digital Signal Processing | Christopher Dyer | Current | PhD |
| Fault Locaton on Distribution and Transmission Networks | Fei Xie | Current | PhD |
| Assessment of Silicone Rubber Insulators Performance | Abdulaziz Alshehri | Current | PhD |
Supervision
I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:
- Power Line Communication
- Fault Location on electrical networks
- Earthing and lightning protection
- Optimisation studies
- Application of machine learning to fault detection and smart asset management
- Application of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology to edge computing
Past projects
Current:
- Supervisor for Chris Dyer (50%) - on the use of digital signal processing to enable the digitalisation of an industrial metal detector
- Supervisor for Abdulaziz Alshehri (50%) - Assessment of Silicone Rubber Insulators Performance
Past:
- Supervisor for Saodah Omar (50%) - on the use of Discrete Paritcle Swarm Optimisation (DPSO) for switch placement on distribution networks
- Supervisor for Fei Xie (50%) - on the development of multi-ended fault location algorithms