Faculty Directory

Contact Information

Office:
Atwater Kent Laboratories, 215
Phone: +1-508-831-5239
Fax: +1-508-831-5491
aemanuel@wpi.edu

Alexander E. Emanuel

• Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Affiliated with:
  • Robotics Engineering

Energy is the magic manifestation that keeps us alive and warm. Energy keeps wheels turning, the sun shining, the hand writing, the earth spinning. I have dedicated my entire professional life to the study of energy-related problems, including the conversion of energy from one form to another. My primary focus has been in issues dealing with the quality of electrical energy. Some of the topics I continue to work on:

• active filters that help limit harmonic pollution
• the effect of voltage and current distortion on transformers, rotating machines, relays, and metering equipment
• improved conditioning systems
• the cost of harmonic pollution
• the integration of alternative energy sources in distribution systems
• using photovoltaic or double fed induction generators that simultaneously act like generators and active filters
• tracking harmonic polluting systems

Teaching and advising are an important part of my life. Good teaching requires the mastery of the topics I teach, the knowledge of what my students know and need to learn, and, most important, enthusiasm. Teaching is a great responsibility and privilege. I see my students as budding engineers, as future colleagues. I make a point to develop in them the following basic skills: to study effectively, to respect society and the environment, to take responsibility for their ideas, to think a problem through, and then to clearly communicate that problem. These skills are tools for a lifetime.

I have always considered myself an amatuer sculptor.