Faculty & Staff

Michael F. Ahern is a Director of Corporate and Professional Education at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and an Instructor for WPI’s Foisie Business School.  He leads the group that develops graduate education programs for working professionals and corporations.  Mike’s personal specialty areas are: Power Systems; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Cybersecurity; and Operational Risk.  Mike improves the quality of the student experience by working with the faculty to update the curriculum and share best practices in course delivery, both online and classroom.Mike has taught graduate ...

Dr. Edvina Uzunovic has more than 15 years of experience with a range of responsibilities in the power systems industry. She has been a vital contributor to the overall success of several leading power industry organizations while serving different roles as a Technical Officer, Smart Grid Transmission Applications, Senior Quantitative Analyst and Senior Research and Technology Development Engineer. She is currently the Associate Director of Power Systems Engineering and an adjunct professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.Edvina has a B.Sc. from the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and ...

Lalitha Devarakonda is Adjunct Professor in Power Systems Engineering Program at WPI, where she teaches a course on Power System Protection. Dr. Devarakonda received her M.Sc from Louisiana State University, LA and Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts, MA. Her Ph.D research she developed new analytical method for battery modelling. She is currently working as Substation Technical Lead Engineer at Eversource Energy. Her job responsibilities include testing and commissioning high/medium voltage substation equipment along with their monitoring and remote control instrumentation.

  EDUCATION Ph. D.  Electrical Engineering, December 1985, Iowa State University Specialization:  Power system analysis and computer modeling of power systems M. S. Electrical and Computer Engineering, May 1980, University of Iowa B. S. Electrical Engineering, December 1978, University of Iowa EXPERIENCE Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Worcester, Massachusetts 2013 to present – Adjunct Professor Teaching graduate level power engineering courses as part of WPI Corporate and Professional Education online program. Federal Energy Regulatory ...

Dean Sorensen received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering degree with distinction in 1984 and an M.S. in Power Systems Management degree in 2002 both from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).  He is an active member of IEEE and IEEE’s Power System Relay Committee (PSRC) and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Massachusetts.  Dean has 35 years of experience in the power industry serving in various engineering capacities transmission, distribution and generation primarily in the areas of power system protection and controls and power quality.  Dean has been on the faculty of ...

Dr. Monat is a Professor of Practice and Director at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he teaches courses in Operations Risk Management, Systems Thinking, System Optimization, Operations Management, Business Practices, and Project Management. Dr. Monat has both management and teaching experience in the medical device, separations, food & beverage, consulting, and environmental industries, having served as President of Harvard Clinical Technology, President of Business Growth Specialists, Inc., as Sr. Vice-President of Pall Corporation, and in a variety of positions for Koch Membrane ...

I am interested in manufacturing and industrial engineering. My main interests lie at the intersection of manufacturing processes and the financial aspect of the business that relates to these processes. I see my mission as enabling students to become leaders in a business environment and helping them extract value from the processes that drive the organization. We do this by using tools like axiomatic design and Lean Six Sigma methods. I like to frame the lectures in such a way that the students picture themselves in the field, supporting or leading members of the organizations and having an ...