Dr. Pritpal ("Pali") Singh of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Villanova University

Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world with only about 13% of its population having access to electricity. This lack of access to electricity limits the economic development of the country. Over the last four years, we have been able to get funding through the IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board programs to support development of solar electric systems to support local productive enterprises as well as renewable energy educational projects in Burundi. Building off this IEEE-supported success, we received a major grant (almost $1 million) from the European Union to support the development of a national renewable energy program in Burundi. In this talk, I will present the different projects for which we received IEEE funding and describe the plans for the European Union project.

Biography:

Dr. Pritpal Singh is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Villanova University. He has been working in solar energy and battery research for over 40 years. He teaches courses in electronics, renewable energy systems, and information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). He has worked on humanitarian engineering projects in several countries including Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador, Rwanda, and Burundi. He has served as the 2022 Partnerships Committee Chair of IEEE HAC, as the host and Chair of the 2023 and 2024 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conferences, the 2023 IEEE Humanitarian Technology Board (HTB) Tech4Good Committee, the 2024 IEEE HTB Events Committee Chair, and the 2025 IEEE HTB Best Practices Committee Chair. He will serve as the IEEE HTB Chair in 2026. In 2022 he was awarded the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) Duncan Fraser Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education for his educational work in Humanitarian Engineering.

Address:United States