Professor Akhtar Kalam is a supervisor of EIT’s Doctoral students. He has been at Victoria University in Melbourne since 1985 and was formerly Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science for 7 years. He is currently the Head of External Engagement in the College of Engineering and Science. He is also the Editor in Chief of the Australian Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. More than 40 PhD students have graduated under his supervision.
He has wide experience in educational institutions and industry across four continents. He received his B.Sc. and B.Sc. Engineering from Calcutta University and Aligarh Muslim University, India in 1969 and 1973 respectively. He completed his MS and Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma, USA and the University of Bath, UK in 1975 and 1981 respectively. He has worked with Ingersoll Rand and other electrical manufacturers. He has held concurrent appointment as Distinguished Professor at the University of New South Wales – Sydney, Australia; MRS Punjab Technical University – Bhatinda, India; Crescent University – Chennai, India; VIT – Vellore, India and 5 Malaysian universities.
He is regularly invited to deliver lectures, work on industrial projects and examine external thesis overseas. His major areas of interests are power system analysis, communication, control, protection, renewable energy, smart grid, IEC61850 implementation and cogeneration systems. He has been actively engaged in the teaching of Energy Systems to undergraduates, postgraduates and providing professional courses to the industry both in Australia and overseas. He regularly offers Continuing Professional Development and Master Class courses on Power System Protection, Renewable Energy, IEC61850, Cogeneration & Gas Turbine Operation and PBL in engineering education to practicing engineers, the Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA) and Australian Power Institute (API). He also runs postgraduate distance education program on Power System Protection for the ESAA. He has conducted research, provided industrial consultancy and published over four hundred and seventy publications on his area of expertise and written over 29 books in the area. He provides consultancy for major electrical utilities, manufacturers and other industry bodies in his field of expertise. Professor Kalam is a Fellow of EA, IET, AIE, a member of IEEE and CIGRE AP B5.
