Bio
Dr. Jin Dong is a member of ORNL’s Grid Interactive Controls Group in the Electrification and Energy Infrastructures Division. He received his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2016. His research focuses on power and energy system modeling, distributed energy resources aggregation and controls, cyber-physical resilience, and machine learning applications. At ORNL, he leads multiple projects focused on developing advanced models and controls for grid-edge resources to enhance grid flexibility, reliability, and resilience. He has also developed robust optimization algorithms and distributed energy resource management applications to modernize distribution grids.
Professional Experience
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Joint Faculty · March 2026 – Present
Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Senior R&D Staff · Apr 2024 – Present
Project Lead and Principal Investigator
- Lead strategic public–private partnerships to establish multi-year research collaborations between ORNL and government/industry stakeholders.
- Develop and execute R&D strategies for advanced grid-edge analytics and automation for future power systems.
- Coordinate multi-lab research on advanced distribution systems, dynamic control, and communications, and manage relationships with DOE sponsors.
R&D Staff · Jan 2022 – Mar 2024 · 2 yrs 3 mos
Project Lead and Principal Investigator for projects focused on:
- Grid-edge intelligence to improve grid reliability, resilience, and cybersecurity
- Advanced control and optimization of distribution systems
- DER integration and dynamic hosting capacity
- Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) and federated learning (FL) for proactive grid restoration
- Connected communities and microgrids
- DERMS solutions
- Collaborated closely with utilities and vendors to transition advanced research into real-world systems, using AI and grid-edge DER technologies to address emerging distribution grid challenges.
- Mentored junior researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and student interns.
R&D Associate Staff · Jul 2016 – Dec 2021 · 5 yrs 6 mos
- Co-PI and technical lead on multiple projects funded by DOE OE, SETO, BTO, VTO, and ARPA-E.
- Conducted research on advanced control and optimization for future power systems with high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs), building-to-grid integration, microgrid control, smart grid applications, and machine learning.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Research Assistant · Jan 2012 – June 2016 · 4 yrs 6 mos
- Developed distributed control and optimization methods for smart grids and smart buildings.
- Worked on power system state estimation.
- Designed occupancy-based control strategies for energy-efficient buildings.
Awards
- Best Paper Award - 2025 IEEE PES General Meeting
- A. Selim, S. Vahedi, J. Zhao, J. Dong, and J. Lian, “A Sequential Model Predictive and Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Controller for Distribution System Outage Mitigation under Hurricane Events," in IEEE PES General Meeting, Austin, TX, July 2025.
- Best Paper Award - 2024 IEEE PES General Meeting
- S. Vahedi, J. Zhao, J. Dong, B. Wang and J. Lian, ”Resilience Assessment for Distribution Systems during Hurricanes: A Learning-Based Framework,” in IEEE PES General Meeting, Seattle, WA, July 2024.
- Best Paper Award - Purdue Herrick Conference
- L. Shi, M. Qu, X. Liu, J. Dong, B. Cui, and L. Wang, “ Model Predictive Control for a Grid-interactive Efficient Thermal Storage-integrated Heat Pump System," in 7th International High Performance Buildings Conference, West Lafayette, IN, July 2022.
- Best Paper Award - IEEE PEDG Conference
- J. Dong, M. Olama, T. Kuruganti, J. Nutaro, Y. Xue, C. Winstead and A. Melin, “Model Predictive Control of Building On/Off HVAC Systems to Compensate Fluctuations in Solar Power Generation", in the IEEE 9th International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG), Charlotte, NC, June 25-28, 2018.
- Travel Award for Workshop on Distributed Control and Decision Making Over Networks
- Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sep. 28 - Oct 2, 2015
- Travel Award for IMA New Directions Short Course Topics in Control Theory
- Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 27 - Jun 13, 2014.
- IEEE ACC Student Travel Award
- IEEE American Control Conference, Portland, OR 2014
- Min Kao Fellowship
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, 2010 - 2013
Education
- Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA,
August, 2010 ∼ July, 2016. - Bachelor of Engineering
School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China,
September, 2006 ∼ July, 2010.
Professional Service
- IEEE - Senior Member