Industry x passion
Rathore’s philosophy and approach to success accelerated his progress and professional exposure. He pursued ideas that stem from personal interests alongside those he is researching academically.
“When I engage with industry and conduct academic research to solve an industry problem, many other questions and ideas arise. By consistently pursuing these ideas and actively documenting my findings, I position myself at the forefront of solving that problem,” Rathore explains.
His 2009 postdoctoral work conducted at the University of Wuppertal in Germany with Joachim Holtz was titled “Optimal low frequency pulse width modulation of medium voltage multi-level converters” and it piqued the interest of Brazilian electric-electronic equipment company WEG. The innovative approach is focused on driving significant energy savings in the high-power sectors.
While establishing himself in the control of heavy machines for these high-power sectors, he pursued his interests in renewable energy applications and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
In 2011, Rathore started to develop inverters for solar power to build reusable equipment that have a low environmental carbon footprint. “Not all parts of the world have access to electrical energy, so I wanted to look at ways where remote areas can benefit from energy using renewable sources that did not generate any waste.”
He also mentored and supervised two PhD students who pursued their thesis studies in renewable energies. The IEEE IAS Student Thesis Contest awarded the 25-year-old women first place in the PhD Category in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
“One thing I insist on with the students I supervise is my belief that patience, consistency and motivation lead to success,” Rathore notes. “You need to be self-motivated and consistent and you will surely be successful. I am proud of the accomplishments of the students I mentored and the quality work that they produced with me and beyond.”
For his work on wireless EV chargers, Rathore’s PhD student Suvendu Samanta received the 2018 Governor General Academic Gold Medal, 2019 Concordia University Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Prize and 2019 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Doctor of Philosophy Convocation Award. Samanta is now an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India.
New frontiers
A small leap and a little inspiration took Rathore from his work on EVs to electric aircraft. He is currently developing an AC to DC high-density power supply for electric aircraft. This innovative application is supported by Concordia through its commitment to aerospace research, and it received an award of $25,000 from IEEE.
Rathore is also now exploring plug-in chargers for electric local transportation through solar-based charging, and electric vehicle-to-vehicle power transfer, a new and in-demand research area for the EV market.
Learn more about Concordia's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.