Vijay Vittal is following in his mentor’s footsteps.

Vittal came to Iowa State from India as a doctoral student in 1979 to work with Professor A.A. Fouad. Twenty-five years later, he has been elected by his peers to the National Academy of Engineering, of which Fouad is a member. Vittal even works from Fouad’s former office.

Vittal, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is now a mentor for other students. He is one of 76 new national members and 11 new foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

“I was first of all thrilled,” Vittal said. “It is a good recognition of my work and that of my group and graduate students.”

According to the academy’s citation, Vittal was elected for “improvements in real-time control and dynamic security assessment for electric power systems.”

Vittal said he is proud of his research in electrical power systems, dynamics and control. He works to prevent large blackouts in power systems.

“We are doing something right,” Vittal said. “The blackout on the East Coast [last fall] was the first in 30 years.”

Vittal said he has addressed the problem of the electrical systems division within the nation during his career. He has worked on ways to solve problems of connecting the nation’s two electrical systems, which are separated by the Rocky Mountains.

“It’s difficult to do onsite testing because [the system] is always running,” Vittal said.

Brad Retterath, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, is a teaching assistant for Vittal’s Electrical Engineering 457 class, the second power systems analysis class in a series. A textbook Vittal wrote guides the class.

“He’s very knowledgeable, and he demands a lot out of his students,” Retterath said. “He wants them to do well.”

Vittal said students he mentored in the past are still doing well. Two of his former Ph.D. students now serve as vice presidents of large power companies, and two more teach electrical engineering at universities in Korea.

“The best part of my job is getting to know new students each year,” Vittal said. “It recharges my battery.”

Vittal will continue his responsibilities at Iowa State while stepping up to national initiatives through the National Academy of Engineering, he said. His goal is to continue providing reliable and uninterrupted electric power.

“Only when the power goes out do we realize how dependent we are on it,” Vittal said.