UCLA MAE Professor Rajit Gadh was quoted in The Atlantic in the article “Smart Grids and Microgrids Team Up for a Smarter World”:
“Today, we are seeing the convergence of information and communications technology and the Internet of Things,” says Dr. Rajit Gadh, director of the University of California, Los Angeles Smart Grid Energy Research Center. “Now we have physical devices that can be monitored. The electricity can be monitored. The voltage can be monitored. The power consumption can be monitored.”
Across the ocean, on the UCLA campus, Dr. Gadh has likewise spearheaded development of a microgrid for the university that is even able to draw power from an on-campus electric-vehicle charging program. Gadhs’ team is prototyping plug-in devices to measure and manage the power consumed by on-campus refrigerators, clothes dryers, LED lighting, and air conditioners, making UCLA what he calls a “living laboratory” for converting data into energy efficiency.