Dr Xiandong Ma

Reader in Power and Energy Systems

Research Interests

Dr Xiandong Ma received his BEng in Electrical Engineering from Jiangsu University in 1986 and MSc in Power Systems and Automation in Nanjing Automation Research Institute (NARI) (now China State Grid Electric Power Research Institute) in 1989. He completed his PhD research in Partial Discharge based High-voltage Plant Condition Monitoring from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2002.

He worked with NARI as Research Engineer and then Senior Research Engineer from 1989 to 1998, where he specialised in real-time power system modelling, simulation and instrumentation. He was a Visiting Research Engineer in RTDS Technologies Inc., Canada in 1994 and 1996, developing new exciter model and investigating interface techniques for new RTDS-based test facilities. He worked as Postdoctoral Research Associate from 2002 to 2007 firstly at Lancaster University and then at The University of Manchester, developing new generations of electromagnetic sensors and electromagnetic tomographic imaging systems. Thereafter, he worked with the Asset Management Engineering Department at ALSTOM Power UK in Stafford as Generator Condition Monitoring Engineer to lead and deliver the eXpert projects on shaft line vibration and power plant parameter monitoring, before returning to Lancaster to take up his academic post in December 2008.

His current research interests have been focused on the intelligent condition monitoring and fault diagnosis/prognosis of wind power systems and electrical assets with emphasis on analytical and experimental investigations; optimal condition-based operations and maintenance of power and energy systems; modeling, optimisation, and control of smart/micro grids with renewable energy resources; power conversion and renewable energy integration; and the associated machine learning and AI technologies and digital twin solutions. He has published >150 papers on leading refereed international journals, book chapters, international conferences and patents.

Dr Ma is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET), a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Member of EPSRC Peer Review College. He held a KTP (Key Technology Partnership) Fellowship awarded by University of Technology Sydney, Australia, in 2018. He was Technical Program Chair for 2018 24th IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’18, 6-7 September 2018, Newcastle University) and General Conference Chair for IEEE ICAC’19 (5-7 September 2019, Lancaster University). He served the President of the Chinese Automation and Computing Society in the UK (CACSUK) for 2019-2021. He has recently been ranked in the world's top 2% scientists in terms of the career long citation impact of published work released by Stanford University (https://dx.doi.org/10.17632/btchxktzyw).

SL: Self-Aware Power Networks: Autonomous Operation at Scale
08/01/2024 → 07/01/2027
Research

Smart wake-steering control: towards predictable and transparent operation of wind farms
31/03/2023 → 30/03/2025
Research

Autonomous Condition Monitoring of Wind Power Systems
01/08/2022 → 31/12/2024
Research

Autonomous Inspection for Responsive and Sustainable Nuclear Fuel Manufacture (AIRS-NFM)
06/09/2021 → 05/05/2025
Research

Novel High Performance Wave Energy Converters with advanced control, reliability and survivability systems through machine-learning forecasting (NHP-WEC)
01/08/2021 → 31/07/2024
Research

Smart condition monitoring and control for smart grids
01/07/2018 → 31/12/2019
Research

Development of an reliable and resilient floating combined wind and wave energy system
31/03/2018 → 31/12/2021
Research

High-resolution SCADA collection for effective condition monitoring of wind turbines
01/07/2017 → 30/09/2018
Research

HVAC-based hierarchical energy management system for microgrids
01/01/2017 → 22/10/2020
Research

Data-driven model-based approaches to condition monitoring and improving power output of wind turbines
01/01/2015 → 31/12/2017
Research

University collaboration improves Mimic condition monitoring
01/07/2014 → 30/06/2015
Research

Intelligent and integrated condition monitoring of distributed generation systems
16/01/2012 → 15/05/2013
Research

Variable Selection for Wind Turbine Condition Monitoring and Fault Detection System
01/10/2010 → 30/09/2014
Research

Special Session on “Modelling, optimisation, and control of smart/micro grids with renewable energy resources”, 50th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Condition monitoring, optimization and control of smart grid and microgrid system, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, April 03, 2024
Invited talk

Technology Development for Intelligent Operation and Maintenance of Wind Power Equipment, Jiangsu-UK World Class University Consortium Special Session on Smart Manufacturing and Bio-Medicine, 2023 International Cooperation & Exchange Week on the Integration of Industry, Research and Application
Invited talk

Condition Monitoring and Control of Wind Power Systems with Machine Learning, Renewable Energy Conference 2023 (REN-2023), Paris, France, October 23-25, 2023
Invited talk

External PhD degree examiner, Ulster University
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, Liverpool University
Examination

Arkwright Engineering Scholarships - Award Ceremony, London
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

International Cooperation Joint Laboratory of New Energy Power Generation and Electric Vehicles of Jiangsu Province Colleges and Universities (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel

MDPI Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (Publisher)
Editorial activity

External PhD degree examiner, Glasgow Caledonian University
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, University of Huddersfield
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, Ulster University
Examination

Special Session on “Advances in Renewable Energy Systems Condition Monitoring and Prognosis using Machine Learning”, 47th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES) (IECON 2021)
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Intelligent condition monitoring of wind power systems, Symposium on Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy, April 7, 2021, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan
Invited talk

External PhD degree examiner, The University of Manchester
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, Ulster University
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, The University of Manchester
Examination

Energies (Journal)
Editorial activity

Yajing Gu
Hosting an academic visitor

IET Present Around the World (PATW) Competition, Lancashire and Cumbria Network (Event)
Membership of committee

IEEE Systems Journal (Journal)
Editorial activity

External PhD degree examiner, University of Strathclyde
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, Newcastle University
Examination

General Conference Chair of the 25th IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’19), 5-7 September 2019, Lancaster University, UK.
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

External PhD degree examiner, The University of Sydney
Examination

External PhD degree examiner, Liverpool University
Examination

Data-driven approaches to smart offshore wind operations and maintenance, The OceanTech International Symposium & The 4th China Ocean Technology Conference & OT Program, 16-18 May 2019, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, China
Invited talk

External PhD degree examiner, Newcastle University
Examination

International Journal of Automation and Computing (Journal)
Editorial activity

External PhD degree examiner, The University of Manchester
Examination

Optimal and dedicated fault diagnosis and prognosis – a big data vision, University of Technology Sydney
Invited talk

University of Technology Sydney
Visiting an external academic institution

Program Chair of the 24th IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’18)
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

University of Huddersfield (External organisation)
Membership of committee

"Condition monitoring makes the energy systems smarter", The University of Manchester
Invited talk

University of Manchester (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Chenhua Ni
Hosting an academic visitor

Workshop on Data Driven Tools for Wind Energy Management Decision Making
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

External PhD degree examiner, Liverpool University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

IET Present Around the World (PATW) Competition, Lancashire and Cumbria Network (Event)
Membership of committee

Glasgow Caledonian University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

University of Huddersfield (External organisation)
Membership of committee

21st International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’15), Member of programme committee, Session Chair (Event)
Membership of committee

University of Manchester (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Liverpool University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

The National Skills Academy and the IET (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Wenna Zhang
Hosting an academic visitor

Loughborough University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Intelligent Industrial Systems (Journal)
Editorial activity

Glasgow Caledonian University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Condition monitoring for reliable and predictable operation of wind turbines, International Workshop on Health Monitoring of Offshore Wind Farms (HEMOW), Nanjing, China
Invited talk

Electromagnetic NDT and Condition Monitoring, The 2nd International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring and Integrity Management (ICSHMIM 2014), Nanjing, China
Invited talk

20th International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’14) (Event)
Membership of committee

University of Bath (External organisation)
Membership of committee

19th International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’13) (Event)
Membership of committee

University of Manchester (External organisation)
Membership of committee

"The state-of-the-art methods for intelligent and integrated condition monitoring", National University of Defence Technology, Changsha, China
Invited talk

Open University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Dexiang Ming
Hosting an academic visitor

Xiaopeng Zhong
Hosting an academic visitor

"Intelligent power equipment condition monitoring and fault diagnosis", The 2nd International Conference in High-End Equipment Manufacturing and High Tech Industry, Guiyang, China
Invited talk

University of Huddersfield (External organisation)
Membership of committee

IET (External organisation)
Membership of committee

18th International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’12)
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

9th UKACC International Control Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

25th International Congress on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostics Engineering Management (COMADEM2012)
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Guangming Wang
Hosting an academic visitor

17th International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC’11)
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

The Chinese Automation and Computing Society in the UK (CACSUK) (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Glasgow Caledonian University (External organisation)
Membership of committee

"Generator condition monitoring", AREVA T&D UK Limited
Invited talk

"Electromagnetic NDE and imaging", National University of Defence Technology, China
Invited talk

IET (External organisation)
Membership of committee

IET (External organisation)
Membership of committee

ICNSC 2008, IEEE International Conference on Networking, Sensing and Control
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

"Development of electromagnetic induction tomography (EMT) for industrial metal process applications", Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany
Invited talk

Chartered Engineer (CEng)
Other distinction

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA),
Fellowship awarded competitively

Member of EPSRC Peer Review College
Appointment

Visiting Professorship at National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), China
Other distinction

Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice
Other distinction

Key Technology Partner (KTP) Visiting Fellowship, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
National/international honour

Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET)
Fellowship awarded competitively

Springer Journal: 2019 IJAC Outstanding Associate Editor Award
Prize (including medals and awards)

Elected President of the Chinese Automation and Computing Society in the UK (CACSUK) , 2019-2020
Election to learned society

Best paper award, IEEE ICAC'19
Prize (including medals and awards)

Springer Journal: 2020 IJAC Outstanding Associate Editor Award
Prize (including medals and awards)

World top 2% researcher by citation impact - Stanford University analysis
Other distinction

Recognition of significant contribution to EPSRC Peer Review (2017/18)
Other distinction

Recognition of significant contribution to EPSRC Peer Review (2019/20)
Other distinction

  • DSI - Foundations
  • Energy
  • Energy Lancaster