CV for Dr. Hamish Laird

1. Dr. Hamish D. Laird
Principal Engineer
ELMG Ltd
PO Box 112
Lyttelton
New Zealand
Phone +64 3 9611222
Mobile +64 21 750 031
Fax +64 3 9435717
E-mail hamish.laird@elmgnz.com
Web www.elmgnz.com
Skype: hamishlaird-elmg
Summary of Skills in Digital Control of Power Electronics
Power Electronic Design.
I have a solid grip of the principles of power electronic design. I am experienced with and have
used thyristors, power diodes, power transistors, MosFETs and IGBTs. I have designed gate and
base drive circuitry for these devices and have utilised them in a wide variety of products such as
induction motor drives, DC motor drives, switchmode power supplies, grid connected converters
and active filters. I am aware of the strength and disadvantages of these devices. I have excellent
low, medium and high voltage (1.8V to 100 kV) power electronic experience. I have dealt with
high voltage converter design requirements including partial discharge, insulation coordination,
design for impulse (BIL) and AC system overvoltages. I have an excellent understanding and
experience in applying this knowledge to the choice of power electronic converter components.
Control System Analysis, Design and Measurement.
I have a solid grasp of the use and application of control system theory including frequency
domain design, dealing with non-linearity and converter variation. I have utilised this knowledge
in switchmode, AC connected power converters, DC to DC switchmode and motor control system
design. Along with this I have extensive knowledge of converter modelling techniques including
linear s and z domain models, frequency coupling models and other non-linear control models. I
have measured the transfers of a large number of power converters using a number of different
methods including open loop small signal and open loop small signal from closed loop
measurements. I have worked on ensuring the stability of large numbers of parallel connected
power converter. I have measured and modelled power converter non-linearity in the frequency
domain.
Digital Control of Power Electronics.
I have excellent experience in using digital control techniques for the control of power electronic
converters. This combines knowledge of power converters and switching, digital artefacts such a
quantisation, precision and dynamic range along with knowledge of stability, ruggedness of
control design, implementation of digital signal processing and embedded system
implementation.
Machine and Motion Control.
I have experience in the control of induction, BLDC, AC synchronous and DC machines with
power electronic systems. I have a good understanding of the operation of Induction Motors, DC
Motors, Synchronous Motors and Brushless DC Motors.
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2. AC Utility interface.
I have an excellent understanding on the technical issues such as voltage droop and frequency sag
that exist when connecting large power converter equipment to the AC power system. I have
experience in power conditioning, principally involving shunt active filters, so understand the
operation, performance, analysis and design of these devices. As part of this I have built power
converters and control systems for active filters.
EMC Filter effects on control.
I have designed EMC filters so that their effect on power converter control transfers is
manageable and controllable. I have experience in dealing with designing controllers for AC
system connected power converter to accommodate any AC system impedance.
Analogue Design.
My analogue design skills are strong. I have a good knowledge and experience of design for low
noise susceptibility in power electronic switching circuits.
Microprocessor based design for embedded control.
In designing with microprocessors I have gained an appreciation for the requirements that
embedded control applications have. As such I am well aware of the software and firmware
implications of hardware design decisions and the dependence of the two.
Experience with Processor Families.
I have experienced with the 805X family, the Motorola 68xx family, the Microchip PICs, the
Texas DSPs and the Analogue Devices DSPs. This means that I am aware of the variations that
exist and the suitability of these devices to certain tasks.
Programmable logic.
I have used PLD and PLA configurable logic products and am experienced with FPGA
technologies such as that from Xilinx and Altera. This experienced means I am able to make well-
considered design decisions as to whether to use these technologies. I have dealt with the
implementation problems that can occur.
Hardware Design.
I have experience in designing electronic circuits and systems principally for industrial power
control equipment.
Power System Analysis.
I have experience in power transmission system analysis and am experienced with most time and
frequency domain analysis and simulation methods. I have performed power system analysis for
a Static VAr Compensator and HVDC installations using time domain simulation.
Software Design.
I have experience in abstraction, object oriented development techniques, structured
development and software development management tools such Subversion. I have developed
software for multiprocessor embedded control systems and am aware of the interdependence of
hardware and software.
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3. Software Programming.
I have programmed with and am experienced with FORTRAN, C, 8051, Ti ‘C30, ‘C28 Assembly
Language, Visual Basic, Modula2, and Matlab/Simulink. I have used the C language with
assembly language routines.
Summary of Skills in Education and Training
Training and Education development
I am skilled in the development, delivery and assessment of educational and training courses. I
have experience in the roll-out of new educational systems and the development of teams of
trainers. I have experience in the use of knowledge champions to roll out new knowledge to
engineering teams.
Training delivery
I can deliver training course effectively to achieve good outcomes. I am a skilled presenter.
Course participant feedback is consistently extremely positive.
Existing Training Courses
I have developed a two day training course “An Introduction to Digital Control of Power
Electronics”. I have also demonstrated and taught techniques for power converter control
transfer function measurements. I have experience in the roll-out of new educational systems
and the development of teams of trainers.
Academic Courses
I continue to teach one semester of Introduction to Power Electronics at the University of
Canterbury. This is a third year course of approximately ninety students. I also supervise final
year projects and help with supervision of graduate student research.
Summary of Skills in People Management
People Management.
I have managed teams of people having directly managed the day to day task scheduling. I have
also managed he long term establishment and development of teams having recruited teams,
established development and motivational programs and managed the achievement by that team.
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4. Summary of other Skills
Mathematical Skills.
I have very solid math skills and am practiced in using and applying theoretical analysis in
practice.
Computers.
I have used Sun UNIX, HP UNIX and PCs. I have used the power systems analysis package
PSCAD/EMTDC and also have used Matlab/Simulink, MathCAD and Maple. I have experience
with PC packages such as Word, Excel and Access.
CAD/CAM.
I have used Orcad, Mentor Graphics Schematic Capture and PCB Layout tools and Protel CAD
tools. I am also experienced with the computer aided manufacturing data generation process.
Design to comply with EU LVD, EMC and Machinery Safety Directives.
I am experienced with the European Union Low Voltage Directive, the Electro-Magnetic
Compatibility Directive and the Machinery Safety Directive and have designed and developed
products to comply with the standards that form these directives. I understand the self-
certification process and the legal ramifications of this process.
Design to Meet UL and CSA certification.
I have designed and developed product to meet the North American UL and CSA standards and
am aware of the testing and certification process. I am also experienced with the US National
Electrical Code and understand its implication on product design.
Thermal Design.
I have designed heatsinks and cooling systems for power electronic systems and have also
designed and tested printed circuit boards to meet UL and CSA temperature rise specifications.
Design for manufacture.
I have experience in designing products for manufacture using automated production techniques
such as surface mounting and auto-placement machines. I am experienced with the advantages
and design constraints that modern manufacturing systems have and incorporate these into
design considerations.
Design for test.
I understand the design requirements of automated test equipment and am experienced with the
strengths and limitation of these technologies. I have designed products for use on automated
test equipment.
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5. Component evaluation and qualification
I have worked in the evaluation and qualification of components and vendors for use in power
converters. This process involved designing a suitable qualification and acceptance test for
components used in power converters.
Business Skills.
I am comfortable dealing with executives and senior management and can communicate
regarding finance, strategic direction and risk management.
Work experience
Currently ELMG Limited Lyttelton, New Zealand
Principal Engineer
• ELMG Limited was founded to provide high quality consulting, design, development and
research services to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) electronics industry. ELMG
Limited is works with a number of companies developing a wide range of products from power
converters to motion control systems. ELMG Limited typically provides high value technical
services and often bundles these with competence and confidence development.
• I have an ongoing relationship with the Electrical and Computer Engineering School,
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, where I teach in Power Electronics and
help with research into power electronics.
• Technical areas of work for ELMG include complete design of power converters from 2 W to 15
MW. The application of these converters have included
• traction for electric vehicles
• grid connected converters for embedded generation
• switch mode power supplies
• induction heating supplies
• Motor speed and torque control for industrial process control such as winding and
unwinding.
• I have been involved in the design of software, digital and analogue control systems for power
electronic converters.
• I have significant involvement in consulting on stability and control of power converters.
1996 - 1997 Eurotherm Drives Littlehampton, England
Design and Development Engineer
• In this role I designed and developed a four quadrant regenerative DC drive to control DC
motors in industrial process applications such as winding, unwinding and extrusion. This
involved specification development, analogue and digital circuit design, component selection
and procurement and the associated ISO 9001 system documentation and review procedures.
The product was designed for medium volume production of 500 per week and made extensive
use of surface mount components and automated manufacture techniques. The product was
designed and tested to be compliant with the UL and CSA standards and the EU’s CE low
voltage and EMC directives. I then designed and developed an updated control card for a range
of medium sized AC drives.
1995 - 1996 GEC Alsthom, T and D, Power Electronics Ltd, Stafford, England
Power Systems Analysis Engineer
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6. • Worked in the Electrical Systems Analysis department where I performed computer base
analysis of HVDC transmission systems and reactive power control systems. Examples of the
studies performed were insulation coordination and surge arrester sizing.
1993 – 1994 AuCom Electronics Christchurch, New Zealand
Design and Development Engineer
• Worked as a design engineer developing induction motor starters and variable speed drives.
Responsibilities were the development of a switch-mode power supply, the re-design of a small
micro-controller based soft-starter, design of a serial communications display board, solution
of some AC induction motor drive power stack problems and the development of a DSP based
high performance AC drive system.
1992 - 1993 Canterbury University Christchurch, New Zealand
Contract Engineer
• Designed and built two switching power supplies for an Electric Car project. The supplies were
of resonant type, one being for the base drive power of a BJT transistor inverter, the other for
the car auxiliaries.
Qualifications
1997-2001 University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
Doctorate of Electrical and Electronic engineering
• PhD degree. Thesis title “Modelling and measurement of diode and their interaction with power
systems and shunt active filters”. PhD degree awarded November 2001.
1991 – 1992 University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
Masters of Electrical and Electronic engineering
• Masters degree by thesis. The thesis title was “An investigation into a resonant link active filter
for removal of power system harmonics”.
1987 - 1990 University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
Undergraduate
• I hold a Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Hons 2nd Class 1st Division).
Subjects studied in the final year were Control Systems, Power Electronics, Power Systems,
Signals and Systems
Publications
“An analytic frequency domain model of a voltage source single phase rectifier” H.D. Laird, S.D.
Round and R.M. Duke. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. June 2000, Vol 47, No 3, pp
525-532.
“A method of incorporating the characteristics of a non-linear load into the control transfer of a
shunt active filter.” H.D. Laird, S.D. Round and R.M. Duke. Submitted to IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Electronics.
“The transient and steady state performance of a shunt active filter using measured site data.” S.D.
Round, H.D. Laird, R.M. Duke, and A.I. Gardiner. 8th International Conference on Harmonics and
Power Quality, 14th - 16th October 1998, Athens, Greece, pp 395-400.
“Power quality observations at a light industrial site” H.D. Laird, S.D. Round, R.M. Duke, A.I.
Gardiner. 8th International Conference on Harmonics and Power Quality, 14th - 16th October 1998,
Athens, Greece, pp 88-93.
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7. “A robust controller for a shunt active filter” B.J. Cooper, S.D. Round, H.D. Laird, R.M. Duke. The
Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference, September 1998, Hobart, Tasmania,
Australia.
“An improved three level shunt active filter” S.D. Round, H.D. Laird, R.M. Duke, C. Tuck. Power
Electronic, Devices and Energy Systems (PEDES) Conference, December 1998, Perth, Western
Australia, Australia.
Nationality and Citizenship Memberships
I am a New Zealand citizen. Member IEEE. Since 1996
Community Activities
I play Ice Hockey and coach and play Inline Hockey.
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©Hamish Laird and ELMG Electronics Design and Development 2001-2011
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