Issa Batarseh

Issa E. Batarseh is an American-Jordanian engineer and inventor. He is currently a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and the founding director of the Florida Power Electronics Center.^[1][2]

Dr. Issa Batarseh
Born	1961 Jordan
Education	Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois
Occupation(s)	Professor and Engineer
Years active	1991-Today

Education and career

Batarseh received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1990, prior to it, obtained his B.S. in computer engineering and M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1983 and 1985, respectively. Following graduation, from 1989 to 1990, Batarseh served as a visiting assistant professor at Purdue University in Calumet City, Illinois. He was appointed to the University of Central Florida in 1991.

Currently, he is a 'Pegasus Professor'^[3] in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCF and an affiliated researcher at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). From 2010 to 2014, he was the president of Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman, Jordan, while on professional development leave from UCF.^[4]

Previously, he served as the associate dean for graduate affairs and the director of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UCF. In 1998, he established the Florida Power Electronics Center at UCF with an initial grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation.^[5]

Research

High-Frequency Soft-switching (Resonant) Technology

US patent 6,628,106,^[6] Control method and circuit to provide voltage and current regulation for multiphase DC/DC converters. Dr. Batarseh introduced the detailed analysis of high-order resonant converters, including the well-known LLC topology and the dual transformers that significantly reduce conduction and core losses. He also introduced the generalized state-plane diagram for analysis/design of higher-order resonant converters and developed the generalized control characteristics of resonant converters that accurately optimize DC gain across wide input voltage ranges.^[7][8]

Photovoltaic Smart Microinverter

1. US patent 9,071,150,^[9] Variable frequency iteration MPPT for resonant power converters. Dr. Batarseh’s team at UCF developed the grid-tied microinverter with a PV panel-level DC-to-AC inverter, now known as a microinverter, which led to technology licensing and commercialization. This technology led to the creation of the first compact single solar PV panel.^[10][1]

2. US patent 8,552,286,^[11] Method of adaptive solar tracking using variable step size.

3. US patent 8,338,695,^[12] Iterative adaptive solar tracking having variable step size.

Highly Integrated and Interleaved DC-DC Resonant Converters

Dr. Batarseh and his team made fundamental contributions to the design and development of a new high-efficiency, high-power-density soft-switching DC-DC converter. The work led to the production of a new class of 1/8th and 1/16th DC-DC bricks that led to a new product line commercialized by the private sector.^[13][14][15]

1. US patent 10,630,190,^[16] Multi-input single-resonant tank LLC converter.

2. US patent 11,682,983,^[17] A GaN-Based Multiport Multilevel Converter/Inverter.

3. US patent 9,071,150,^[18] Variable frequency iteration MPPT for resonant power converters.

4. US patent 6,982,887,^[19] DC-DC converter with coupled-inductors current-doubler.

Startups

Dr. Batarseh is the co-founder of Petra Solar (Now Petra Systems), formed in 2006 by licensing Batarseh’s technology to distribute and control solar power from panels and feed it directly into the grid. The company established its research and development activities in the Central Florida Research Park.  

Batarseh and his students also co-founded the Advanced Power Electronic Corporation (APECOR.com), located in the Central Florida Research Park. The organization specializes in solar energy conversion and integration technologies and is a leading designer of solar chargers for military applications.^[20]

Awards and recognitions

• 2008, elected fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science,^[21]
• 2014, became a fellow of the IEEE.^[22]
• 2015, elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.^[23]
• 2017, inducted into Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in 2017.^[24]
• 2017, recognition by the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan.^[25][26]
• 2017, Honouree by King Abdullah at the World Science Forum 2017, Dead Sea in Jordan.^[27]
• 2024, NAI Invention Ambassador.^[28]
• 2025, April- IEEE Honors Ceremony in Tokyo, Japan.^[29][30]

Books

• Batarseh, Issa (2004). Power Electronic Circuits. John Wiley. ISBN 978-8126548453.
• Muhammad, Rashid H. (2006). Power Electronics Handbook: Devices, Circuits and Applications (Engineering). Academic Press. ISBN 978-0120884797.
• Batarseh, Issa; Harb, Ahmad (2018). Power Electronics: Circuit Analysis and Design (2nd ed.). Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319 68365-2.