Sajjad Mohammadi

Area of Study / Keywords

Electric Machines Power Magnetics Power Electronics Motor Drives Control Systems Electric Vehicles Renewable Energies Energy Systems

About

Sajjad Mohammadi is an assistant professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He  received the B.S. degree from Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah, Iran, in 2011, and the M.S. degree from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, in 2014, all in electrical engineering. He also received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA, in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

Previously, he was with Apple Inc., and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT. He is a coauthor of the textbook Electromagnetic Analysis of Electric Machines: First Principles, Modeling, and Design (Wiley–IEEE Press, 2025). His research interests include electromechanical energy conversion, electric machines, power magnetics, and power electronic drives. He is the recipient of several awards, including the 2022 George M. Sprowls Outstanding PhD Thesis Award from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, Best M.Sc. Thesis Awards, and awards in robotics and Chem-E-Car competitions.

Research

I am accepting MSc students, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to join my research group in the following areas to advance the development of next-generation power and energy systems:

1. Electromechanical Devices and Power Electronic Drives
   Multidisciplinary research on novel electric machines, motor drives, and actuators with an emphasis on the integrated design of magnetics, electronics, controls, thermal management, and structural dynamics, with applications in transportation electrification, energy storage systems, renewable energy, robotics, medical devices, and semiconductor manufacturing technologies.

2. Magnetic Components for Power Electronic Converters (Power Magnetics)
   More accurate modeling and characterization techniques along with innovative designs for magnetic components in power electronic converters with higher power density and efficiency, with applications in high-frequency power converters, vertical power delivery systems for AI, and related areas.

3. Physics-Informed AI
   Combining physics-based analytical modeling with data-driven AI/NN approaches for the modeling, design, optimization, and characterization of motor drives and power magnetics.

If you are interested and have a strong theoretical background along with hands-on experience in any of the above areas, please consider applying to our graduate program. You may also send me your CV along with relevant information.

Teaching

1. Variable Speed Drives (Motor Drives)

• Motor drives are essential in a wide range of applications, from electric vehicles and robotics to renewable energy systems and industrial automation. This course combines theoretical analysis with experiential learning, including laboratory sessions, hands-on prototyping of a simple motor using basic components to develop physical intuition and creativity, and a MATLAB/Simulink simulation project on the drive and control of a PMSM to analyze its performance under various scenarios. The course also emphasizes first principles and the underlying electromagnetics of electric machines under different drive and control conditions.
• Topics include: fundamentals of electromechanical energy conversion; force and torque generation mechanisms; operating principles of rotary actuators, induction motors, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs), and switched reluctance motors (SRMs); magnetic analysis of PMSMs with different magnet arrangements, e.g., SPM, IPM, and V-shaped configurations; power electronic drive topologies, including voltage-source inverters (VSIs); cascaded control loops for actuators; reference frames and two-axis (dq) modeling; field-oriented control (FOC); direct torque control (DTC); hysteresis current control for SRMs; and optimal control techniques, including maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) and maximum torque per voltage (MTPV).

2. High-Frequency Magnetics for Power Electronics

• Magnetic components are often the limiting factor in achieving higher efficiency, power density, and miniaturization in power electronic converters, particularly as WBG devices push power electronics toward higher switching frequencies. In this course, an emphasis is placed on first principles and the underlying physics to develop deeper insight and enable innovative solutions. The course includes in-class experimental demonstrations and a final design project involving FEM simulations and prototyping.
• Topics include: fundamentals of static and quasi-static electromagnetics; analytical field solutions and lumped-element magnetic circuits; magnetic materials, hysteresis, and characterization; diffusion and eddy currents due to skin, proximity, and fringing effects; high-frequency winding and core loss models; winding capacitance; thermal modeling; inductors, coupled inductors, transformers, and EMI chokes; core topologies and winding configurations; best practices for optimized designs; and emerging topics including physics-informed neural networks, and inductive and capacitive WPT.

ECE 332 - Electric Machines

Principles of electromagnetic force and torque in rotating machinery. Simple AC and DC machines. Induction motor theory. Practical aspects of induction motor use: characteristics, standards, starting, variable speed operation. Synchronous machine theory and characteristics. Fractional HP motor theory. Safety in electrical environments. Prerequisite: ECE 330 or E E 330 or consent of Department. Credit may be obtained in only one of ECE 332 or E E 332.

ECE 432 - Variable Speed Drives

Introduction to variable speed drives. Frequency, phase and vector control of induction motors. Dynamic models for induction motors. Permanent magnet synchronous and brushless dc motor drives. Prerequisite: ECE 332 or E E 332. Credit may be obtained in only one of ECE 432 or E E 432.

ECE 531 - Industrial Drive Systems

Variable speed control of induction motors; soft-starts. Utility interface of drives; pwm, csi and vvi drive systems; slip-energy recovery drives; medium voltage drives; application issues of industrial drive systems. Prerequisite: E E 332 and E E 431 or equivalent.

ECE 730 - Advanced Topics in Energy Systems

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