February 07, 2025
Benjamin Peter received an honorable mention from the Computing Research Association.
Mizzou junior Benjamin Peter has received an honorable mention from the Computing Research Association’s (CRA) 2024-2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awards (URA) program.
Peter’s research focuses on the reliability assessment and the security assessment of power grids.
“We are determining a decision-making procedure using machine learning that can respond to an event like a cyberattack, wildfire or hurricane so that we can maintain system survival and avoid blackouts,” Peter said.
Mert Korkali, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, advised Peter’s research and nominated him for the URA.
The integration of renewables at a massive scale, escalating cybersecurity threats and increasingly severe weather events pose unprecedented risks to the security, reliability and resilience of the grid, Korkali said.
“At Mizzou, we prioritize innovative solutions to these challenges,” Korkali said. “Benjamin’s work exemplifies our commitment to pioneering research in resilient energy systems.”
Korkali said the honors indicate that Peter will be transformative force in the power and energy sector.
“I have full confidence that Benjamin will continue to push the boundaries of innovation, driving the resilience and sustainability of future power grids,” he said.
Peter held a 2024 summer internship at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he refined his skills in modeling and analyzing complex power systems and deepened his focus on critical grid challenges.
In November 2024, he was selected as a Power and Energy Society (PES) Scholar through the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) PES Scholarship Plus Initiative. His research was also recently accepted for publication and presentation at the 2025 IEEE Texas Power and Energy Conference.
A St. Louis native, Peter is active in the Alumni Association Student Board, Phi Delta Theta and Engineers Without Borders, where he applies his engineering expertise to infrastructure projects aimed at addressing critical needs in underserved regions.
“Helping people is a big driver for me, and it’s immensely gratifying that I can do that while pursuing my passion for engineering,” Peter said.
Want to pioneer innovative solutions to real-world challenges? Choose Mizzou Engineering!