Ibrahim Alsaleh

Ibrahim Alsaleh

My work focuses on power-system dynamics,
converter-based generation and large electrical loads.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORElectrical Engineering · University of Hail
FOLLOW THE CURRENT Conceptual grid artwork

Power-system
dynamics & control.

Much of my work starts with an electrical model: what a device controls, what the network sees, and what changes after a disturbance.

Meet Ibrahim
902↗Citations on Google Scholar

h-index 17 · i10-index 22
Updated · 3 November 2026

01 / Research

Current
research.

My current work concerns large electrical loads, frequency support and the stability of grids with more power-electronic interfaces.

LARGE ELECTRONIC LOADS

Data centers
and energy
buffering.

I model how changes in computing demand reach the grid through a data center’s electrical systems.

I study how local energy storage can buffer those changes, and how buffering interacts with voltage control and the facility’s response to disturbances.

Changing loadsLocal storageGrid response
Conceptual computing structures alongside a translucent energy reservoir
CONCEPTUAL ARTWORK
IN SAUDI ARABIA

Plans for AI infrastructure at NEOM’s Oxagon are one reason these questions matter locally.

Read NEOM’s announcement

FREQUENCY DYNAMICS

Coordinated inertia
and frequency support.

I study how batteries, renewable plants and synchronous machines support frequency after a disturbance.

The question is what these resources deliver together through the network, and how their location and control settings affect that response.

InertiaControl coordinationNetwork effects

CONVERTER-DOMINATED GRIDS

Synchronization,
voltage and stability.

I investigate how grid-forming and grid-following converters interact with the network.

My current work examines synchronization, voltage control and oscillation damping, particularly where the grid connection is weak.

Grid-forming & grid-followingWeak gridsDamping

Across these areas, I use electrical models to connect the behaviour of individual devices to the response of the wider system.

Published work

02 / Teaching

REE 404
in practice.

A concise walkthrough of small-signal analysis and frequency control. Start with a model, then follow the system’s response.

REE 404 · A GUIDED WALKTHROUGH

Follow the response.

From a small disturbance
to a system back in balance.

SMALL-SIGNAL ANALYSIS

Start with
an equilibrium.

At an operating point, the system is in balance. For a small disturbance, we can approximate its nonlinear dynamics with a linear model and study how the deviations evolve.

THE KEY IDEA

A local model helps explain what happens near a particular operating point.

Why does the starting point matter?

The linearized model depends on the equilibrium. A change in loading or control settings can change the modes—and the response.

A LOCAL VIEWNONLINEAR → LINEAR
A linear approximation near an equilibriumA nonlinear curve and its tangent meet at the operating point. A highlighted region marks the local neighborhood where the approximation is useful. Operating pointΔxΔẋ Local approximationSMALL DEVIATIONS · LOCAL INSIGHT
Linearize around the equilibrium. Then follow the small deviations.

MODES & DAMPING

See what
the modes reveal.

Eigenvalues describe the model’s natural modes. Their real parts govern growth or decay; their imaginary parts describe oscillation. For an oscillatory mode, greater damping means the oscillation dies away more quickly.

THE KEY IDEA

Stability asks whether a disturbance decays. Damping asks how it settles.

Can a stable response still be troublesome?

Yes. A lightly damped mode can keep oscillating long after the disturbance. Stability alone does not describe the quality of the response.

ONE OSCILLATORY MODEQUALITATIVE COMPARISON
Damping and the decay of an oscillationA schematic response oscillates around equilibrium. Comparing more damping shows the amplitude shrinking faster, at the same illustrated oscillation frequency. DEVIATIONTIME →SAME OSCILLATION · DIFFERENT DECAY
Less damping: the oscillation persists for longer.

FREQUENCY CONTROL

First, arrest
the change.

When demand exceeds generation, frequency falls. Inertia resists the initial change. Primary control and fast frequency support help reduce the imbalance and arrest the fall.

THE KEY IDEA

Stopping the fall does not necessarily restore nominal frequency.

WATCH PART 1Holding the Fall
AFTER AN INCREASE IN DEMANDPRIMARY RESPONSE
Frequency falls and is arrested below nominalFollowing an imbalance, frequency drops to a nadir and then settles below the dashed nominal-frequency reference. Arrest and restoration are different objectives. Nominal frequencyNadirArrested, with an offsetFREQUENCYTIME →
The first objective: keep an imbalance from becoming a continuing decline.

FREQUENCY CONTROL

Then, restore
the balance.

Secondary control adjusts power references to remove the remaining frequency error. It works on a slower timescale, bringing the system back toward nominal frequency after the initial response.

THE KEY IDEA

Read the response in layers: initial change, arrest, then restoration.

WATCH PART 2Restoring Sixty
THE RESPONSE CONTINUESSECONDARY CONTROL
Frequency returns toward nominalA schematic frequency response drops after a disturbance, is arrested, then returns to the nominal-frequency reference as secondary control removes the offset. Nominal frequencyOffset removedWithout restorationFREQUENCYTIME →
A different control task: recover nominal frequency after arresting the fall.

Illustrative teaching diagrams.

FROM THE CLASSROOM · TRY IT

Watch the circuit work.

Two ideas students meet in EE205 and REE 404. Drag the sliders, and hover over the components.

EE205 · RESONANCE

One loop, three ways to store energy.

Drive a series RLC circuit and watch the current. Near one frequency, the inductor and capacitor cancel and the current peaks.

ω/ω₀
0.45
Current
—
Phase of I
—

REE 404 · THE WEAK-GRID DILEMMA

The same controller, a weaker grid.

A grid-following converter tracks the grid voltage with a phase-locked loop. Lower the short-circuit ratio and watch its oscillation and its eigenvalues.

SCR
3.2
Response
—

QUALITATIVE ILLUSTRATION OF THE REE 404 LECTURE MODEL · STRONG GRID → WEAK GRID

03 / The journey

Rooted in Hail.
Connected by curiosity.

My path has moved between Hail and Tampa, between optimization and control, and between the research model and the classroom.

Dr. Ibrahim Alsaleh
Ibrahim H. A. AlsalehAssociate Professor · University of Hail

2007—2012

The foundation

B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Hail.

Hail, Saudi Arabia

2014—2020

Deeper into the model

M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of South Florida. Doctoral research with Lingling Fan on voltage regulation in PV-rich multiphase networks.

Tampa, Florida

2021—2025

Ideas into leadership

Assistant Professor at Hail. Research in flexibility and converter dynamics. Led the winning NeomFlex team in 2023.

Research + teaching + projects

2025—NOW

The next questions

Associate Professor. Research on converter-dominated grids, coordinated frequency support and large electrical loads.

University of Hail
Hail Region · December 2023

A MILESTONE ALONG THE WAY

NeomFlex.
NEOM AI Challenge, 2023.

I led the winning NeomFlex team as principal investigator. The project explored multi-agent learning for energy flexibility and remains an important part of my research journey.

Appointments, community & academic service

Academic appointments

2025–present Associate Professor

2021–2025 Assistant Professor

2017–2021 Lecturer

2013–2017 Teaching Assistant

All appointments at the University of Hail.

Academic service

Scientific Council research-excellence and faculty-promotion committees; supervision of undergraduate and graduate projects.

IEEE PES task-force work on IBR oscillations, RMS models of IBR controls, and reinforcement learning for dynamic system control.

Sharing the work

North American Power Symposium · IEEE PES General Meeting · Saudi Arabia Smart Grid · ICPET.

Conversations across research, education and the energy transition.

04 / Publications

The work,
in the literature.

View Google Scholar

CURATED RECORD · NOVEMBER 2026
Journal articles, conference papers & dissertation

THE NEXT CONNECTION

Good questions
need good
collaborators.

Research collaboration. Student supervision.
A challenging power-system problem.
Let’s start a conversation.

Connect on LinkedIn
NEOM AI CHALLENGE · 2023 · WINNING TEAM

NeomFlex, in motion

Training episodes
0
Buses outside band
0
Policy maturity
—
An artistic rendering of the idea, not the project’s network or results.