Dr. Sulake Nagaraja Rao

• DC-DC Power Converters, Renewable Energy Systems, Development of MPPT controllers, Multilevel Inverters, PWM control techniques

• Nair, S., Prajwal, K.T., Rao, S.N. and Kumar, B.K., 2022. Performance Analysis of a High Gain Quasi Z-Source Network Based Cascaded H-Bridge Multi-level Inverter. In Distributed Computing and Optimization Techniques: Select Proceedings of ICDCOT 2021 (pp. 691-701). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
• Divyashree, B. and Rao, S.N., 2022. An Assessment of Criss-Cross Multilevel Inverter with Fault Tolerance for Electric Vehicle Applications. In Distributed Computing and Optimization Techniques: Select Proceedings of ICDCOT 2021 (pp. 153-163). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
• Kumar, V., Duraiswamy, P. and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2022, February. Intelligent Control-Based Boost Converter Interfaced with Three-Level Diode Clamped Inverter. In Proceedings of International Conference on Industrial Instrumentation and Control: ICI2C 2021 (pp. 597-608). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
• Kiran Kumar, B.M., Indira, M.S. and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2021. Performance evaluation of solar PV using multiple level voltage gain boost converter with CLC cell. In Innovations in Electrical and Electronic Engineering: Proceedings of ICEEE 2021 (pp. 237-251). Springer Singapore.
• Nagaraja Rao, S. and Praveen Kumar, V., 2021. An Enhanced Boost Z-Source Inverter Topology for Electrical Vehicle Applications. In Advances in Energy Technology: Select Proceedings of EMSME 2020 (pp. 557-570). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
• Nagaraja Rao, S., Kiran Kumar, B.M. and Nair, S., 2021. Three-level modified capacitor-assisted extended boost z-source multilevel inverter for photovoltaic applications. In Advances in Energy Technology: Select Proceedings of EMSME 2020 (pp. 529-540). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
• Hegde, M., Rao, S.N. and Indira, M.S., 2020. Modified cascaded reversing voltage multilevel inverter using optimal switching angle technique for photovoltaic applications. In Innovations in Electrical and Electronic Engineering: Proceedings of ICEEE 2020 (pp. 319-338). Singapore: Springer Singapore.

• Received a grant of 4,500/- from the from the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) 48th Series for the project titled “Implementation of Multi-Mode EV Charging System Integrated with Solar, Battery and Hybrid Solutions”
• Received a grant of 4,500/- from the from the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) 48th Series for the project titled “Design and Development of Battery-Less Sustainable Energy Harvester using TEG with Intelligent Control based Low Power Gain Converter for Emerging Implantable Medical Devices”
• Received a Seed money grant of 4,20,000/- from the from the Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (RUAS) for the project titled “Development of control techniques for fuel cell system integrated with multilevel inverter for grid applications”
• Received a First prize at the XXI National Level Technical Symposium, PRAVAHA organized by RGMCET, Nandyal for the project titled “Sustainable and Innovative Mobile Charging Solutions for Electrical Vehicles using Hybrid Energy System” held during 13th February 2025
• Completed the NPTEL course “Introduction to Machine Learning” during July–Sept 2024, secured a consolidated score of 70%, and earned Elite certification.
• Received an Annual Exemplary Teacher Award for the year 2022 from M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore on the occasion of Teacher’s Day 2022.
• Received the honorarium of $1000 USD from the sponsors of National Institute of Clean-and-low-carbon Energy (NICE) for the paper publication in the Clean Energy journal listed in Q1
• Received a Best Paper Award for the presented paper at ICDCOT-2021 conference held on 25th to 26th June 2021, organized by SJBIT College, Bangalore in Association with Springer
• Received a Young Scientist Award for the Contribution and Honourable Achievement in Innovative Research from International Research Awards on Science, Health and Engineering SHEN Research Awards 2020 on 29th June 2020
• Topper in M.Tech

International Conference Papers

• Savitha, M., Rao, S.N. and Indira, M.S., 2022, February. Assessment of reduced switch count based multistring multilevel inverter with fault tolerance for distributed energy sources. In 2022 IEEE Delhi Section Conference (DELCON) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.
• Harsha, A.R., Pranupa, S., Kumar, B.K., Rao, S.N. and Indira, M.S., 2020, October. Arduino based V/f drive for a three phase induction motor using single phase supply. In 2020 International Conference on Smart Technologies in Computing, Electrical and Electronics (ICSTCEE) (pp. 90-94). IEEE.
• Rao, S.N., Veerabhadra and Kumar, P., 2020, October. Performance analysis of Z-source inverter topologies for renewable energy sources and fuel cell applications. In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing, VLSI, Electrical Circuits and Robotics (DISCOVER) (pp. 165-170). IEEE.
• Sulake, N.R., Pranupa, S. and Indira, M.S., 2019, October. Cross connected source based reduced switch count multilevel inverter topology with fault tolerance. In 2019 Global Conference for Advancement in Technology (GCAT) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.
• Misal, S. and Rao, S.N., 2015, February. Comparative analysis of a 3-phase, 3-level diode clamped ZSI based on modified shoot through PWM techniques. In 2015 IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing, Informatics, Communication and Energy Systems (SPICES) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, D.A. and Babu, C.S., 2013, February. New multilevel inverter topology with reduced number of switches using advanced modulation strategies. In 2013 international conference on power, energy and control (ICPEC) (pp. 693-699). IEEE.
• Reddy, V.N.B., Rao, S.N. and Babu, C.S., 2013, February. Emphasis of modulated techniques for cascaded multilevel inverters fed drive using FPGA. In 2013 international conference on power, energy and control (ICPEC) (pp. 686-692). IEEE.
• S.Nagaraja Rao, Ramana Reddy and Manjunatha B.M., 2012, May. Three level Z-Source Inverters using Shoot through PWM Control Techniques. In 2012 international conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering (ICETE-2012) (pp. 686-692). NMAMIT, Nitte, Karnataka, India.
• Y. Vijaya Suresh, S.Nagaraja Rao and J.N.Reddy, 2010, August. Different Schemes of Matrix Converter with Maximum Voltage Conversion Ratio. In 2010 international conference on Electrical Power and Energy Systems (ICEPES-2010) (pp. 486-492). NIT, Bhopal.
• J.N. Reddy. S.Nagaraja Rao and Suresh Kumar A, 2010, August. A Multilevel PWM Inverter topology for Neural Network Based Photovoltaic Generating System. In 2010 international conference on Electrical Power and Energy Systems (ICEPES-2010) (pp. 507-512). NIT, Bhopal.

International Journal Papers

• B,S. and Rao,S. Nagaraja (2025). Wind Energy Conversion System Coupled with High Gain Boost Converter Using Grey Wolf Optimization Based Maximum Power Point Tracking Approach for High Voltage Direct Current Transmission System. Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment, 12(4), 64-73. doi: 10.30501/jree.2025.512594.2304.
• Rao, S. N., Kumar, B. K., Manjunatha, B. M., & Kumar, A. S. (2025). Modified invasive weed optimization MPPT approach for PV system interfaced with BLDC motor for water pumping system. Journal of Engineering and Applied Science, 72(1), 78.
• Nair, S. and S. Nagaraja Rao (2025). Frequency dynamics improvement in microgrids using fuzzy logic controller-based virtual inertia emulator. Engineering Research Express, 7(2), 025326.
• Rao, S. N., Kumar, B. K., Suresh, Y. V., Kumar, A. S., & Manjunatha, B. M. (2024). Osprey optimization algorithm for MPPT of PV system with forward DC to DC converter under partial shading conditions. Engineering Research Express, 6(4), 045315.
• Nair, S., Manickavasagam, K., & Rao, S. N. (2025). Machine learning for computation of droop controller coefficients to improve the frequency nadir and ROCOF of a stand-alone microgrid. International Journal of Information Technology, 17(1), 367-378.
• Jadhav, V., & Rao, S. N. (2024). Next generation hybrid based flying squirrel search optimization approach for cubic boost converter used in solar photovoltaic system. International Journal of Information Technology, 16(8), 4967-4980.
• Baragi, A. S., Machul, B. G., Krishnamurthy, M. D., Patil, R. A., Vadde, A., & Rao, S. N. (2024). Enhancing the wireless power transfer system performance and output voltage of electric scooters. Energy Harvesting and Systems, 11(1), 20230136.
• Pranupa, S., Sriram, A. T., & Rao, S. N. (2024). Wind farm layout optimization approach using bio-inspired meta-heuristic algorithm to minimize wake effect. International Journal of Dynamics and Control, 12(2), 531-550.
• Veerabhadra, J., & Nagaraja Rao, S. (2024). Comparative assessment of high gain boost converters for renewable energy sources and electrical vehicle applications. Energy Harvesting and Systems, 11(1), 20220144.
  Veerabhadra, J. and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2023. Comparative assessment of high gain boost converters for renewable energy sources and electrical vehicle applications. Energy Harvesting and Systems, (0).
• Nagaraja Rao, S., Manjunatha, B.M., Suresh Kumar, A., Kiran Kumar, B.M., Satish Kumar, R. and Pranupa, S., 2023. An assessment of advanced DC-link based reversing voltage type multilevel inverter topologies. International Review of Applied Sciences and Engineering, 14(1), pp.100-113.
• Savitha, M. and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2022. Switching angle optimization and fault analysis of a multistring-multilevel inverter for renewable-energy-source applications. Clean Energy, 6(6), pp.907-930.
• Rao, S., Varanasi, P., Anisetty, S. and Manjunatha, B. (2022) Implementation of cascaded H-bridge DC-link inverter for marine electric propulsion drives. Energy Harvesting and Systems. https://doi.org/10.1515/ehs-2022-0049
• Sriram, A.T. and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2022. Wind energy conversion system using perturb & observe-based maximum power point approach interfaced with T-type three-level inverter connected to grid. Clean Energy, 6(4), pp.534-549.
• Veerabhadra and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2022. Assessment of high-gain quadratic boost converter with hybrid-based maximum power point tracking technique for solar photovoltaic systems. Clean Energy, 6(4), pp.632-645.
• Nagaraja Rao, S., Anisetty, S.K., Manjunatha, B.M., Kiran Kumar, B.M., Praveen Kumar, V. and Pranupa, S., 2022. Interleaved high-gain boost converter powered by solar energy using hybrid-based MPP tracking technique. Clean Energy, 6(3), pp.460-475.
• Kumar, B.K., Rao, S.N. and Indira, M.S., 2022. Analysis of grid-connected reduced switch MLI with high-gain interleaved boost converter and hybrid MPPT for solar PV. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering, 13(4), pp.1287-1307.
• SULAKE, N.R., Anisetty, S.K., Kolli, S.G., Manjunatha, B.M., Mallikarjuna, N. and Garapati, D.P., 2022. Implementation of Integer Factor based Space Vector PWM through Digital approach for Grid Connected Multilevel Inverters. International Journal of Renewable Energy Research (IJRER), 12(1), pp.349-358.
• Kiran, K.B., Indira, M.S. and Nagaraja, R., 2021. Mathematical modeling and evaluation of performance characteristics of a hybrid solar PV and wind energy system. Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, 25(4), pp.785-797.
• Suresh, K.A., Sri, G.K., Nagaraja, R.S., Manjunatha, B.M., Sesi, K.P. and Niteesh, K.K., 2021. Integer factor based SVPWM approach for multilevel inverters with continuous and discontinuous switching sequences. Archives of Electrical Engineering, 70(4).
• Kiran Kumar, B.M., Indira, M.S. and Nagaraja Rao, S., 2021. Performance analysis of multiple gain boost converter with hybrid maximum power point tracker for solar PV connected to grid. Clean Energy, 5(4), pp.655-672.
• Lakshminarayanan, S., Kumar, K., Rao, S.N. and Pranupa, S., 2021. Current mode control of single phase grid tie inverter with anti-islanding. International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive Systems, 12(1), pp.241-248.
• Vishwajith, N., Rao, S.N. and Sachin, S., 2020, December. Performance analysis of reduced switch ladder type multilevel inverter using various modulation control strategies. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1706, No. 1, p. 012092). IOP Publishing.
• Rao, S.N., Rohith, H.M. and Kumar, B.K., 2020, December. Reduced switch z-source multilevel inverter using constant boost control methods for renewable energy sources. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1706, No. 1, p. 012104). IOP Publishing.
• Manjunatha, B.M., Rao, S.N., Kumar, A.S., Zabeen, K.S., Lakshminarayanan, S. and Reddy, A.V., 2020. An optimized multilevel inverter topology with symmetrical and asymmetrical DC sources for sustainable energy applications. Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, 10(3), pp.5719-5723.
• A. Suresh Kumar, K. Sri Gowri, S. Nagaraja Rao, B.M.Manjunatha, P.Rama Mohan, 2020. A New Three Phase Multilevel Inverter Topology with Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Algorithms. TEST Engineering & Management, 82(1), pp. 8633 - 8644.
• Kiran Kumar B M, M S Indira, S Nagaraja Rao, 2020. Design and Development of Three DoF Solar Powered Smart Spraying Agricultural Robot. TEST Engineering & Management, 83(2), pp. 5235 - 5242.
• Sulake, N.R., Devarasetty Venkata, A.K. and Choppavarapu, S.B., 2018. FPGA implementation of a three-level boost converter-fed seven-level dc-link cascade H-bridge inverter for photovoltaic applications. Electronics, 7(11), p.282.
• Rao, S.N., Ashok Kumar, D.V. and Babu, C., 2018. Grid Connected Distributed Generation System with High Voltage Gain Cascaded DC-DC Converter Fed Asymmetric Multilevel Inverter Topology. International Journal of Electrical & Computer Engineering (2088-8708), 8(6).
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, D.A. and Babu, C.S., 2018. Integration of reversing voltage multilevel inverter topology with high voltage gain boost converter for distributed generation. International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive Systems, 9(1), p.210.
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, D.A. and Babu, C.S., 2018. Implementation of cascaded based reversing voltage multilevel inverter using multi carrier modulation strategies. International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive Systems, 9(1), pp.220-230.
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, D.V. and Babu, C.S., 2018. Implementation of multilevel boost DC-link cascade based reversing voltage inverter for low THD operation. Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology, 13(4), pp.1528-1538.
• Pranupa, S. and Kiran Kumar, B., 2018. Three phase diode clamped multilevel DC link inverter with multi reference modulation techniques. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 10(8), pp.1793-1804.
• Rao, S.N. and Kumar, V.P., 2018. Comparative analysis of switched capacitor based multilevel inverters with self voltage balancing. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 10(9), pp.1841-1855.
• Rao, S.N. Ambresh G. Biradar and Sachin S., 2018. Asymmetric Cascaded Inverter for Photovoltaic Applications Based on Carrier Redistribution Modulation Strategies. International Journal of Engineering &Technology (IJET-UAE), 7(4.24), pp.14-19.
• Pranupa S, Kiran Kumar B M and S.Nagaraja Rao, 2018. Detection of Rotating Diode Failure Condition & its Protection in Brushless Alternator. International Journal of Engineering &Technology (IJET-UAE), 7(4.24), pp.26-32.
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, D.A. and Babu, C.S., 2017. Multilevel Inverter Topology for Distributed Generation with High Voltage Gain Cascaded DC-DC Converter. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 9(1), pp.264-282.
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, D.A. and Babu, C.S., 2014. PWM control strategies for multilevel inverters based on carrier redistribution technique. International Journal of Engineering & Technology (IJEET), 5(8), pp.119-131.
• Rao, S.N., Manjunatha, B.M. and Reddy, V.R., 2012. Shoot Through PWM control Strategies for three Level Z source Inverter. International Journal of Systems, Algorithms & Applications, 2(ICRAET12).
• Rao, S.N., Kumar, A.S. and Navatha, K., 2012. Comparative study on carrier overlapping PWM strategies for three phase five level diode clamped and cascaded inverters. International Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engg.(IJEEE), 1(4), pp.60-65.
• Reddy, V.N.B., Rao, S.N. and Babu, C.S., 2010. Advanced modulating techniques for multilevel inverters by using FPGA. International Review of Electrical Engineering (IREE), 5(3), pp.842-848.
• Reddy, V.N.B., Babu, C.S. and Rao, S.N., 2010. Comparison of modulation techniques for multilevel inverter fed permanent magnet synchronous motor. International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 2(10), pp.5206-5214.

• MISTE - Life Member
• IFERP

• Published a patent on “Design and Development of Hybrid Switching Controller for BLDC Motor Interfaced to Electric Vehicles” (Application No. 202241004001) 
• Published a patent on “Advanced Solar Electric Fencing with Smart Features” (Application No. 202541005674) 
• Filed a patent on “Fuel cell Based Energy Conversion System” (Application No. 202541073918) 
• Filed a patent on “High-Efficiency Three-Phase T-Type Multilevel Inverter with Third-Harmonic PWM for BLDC Motor Drives in Electric Vehicles” (Application No. 202541090780)

Ph.D. Dissertations Supervised - Completed

• Kiran Kumar B M: Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Grid Tie Micro Inverter for Enhanced Efficiency and Quality of Power output of Hybrid PV-WT system (Awarded during January 2023)
• Pranupa S.: Modelling, Simulation and Optimization of Wind Farm Layout for Maximum Power Output and Power Quality Improvement in Wind Energy Conversion System (Awarded during October 2023)
• Prajwal K T:  Design and Analysis of a Novel Conical Energy Harvester for Enhanced Power Output (Awarded during January 2025)
• Veerabhadra: Development of Control Techniques for Solar Photovoltaic System Interfaced with Grid Connected Reduced Switch Multilevel DC Link Inverter (Awarded during June 2025)
• Viji U.: Fault Diagnosis and Network Reconfiguration in a Ring main Power Distribution Network (Awarded during November 2025)
• Swathy Nair: Dynamic Frequency Regulation Analysis in Solar-Powered Microgrid System using Virtual Inertia Emulation (Submitted during November 2025)