Humberto Uriel Delgado
Electrical engineering
Hometown: Surprise, Arizona, United States
Graduation date: Spring 2024
Additional details: First-generation college student
FURI | Spring 2023
Gate Driver Optimization for a Miniaturized Data Center Power Supply
Data centers are becoming a critical electronic load as our online presence continues to grow. The power supplies used to enable these data centers take up valuable space inside the server racks that comprise them and also burn electrical energy, and this is counter to the objective of maximizing the storage and processing capability of the servers. Thus, miniaturization of the power supplies along with increased efficiency is desired. This project seeks to miniaturize a 380V-12V, 1kW power converter for data centers. The successful miniaturization of this converter can provide a pathway for other power electronic converters to be improved via the developed principles, including power converters for other important applications such as vehicle electrification.
Mentor: Mike Ranjram
It’s hip to be square.
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Featured project | Spring 2023
Humberto Delgado is an electrical engineering junior conducting research in the FURI program. With his mentor, Mike Ranjram, an assistant professor of electrical engineering, he is working on a solution to address the size and power requirements of power supplies that provide the energy for data centers. As our online presence continues to grow, miniaturizing power electronics and making them more efficient can better meet the energy needs of data centers more sustainably.
What made you want to get involved in FURI? Why did you choose the project you’re working on?
I wanted to get more hands-on experience while being able to complete a project I am passionate about. I chose my project because this is a big step in the overall miniaturization of power electronics, which can mean more energy-dense power supplies.
How will your research project impact the world?
I hope this project can impact the world by showing how small power converters can get using Dr. Ranjram’s new transformer layout. Hopefully this will open the doors to research in optimizing power electronics, especially as we face a new era with large amounts of renewable energy.
What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from your faculty mentor?
The best advice from Dr. Ranjram has been that research is an iterative task that requires you to search your engineering toolbox for solutions.
What has been your most memorable experience as a student researcher?
My most memorable moment as a student researcher would be when I was laying out the new printed circuit board I had to reduce inductances [when a circuit resists the electric charge running through a coil]. While working on the design, I remembered a principle I learned in an electromagnetics class used to reduce inductance.
Have there been any surprises in your research?
I am a first-time researcher and I have had to redo things to try to perfect a task, but this has helped me learn and develop problem-solving and design skills.
Why should other students get involved in FURI?
FURI is a great way to gain experience and ultimately learn more about a certain topic and expand your engineering toolbox.
