For more than 100 years, the power grid has relied mainly on large electric generators providing alternating current along transmission wires to places both near and far. Thousands of generators are synchronized through the power network to provide stability when problems arise. Maintaining that reliability is critical as thermal power plants retire and more renewable energy sources join the grid, or else a lot of people are going to be left in the dark. Binghamton University Associate Professor Ziang “John” Zhang will lead a research team that recently won a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the possible faults that could lead to power failures.