The Real Time Power and Intelligent Systems (RTPIS) Laboratory is dedicated to basic and applied research in the following areas: power systems, computational intelligence, evolvable hardware and signal processing. The RTPIS laboratory is one of four University laboratories in the nation as of 2004 to have a Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) for power systems.The  RTDS is a fully digital electromagnetic transients power system simulator that operates in real time. New power system equipment and network designs or upgrades can be evaluated and accurately tested. More detailed and comprehensive models of power systems can now be constructed using digital technology. Equipment can be test-driven and optimized; contingencies can be planned and modeled; component interactions can be better analyzed and understood; and productivity can be improved, all in real time as if in operation under actual network conditions. The RTPIS laboratory activities include prototyping intelligent controllers for generator excitation systems, FACTS devices among others and testing on the RTDS.

The RTPIS laboratory is also active in the development and application of different paradigms of computational intelligence. Key applications include hardware design, optimization, security and robotics.