This panel session outlines the Power System Engineering Research Center's (PSERC) new initiative funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate requirements for a systematic transformation of today's electric grid to enable high penetrations of sustainable energy systems. A giant transformation in the electric grid is underway. The grid is evolving away from a network-architecture with relatively few large, hierarchically-connected, tightly synchronized energy resources supplying large, medium, and very many small passive consumers. It is evolving toward a network driven by many highly variable distributed energy resources mixed with large central generation sources, energy storage, and responsive users equipped with embedded intelligence and automation to meet their unique energy needs while co-existing and interacting within a complex dynamic network system. This panel session will highlight the various activities in the initiative and outline the activities in the different thrust areas and broad analysis topics.