Alejandro Garcés-Ruiz received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (Pereira, Colombia, 2006) and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway, 2012). He is currently an associate professor at the Department of Electric Power Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. His research is focused on optimization and control for power systems applications. That includes convex optimization, model predictive control, optimal control, and passivity-based control applied to problems related to microgrids, HVDC transmission, operation of power systems, and power systems dynamics and stability. He participated in the study Smart Grids Colombia Vision 2030, which defined the roadmap for implementing smart grids in Colombia. Dr. Garces is a senior member of IEEE and a Senior researcher at the National Research System in Colombia.