Claudio Canizares, PhD, PEng, FIEEE, FRSC, FCAE, FFCSEE

Dr. Claudio Cañizares is a University Professor and the Hydro One Endowed Chair at the Electrical and Computer Engineering (E&CE) Department, and the Executive Director of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) at the University of Waterloo, where he has held various academic and administrative positions since 1993 and has received multiple recognitions, in particular the 2021-2022 Awards of Excellence in Graduate Supervision from both the University and the Faculty of Engineering. He obtained the Electrical Engineer degree from the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN) in Quito-Ecuador in 1984, where he held different academic and administrative positions between 1983 and 1993, and his MSc (1988) and PhD (1991) degrees in Electrical Engineering are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

His research activities focus on the study of stability, control, optimization, modeling, simulation, and computational issues in bulk power systems, microgrids, and energy systems in the context of net-zero, competitive energy markets, smart grids, and energy access. In these areas, he has led or been an integral part of multiple grants and contracts from government agencies and private companies worth over $92 million CAD, and has collaborated with various industry and university partners in Canada and abroad, supervising/co-supervising close to 190 research fellows and graduate students. He has authored/co-authored over 390 publications with more than 36,000 citations at an 86 H-index, including journal and conference papers, technical reports, book chapters, disclosures, and patents, and has been invited to deliver keynote speeches, seminars, tutorials, and presentations at many prestigious venues worldwide.

He was the 2020-2024 Editor-In-Chief of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (IEEE) Transactions on Smart Grid; the 2022-2023 IEEE Division VII Director of the IEEE and Power & Energy Society (PES) Boards; and is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, where he was the Director of the Applied Science and Engineering Division of the Academy of Science from 2017 to 2020, and a Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering. He is also the recipient of the 2025 IEEE PES Ramakumar Family Renewable Energy Excellence Award, the 2017 IEEE PES Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award, the 2016 IEEE Canada Electric Power Medal, and of multiple IEEE PES awards and recognitions, holding leadership positions in several IEEE and PES Committees, Working Groups, and Task Forces.

• Smart grids, Microgrids, Stability, Security analysis, Improvements of power systems in competitive markets, Optimal management, Forecasting, Energy systems with multiple energy carriers

1. Smart grids and microgrids:

- Energy storage dynamic and static modeling for impact and dispatch studies of power grids and microgrids.

- Energy management systems for customers and distribution feeders, and study and optimal management of the impact of smart loads in transmission and distribution systems, as well as microgrids.

- Microgrids planning, dispatch, control, and stability analysis, particularly of unbalanced, remote (isolated) systems, considering technical, economic, and social issues.

- Modeling, simulation, and control of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), for both large grids and microgrids.

- Integration of renewables, particular wind and solar power, and energy storage systems considering their impact in dispatch, stability, and control in large grids and microgrids.

- Electric vehicles’ smart charging and their impact on transmission and distribution systems.

- Modeling, simulation, control, and integration studies of microgrids for airport as well as hybrid and e-planes.

2. Stability and security analysis and improvements of power systems in competitive markets in the context of smart grids:

- Study and management of the impact of converter-based renewable energy generation, particularly wind- and solar-power generation, on the stability of power grids.

- Pricing of system security and controls.

- Stability analysis of power systems including HVDC and FACTS controllers, and development of new analysis methodologies and control strategies to monitor and avoid stability problems.

- Development of efficient computational tools for the analysis of stability, dispatch and planning problems in power systems.

- Application of optimization techniques to bifurcation and stability-constrained OPF problems.

- Nonlinear system theory application to power systems, particularly the study of bifurcations and chaotic behavior.

3. Optimal management and forecasting:

- Development of dispatch tools including DERs and associated uncertainties.

- Reactive power management and markets.

- Probabilistic and stochastic OPF problems in grid dispatch and planning considering variable load and generation.

- Load and price forecasting.

4. Energy systems with multiple energy carriers:

- Optimization and economic studies of multi-energy systems.

- Modeling, simulation and control of hydrogen systems with emphasis on the integration of hydrogen and ammonia as storage media and energy sources in power and transportation systems.

- Comprehensive studies of thermal-electrical systems, considering heat pumps and district heating.

- Modeling, simulation, and analysis of FACTS controllers in power systems:

- Development and validation of dynamic and power flow models.

- Design and development of control strategies and new controllers for power grids and microgrids.

• 1991, Doctorate Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States

• 1988, Master of Science Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States

• 1984, Diploma Ingeniero Eléctrico (Electrical Engineer Diploma), Escuela Politécnica Nacional Quito-Ecuador, Ecuador

• 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Ramakumar Family Renewable Energy Excellence Award

• 2024 Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering (CSEE)

• 2022 University of Waterloo Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision

• 2021 Faculty of Engineering Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision (University of Waterloo)

• 2020 University Professor (University of Waterloo)

• 2017 IEEE PES Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award

• 2016 IEEE Canada Electric Power Medal

• 2013 Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering

• 2012 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

• 2007 Fellow of the IEEE

• 2021-2026 Executive Director Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE)

• 2015-2016 Associate Chair for Research University of Waterloo E&CE Department

• 2008-2015 Associate Director WISE

• July 2004-Aug. 2004 Acting Chair University of Waterloo E&CE Department

• 2003-2004 Deputy Chair University of Waterloo E&CE Department

• 2000-2002 Associate Chair of Graduate Studies University of Waterloo E&CE Department

• 2025 Vice-Chair IEEE Technology for a Sustainable Climate Matrix Organization (TSCMO)

• 2025 Chair IEEE Fellow N&A Committee

• 2024-2025 General Chair 2025 IEEE PES Canadian Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

• 2024-2025 General Co-Chair 2025 IEEE SmartGridComm Conference

• 2024 Chair IEEE Ad Hoc Committee on Technology for a Sustainable Climate (CTSC).

• 2023-2025 Member IEEE and TAB N&A Committees

• 2021-2023 Director and Director-Elect Division VII

• 2022-2023 Member, Ad Hoc Committee to Coordinate Response to Climate Change (CRCC)

• 2020-2024 Editor in Chief Transactions on Smart Grid

• 2019-2024 Chair Electrification Magazine Steering Committee

• 2013-2020 Past-Chair, Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary, Power System Dynamic Performance Committee

• 2010-2024 Chair 3 Task Forces on Microgrids, Power System Stability Subcommittee

• 2016-2017 Technical Program Chair ISGT Latin America

• 2016-2021 Member Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the IEEE

• 2006-2011 Chair and Secretary Power Systems Stability Controls Subcommittee

• 1997-2002 Chair Voltage Stability Focus Group of the Power System Stability Subcommittee 

• 1994-1997 Secretary Voltage Stability and Long-Term Stability Working Group

• ECE 140 - Linear Circuits
  • Taught in 2023, 2024
• ECE 467 - Power Systems Analysis, Operations, and Markets
  • Taught in 2020, 2021
• ECE 6601PD - Power System Components and Modeling
  • Taught in 2022, 2024
• ECE 6613PD - Power System Analysis
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025
• ECE 662 - Power Systems Analysis and Control
  • Taught in 2021, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• H. Safari (Student), C. A. Cañizares, D. Sohm, E. Ahmed, I. El-Samahy, and M. Dusseault, “Disaggregating Distributed PV Power from Aggregate Measurements in Transmission Systems,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, submitted November 2024, accepted July 2025, pp. 1-18.

• F. Müller (Visitor), S. de Jongh (Visitor), C. A. Cañizares, T. Leibfried, and K. Bhattacharya, “Comparison of machine learning and MPC methods for control of home battery storage systems in distribution grids,” Applied Energy, accepted July 2025, pp. 1- 24.

• S. de Jongh (Visitor), F. Mueller (Visitor), C. A. Cañizares, T. Leibfried, and K. Bhattacharya, “Distribution Grid State Estimation with Limited Actual and Pseudo Measurements,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grids, vol. 16, no. 5, September 2025, 3638-3652.

• P. Verdugo (Student), C. A. Cañizares, M. Pirnia, and T. Leibfried, “Modeling and Optimal Operation of Sustainable Thermoelectric Microgrids with Phase-Change Material Thermal System,” Sustainable Energy, Grids and Networks, IREP Special Issue, vol. 43, art. 101814, August 2025, pp. 1-10.

• H. Gu (Visitor), B. Tamimi (PDF), and C. A. Cañizares, “Improved Control and Stability Analysis of a Microgrid Connector Controller Under Unbalanced Network Conditions,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 16, no. 4, July 2025, pp. 2712-2724.

• P. Verdugo (Student), C. A. Cañizares, and M. Pirnia, “Modeling and Energy Management of Hangar Thermo-Electrical Microgrid for Electric Plane Charging Considering Multiple Zones and Resources,” Applied Energy, Microgrids 2025 Special Issue, vol. 379, January 2025, pp. 1-12.

• S. de Jongh (Visitor), F. Mueller (Visitor), F. Osterberg, C. A. Cañizares, T. Leibfried, and K. Bhattacharya, “Data-driven Topology and Parameter Identification in Distribution Systems with limited Measurements,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 40, no. 1, February 2025, pp. 249-260.

• M. Abuelhamd (Student) and C. A. Cañizares, “Dynamic Model of Integrated Electricity and District Heating Microgrids,” Applied Energy, Microgrids 2025 Special Issue, vol. 376, art. 124337, December 2024, pp. 1-14.

• C. Pankhurst (Student), C. Cañizares, and K. Bhattacharya, “A Decentralised Transactive Energy Market Considering Physical System Constraints,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 15, no. 3, May 2024, pp. 3165-3177.

• I. Calero (PDF), C. A. Cañizares, M. Farrokhabadi, and K. Bhattacharya, “Machine Learning-Based Control of Electric Vehicle Charging for Practical Distributions Systems with Solar Generation,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 15, no. 3, May 2024, pp. 3098-3133.

• IEEE PES Task Force on Microgrid Dynamic Modeling: D. Espín-Sarzosa, R. Palma-Behnke (Secretary), C. A. Cañizares (Chair), U. Annakkage, E. Espina, M. Elizondo, W. Du, M. Kabalan, L. Meegahapola, P. A. Mendoza-Araya, E. Nasr, A. Pavani, R. Ramos, M. Ropp, K. Schneider, J. W. Simpson-Porco, K. Strunz, G. Taranto, F. Tuffner, and J. T. Reilly, “Microgrid Modeling for Stability Analysis,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 15, no. 3, May 2024, pp. 2459-2479.

• C. Ceja-Espinosa (Student), M. Pirnia, and C. A. Cañizares, “An Affine Arithmetic-Based Energy Management System for Cooperative Multi-Microgrid Networks,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 15, no. 2, March 2024, pp. 1317-1329.

• B. Tamimi (PDF) and C. A. Cañizares, “Microgrid Connector Controller (MGC),” US Provisional Patent 63207363, February 25, 2021, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) International PCT/IB2022/051698-10137-006WO1, applied February 25, 2022, published WO/2022/180603 September 1, 2022. https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2022180603&_cid=P10-L7QLO3-92756-1

• A. Vaccaro (Visitor), T. H. M. El-Fouly (PDF), C. A. Cañizares, K. Bhattacharya, and G. Ellis, “System, Method and Computer Program for Forecasting Energy Price,” US Provisional Patent 61559295, November 14, 2011, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) International Application, PCT/CA2012/001056, applied November 14, 2012. Not granted. http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2013071414&recNum=1&maxRec=2&office=&prevFilter=&sortOption=Pub+Date+Desc&queryString=FP%3A%28System%2C+Method+and+Computer+Program+for+Forecasting+Energy+Price%29&tab=PCT+Biblio

• G. D. Ellis, C. A. Cañizares, K. Bhattacharya, M. Chehreghani (Student), H. Hassen (Student), and S. A. Hashmi (Student), “System, Computer Program, and Method for Providing an Energy Hub,” US Provisional Patent 61470098, March 31, 2011, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) International Application PCT/CA2012/000319, applied March 30, 2012, published WO 2012/129675 September 4, 2012, Canadian patent 2831621, September 4, 2012, US patent 20140018971, January 16, 2014. http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2012129675&recNum=185&maxRec=5854&office=&prevFilter=&sortOption=&queryString=%22social+network%22&tab=PCT+Biblio