Juan Ricardo Vidal was born in Popayán, Colombia in 1975. He obtained his B.Sc. in mechanical engineering at the Technological University of Pereira (2002), M.Sc. at the University of Cienfuegos in Cuba (2005) and Ph.D. at the Federal University of Itajuba in Brazil (2013). Since 2006, he has been working at the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Cali, Colombia, where he is currently a Full Professor, Director of the Master in Energy Systems and the Industrial Evaluation Program PEVI-UAO, at the Faculty of Engineering and Basic Sciences. His research interests focus on optimizing thermal systems, energy efficiency in industrial processes, and renewable energies.