JOSÉ VARELA-ALDÁS is an Industrial Engineer from the Universidad Técnica de Ambato, and holds a Master’s degree in Control Systems from the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo and a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from the University of Zaragoza. He is currently an Associate Professor at Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, where he serves as the coordinator of the MIST Research Center. In 2023, he was recognized as the Best Young Researcher by IEEE Ecuador. In 2024, he served as the President of the IEEE Ecuador Robotics and Automation Society. In 2025, he founded IEEE PUMABOT, the first battlebot league in Ecuador. His research interests include control systems, robotics, IoT, IA, and VR.