Grijalva is a faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was selected for the award for his contributions to electricity grid modernization through theories and models for decentralized control, leadership through research in renewable energy integration in electric power systems, and mentoring and support for student organizations in the energy field. He will be presented with his award at the HENAAC Great Minds in STEM Conference, which will take place in New Orleans on Oct. 2-5.

Grijalva came to Georgia Tech in 2009, and he is now director of the Advanced Computational Electricity Systems (ACES) Laboratory. He is often referred to as a pioneer in the area of power system informatics and green electricity. In the ACES Lab, he and his graduate students focus on a variety of topics including real-time operations, integration of renewable energy, and energy policy.

Grijalva can also be seen around campus advising the Georgia Tech Energy Club, and he serves as principal investigator of various future electricity grid research projects for the U.S. Department of Energy and other government organizations.