Dirk Van Hertem graduated as a M.Eng. in 2001 from the KHK, Geel, Belgium and as a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the KU Leuven, Belgium in 2003. In 2009, he has obtained his PhD, also from the KU Leuven. In 2010, Dirk Van Hertem was a member of EPS group at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), in Stockholm. Since spring 2011 he is back at the University of Leuven where he is currently professor and member of the ELECTA division. His special fields of interest are decision support for grid operators, power system operation and control in systems with FACTS and HVDC and building the transmission system of the future, including offshore grids and the supergrid concept. The research activities of Prof. Van Hertem are all part of the EnergyVille research center, where he leads the Electrical Networks activities. Dr. Van Hertem is an active member of both IEEE (PES and IAS) and Cigré.