It is with deep sadness that INESC-ID marks the passing of Professor Luís Marcelino Ferreira, a distinguished researcher, educator, and mentor who leaves a lasting legacy in the field of energy systems.

Professor Marcelino Ferreira graduated in Electrical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in 1977. He earned his MSEE and PhD degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

Between 1986 and 1989, he worked as a Systems Engineer at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in San Francisco, where he played a leading role in the development of HTO — a hydrothermal optimization program that became a reference in the coordination of energy resources.

Upon returning to Técnico in 1989, he brought with him a deep knowledge of systems optimization and a forward-looking vision of the opportunities enabled by the exponential growth in computational processing. He introduced the first postgraduate courses in electric power distribution networks and played a pivotal role in undergraduate teaching, particularly in the fields of Power Systems Control and Optimization and Network Analysis — courses where his high standards and scientific rigor left a lasting impression on generations of students.

As Full Professor, he took on many academic and scientific leadership roles from 2007 onwards. He served as Coordinator of the Energy Scientific Area at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) and, from 2013, as the Coordinator of the Sustainable Power Systems Research Group at INESC-ID — a responsibility he embraced when the Energy Group joined INESC-ID, and which he held until the end of his life, even after retiring as Full Professor.

Professor Marcelino Ferreira will be remembered for his intellectual clarity, his commitment to scientific excellence, and the profound influence he had on colleagues and students alike. His passing is a great loss to our community, and he will be deeply missed.

INESC-ID extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and all who had the privilege to work with him.