Mauricio T. Tolmasquim is Full Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering (COPPE) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He was Visiting Scholar at the Interamerican Development Bank, and in the Energy Policy Group at Harvard Kennedy School. He was the Brazilian policymaker responsible for establishing energy auctions as Brazil?s key policy driver for enabling energy expansion and price reduction. He spearheaded the study in support of Brazil?s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC in 2015. Tolmasquim holds a PhD in Development Economics from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, France. He has a Master of Engineering in Energy Planning from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a Bachelor?s degree in Economics from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and a Bachelor?s degree in production engineering from UFRJ. From 2005 to 2016, Tolmasquim served as President of Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE) ? Brazil?s energy research and planning authority, responsible for conducting studies and providing technical inputs and support to the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the government?s overall energy policymaking apparatus, including energy auctions. Under his tenure, Brazil successfully launched 32 power auctions, contracting 77 GW of new electricity generation capacity. Tolmasquim was a member of the Brazilian National Energy Policy Council and the Monitoring Committee of the Brazilian Power Sector. Prior to EPE, he served as Deputy Minister and Interim Minister of the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy. In 2004, he commanded the technical working group responsible for the institutional reform of the Brazilian power sector. Tolmasquim was a member of the Brazilian National Energy Policy Council and the Monitoring Committee of the Brazilian Power Sector. Prior to EPE, he served as Deputy Minister and Interim Minister of the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy. In 2004, he commanded the technical working group responsible for the institutional reform of the Brazilian power sector, shifting the focus toward long-term agreements in tenders. He was awarded the degree of Grand Officer of the Order of Rio Branco, order established by the Foreign Ministry of Brazil with the objective of distinguishing meritorious service and civic virtues. He was elected member of the Brazilian Academy of Engineering, recognition given to the great talents of this profession. He was included in the list of Thought Leaders of The Recharge Magazine, which considers some of the biggest names in the wind and solar industries, along with leading figures from the worlds of finance and policy. In 2014, Wind Power Monthly, ranked him among the global Top 30 People in the wind sector. From 2012 to 2013, he participated in the World Economic Forum?s (WEF) Global Agenda Council on a New Energy Architecture -- an informal advisory group to the WEF and its network of delivering thought leadership on the transition towards a new Energy Architecture. He was also member of the Scientific Committee of the International Human Dimension Program (IHDP) -- an international, non-governmental, interdisciplinary research program addressing the coupled human-natural system in the context of global environmental change (GEC). The IHDP fostered high quality research aimed at describing, analyzing and understanding the human dimensions of GEC. Mauricio Tolmasquim has supervised dozens of Master?s and PhD theses and delivered lectures at about 500 national and international events. He is the organizer, author or coauthor of more than twenty-five books and over a hundred technical articles, as well as dozens of texts published in both academic journals and the press