was born in Itapiranga, Brazil, in 1961. He received the B.Sc. degree from the Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1984, and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil, in 1987 and 1993, respectively, all in electrical engineering. From 1987 to 1992, he was a Professor in the Electronics Department, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Since 1993, he has been with the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, where he is currently a Full Professor in the Electrical Energy Processing Department. From 2005 to 2006, he was with the Fraunhofer Institute, Sankt Augustin, Germany, as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar.He has authored more than 250 technical papers published in conference proceedings and magazines. He was a Co-Guest Editor of the Special Issue on Power Electronics Applications to Lighting Systems published in the Power Electronics Brazilian Journal (2012/2013), and he has coorganized several conference special sessions. His research directions include high-frequency, fluorescent, and high-pressure lamps, dimming systems, luminous efficiency, electronic ballast, LED as a source light, and power-factor correction. He has been the recipient of one IEEE paper awards. Dr. Prado is a founding member of the Brazilian Power Electronics Society and a member of the Brazilian Automatic Control Society and several IEEE societies. He is a Reviewer for the Brazilian Power Electronics Society, Brazilian Automatic Control Society, and several IEEE Societies.