Flor Lizeth Torres Ortiz was born on April 2, 1980, in the port city of Veracruz, Mexico. She received her B.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Veracruz and her M.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering, with a specialization in Automatic Control, from the Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico (CENIDET). She later earned her Ph.D. in Automation and Production from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (Grenoble INP), France, where she also served as an Attachée Temporaire d’Enseignement et de Recherche (ATER).
In 2011, she returned to Mexico to undertake postdoctoral research at the Instituto de Ingeniería de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IIUNAM), initially supported by CONACYT and subsequently by DGAPA-UNAM. In 2013, she joined the Electrical Engineering Division of the UNAM Faculty of Engineering as a lecturer, and in 2014 she joined IIUNAM through the CONACYT Research Chairs Program.
Since 2019, Dr. Torres Ortiz has been a full-time Senior Researcher at IIUNAM, where she currently heads the Electrical and Computing Department. She is a Level II member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII) and holds the highest-level UNAM Academic Performance Incentive (PRIDE Level D). In 2026, she received the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Award, granted by UNAM in recognition of women whose outstanding contributions have advanced the University’s core academic mission.
Her research focuses on the development of modeling, control, optimization, and estimation methods, with particular emphasis on the intelligent management of water distribution networks. Her work also encompasses the analysis, monitoring, and control of two-phase flows, as well as machine-learning-based approaches for complex dynamical systems.
Dr. Torres Ortiz has played an active leadership role in the Mexican Association of Automatic Control (AMCA), serving successively as Board Member, Secretary, Vice President, and President. She has organized major national and international academic events, including the 2024 Mexican Conference on Automatic Control and the 2nd Meeting of Latin American Women in Control Engineering, held within the framework of the 2025 Latin American Congress on Automatic Control.
Dr. Torres Ortiz is also deeply committed to science communication and outreach. She has participated in more than 50 seminars, panel discussions, and national and international outreach activities organized by institutions and professional organizations, including IEEE, Schlumberger, and IFAC. She actively promotes early engagement with science and engineering through talks and outreach activities for children and young people.
She has delivered plenary and invited lectures in France, Poland, Colombia, and Mexico. Her most recent plenary lecture, “Digital Twins for Smart Water Distribution: Modeling, Monitoring, and Control,” was presented at the 3rd IFAC Workshop on Control Methods for Water Resource Systems.
Throughout her career, Dr. Torres Ortiz has sought to bridge control theory and real-world infrastructure challenges while integrating research, education, professional leadership, international collaboration, and scientific outreach. Her work reflects a sustained commitment to strengthening an engineering community that is scientifically rigorous, inclusive, internationally connected, and dedicated to serving society.