Juan G. Villegas is a Full Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín, Colombia) and a Senior Researcher recognized by the Colombian Ministry of Science. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from Universidad de los Andes and the Université de Technologie de Troyes. His main research interests include exact and (meta)heuristic optimization methods applied to multi-objective and bilevel problems, facility location, vehicle routing, logistics systems, and circular economy applications. He has coauthored numerous papers in leading international journals and collaborates actively with global research teams.

Professor Villegas is member of the research group ALIADO (Analytics and Research for Optimal Decisions) of the Universidad de Antioquia. He has been the president of the Colombian Operational Research Society (ASOCIO-Asociación Colombiana de Investigación Operativa) and the Secretary of the LatinAmerican Asociation of Operational Research (ALIO)