Dr. Ross Baldick earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1994. Dr. Baldick won a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award that same year.

Baldick researches electricity systems, electricity markets and electric transmission. In one current project, called Vulnerability of Electric Power Grids Analysis, he is researching vulnerabilities in North American power grids to identify features that terrorists may target for an attack. Baldick is discovering the most efficient ways to upgrade the vulnerable parts of power grids, and finding out how long it would take to replace sabotaged parts. The information will help power grid managers protect utilities from terrorists and more quickly recover from an attack.