Andrea Vacca earned his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Parma (Italy) and his doctorate in Energy Systems from the University of Florence (Italy). Before joining Purdue University, Andrea Vacca was Assistant Professor in Fluid Machinery at the University of Parma (Italy), where he was lecturer of Testing Methods in Fluid Machinery (Mech. Engineering, Graduate level) and of Fluid Power Systems (Mech. Engineering, Undergraduate level), and teaching assistant in Fluid Machinery and Power Plants (Mech. Engineering, Graduate level). Andrea's main research interests concern the analysis, modeling and testing of fluid power systems for mobile applications and of hydraulic components such as valves, gear and piston pumps. He is author of more than 40 papers, most of them published in international conferences or journals.