Bob Alden completed his B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering at the University of Toronto in 1960, 1964, and 1968.   He is a registered professional engineer, a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC).

He has over 40 years of experience in electric power engineering as a consultant, teacher, and research director.   He has worked as a power engineer in Canada, Australia, and the United States, and has taught power engineering classes at the University of Toronto, the University of Sydney, and McMaster University.   He retired in 2001 with the title of Professor Emeritus) from McMaster University where he was the founding Director of the Power Research Laboratory and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.   He has supervised over 20 post graduate students at the masters and doctoral level and published about 75 technical papers in scholarly journals and conference proceedings, primarily in the area of applying computer-based methods to predicting the performance of large interconnected electric power systems.

He has been involved with computers for 50 years and the Internet for 20 years.   He wrote a regular column in IEEE's THE INSTITUTE, entitled "traveling the information highway with Bob Alden" between 1992 and 2001, which is mailed to about 350,000 members, and is published on the Internet.

He has been active as a volunteer leader in the IEEE for 40 years, highlighted by serving as Hamilton Section Chair in 1974-75, Canadian Director in 1988 and 1989, IEEE Vice-President for Regional Activities in 1990 and 1991. and Chair of the IEEE Electronic Communications Steering Committee from 1994 to 1997.   He served as chair of the IEEE Information Technology Strategy Committee for 2004 and 2005.   He was a founding member of the IEEE Canadian Foundation, serving as Vice-President from 1992 until 2001 when he became President.   He rejoined the IEEE Canada volunteer team in 2002 as webmaster and served until 2006 when he became the Awards Chair for a three-year term.   He was the founding Chair of the Toronto Section Life Member Chapter, he redesigned and managed the Section website from June 2003 to September 2006, he then served as the Section Publications Chair until January 2010 when he became the Liaison for the IEEE Canadian Foundation.   He served as a director of the IEEE Foundation from 2004 - 2009.

He is currently the Past President of the IEEE Canadian Foundation.

He is the recipient of several awards from the IEEE; the Larry K. Wilson Transnational Award in 1992, the Region 7 Outstanding Service Award in 1999, the William W. Middleton Distinguished Service Award in 1999, the Haraden Pratt Award for Outstanding Service to IEEE in 2002, and the IEEE History Committee Award in 2009, as well as the Centennial and Third Millennium Medals. He received the EIC John B. Sterling Medal in 2010.