Prior to accepting his present position with ASU, he founded Control Systems Innovation, Inc., an engineering consulting and product development firm, in which he continues to be active. Macia received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering in 1974 and 1976 from the University of Texas, Arlington, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Arizona State University in 1988. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Arizona. He is a member of ASME and ASEE. He is the holder of three patents and more than 36 publications. He has co-authored a book on modeling and control of dynamic systems.