Welcome

“My wife took this pic a few years back!
I’ve kept it because it reminds me where I started.“

Hello, I’m Alvaro Antonio,

 I live in Luxembourg.  I graduated in electronics at Uninorte (Barranquillla-Colombia) and self-taught in many other areas like thermochemistry modelling and Additive Manufacturing. Even though my specialization was in automatics, I decided to master sustainable development and I’ve done my  PhD in material sciences. I’m currently employed at the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) – Luxembourg Institute of Science and technology (LIST). I love to cook and I am fascinated by discovering new tastes. I spent some years in Paris, where I held down many cool-bar jobs. My nickname is Toño. I like donkeys (don’t ask why).  I love travelling with my cheerful, beautiful and lovely wife Diana. I’ve slept in the Sahara desert. I’ve swum with wild dolphins. I’ve surfed close to a shark. I’m afraid of heights, but yet I’ve bungee jumped, I’ve stood at the edge of the grand canyon and I went to the “top of the world”. I spent 4 wonderful months in India.  I’ve volunteered as a science teacher in an orphelinat. I like taking pictures. I believe in Santa Claus. I love the three Js. My first video-console was an Atari 2600 with a hell of embedded games. I can barely speak Spanish and I believe I can speak English, French and I’m learning German. I used to play Basketball for my university, currently, I don’t play often but I have nice basketball shoes. I don’t like going to the gym, but my wife wants to keep me alive for longer. I like rock music, nevertheless I enjoy folk-dances. I saw a wild Lioness eating a Zebra. I previously held many independent technical jobs in electronics and IT. My first experience as an employee was in a waste-disposal company and I came back to it after graduation. I run under Linux, but I recognise that Windows has some advantages. I have predicted “brain thoughts”. I’m learning about Chemical Vapour Transport but also how to play the guitar.

Also, just so you know…
These days, I spend most of my time juggling simulations of lunar regolith, building digital twins for space processes, and trying to make sense of complex particle systems that really don’t like being tamed. I’m working on projects that mix hardcore coding with dust you probably shouldn’t inhale. I love thinking about how to build things on the Moon and Mars, how to extract oxygen from rocks, and whether sun furnaces can one day replace the fancy equipment we now take for granted. I help lead an association of researchers trying to create a stronger voice for independent science. I’ve supervised thesis work, guided PhDs, and been part of experiments that earned parabolic flights and HPC spotlights. Somewhere between the lines of regolith properties, C++, and lunar analogues, I’m still wondering how we’ll live out there—and how to do it better than here.
And yes, I still believe in Santa Claus and in curious people.

I invite you to find more about me, my interests and research on this website! 

Peace,

Alvaro