My Career

My career path has been anything but straight. It all started in Barranquilla, Colombia, where I graduated as an Electronics Engineer from Universidad del Norte, with a focus on automatics and signal processing. Early on, I joined the university’s Robotics and Intelligent Systems group and worked on biological signal processing. That experience sparked my fascination with how systems behave and how we can model them.

After graduating, I spent a few years working across South America and Europe, diving into waste treatment and solar energy projects. These hands-on experiences grounded my interest in sustainability and pushed me to explore energy systems more deeply. That journey led me to Luxembourg, where I completed a Master’s in Renewable Energies at the University of Luxembourg. It was during this time that I became increasingly drawn to granular matter, discretization techniques, and computational modelling.

In 2012, I began my PhD at the University of Luxembourg, contributing to the AMST initiative. I focused on discrete–continuous modelling of powder processing, chemical reaction systems, and thermal transport. It was a time of intense learning and a lot of code. I defended my thesis in 2016 and stayed on as a postdoctoral researcher, expanding my work on thermochemical simulations and particle-based methods.

Soon after, I joined CERATIZIT Luxembourg S.à r.l. as a postdoctoral fellow through the AFR PPP program (FNR grant ID 11245004). There, I worked on simulation-driven approaches for additive manufacturing and advanced powder metallurgy, collaborating closely with industry on real applications.

Right after, I returned to the University of Luxembourg as a research scientist, supported by an independent research grant (FNR CORE grant ID 13564670). My work focused on the advanced characterization and modelling of tungsten and tungsten carbide grain growth, linking simulation with experimental validation.

Over time, my focus shifted toward in situ space resource utilization. I currently work at the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC), hosted at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). I explore the behaviour of regolith simulants, simulate microwave heating in vacuum, and study the frictional and mechanical responses of extraterrestrial soils. I also develop numerical models to support experiments related to lunar construction and resource extraction. This involves a mix of simulation, experimentation, and a bit of lunar dust in my daydreams.

Alongside my research, I actively supervise PhD and Master’s students and contribute to academic life through workshops, mentoring, and collaborative projects across institutions. I’ve helped coordinate experiments awarded with parabolic flights and have presented simulation work featured by national HPC platforms.

Since late 2023, I’ve also taken on a more structural role as Director of a societal impact company—a non-profit that supports independent research, science outreach, and early-career scientists in Luxembourg and beyond.

Through all of this, I still like to keep things human. I believe in curiosity, creative thinking, and building bridges between theory and application—whether on Earth, on the Moon, or someday, on Mars or beyond.