Profile and expertise
As an Environmental Systems Engineer, I look for multidisciplinary solutions for some of the most challenging problems in conservation of resources and habitat preservation. I aim for innovation and to democratize scientific knowledge.
I am experienced modeling diverse systems to forecast river flow for hydropower generation, to prevent damage caused floods, and to preserve the ecosystem health. I also study hot spots of greenhouse gas emissions using devices I create.
I co-direct the nonprofit organization 4 Venir that delivers outreach programs to educate children about essential scientific concepts such as climate change, environment, robotics and computation, and social skills.
I am trilingual in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and I have moderate comprehension of Italian, French and Catalonian.
Education
PhD in Environmental Systems – University of California, Merced. Advisor: Prof. Thomas C. Harmon.
MSc in Biosystems Engineering - Water resources and Environment – Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Brazil.
BEng Agricultural Engineering – Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), Spain.
Research Experience Spotlights
Greenhouse gas emissions from massive leaf-cutter ant nests influenced by weather conditions in tropical forests. I measured and estimated carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide efflux from nest, discovering that ants can emit up to 100,000 times more CO2 than the surrounding soils, and I upscaled the results to the ecosystem level learning that they are responsible for a significant fraction of the soil CO2 emissions. I conducted this research in Costa Rica, spending months in the rain forest under extreme conditions.
Watershed modeling for river flow forecasting by coupling hydrological and climate models. I developed a hydrometeorological model to forecast floods up to one month before they would happen in large Brazilian basins with low monitoring. I also worked as an independent modeler forecasting potential hydropower generation to decide when to purchase generation rights.
Wastewater and leachate treatment using activated carbon to promote cleaner outflow from wastewater plants in Brazil. I conducted this research when Brazilian wastewater treatment plants were obligated by law to treat leachate. My research was accompanied closely by the director of the main wastewater treatment plant in Rio de Janeiro.
Design low-cost sensing devices for environmental monitoring of CO2 effluxes from soils, water, and biomass. My devices are currently being used by researchers in several countries.