Rafael Sousa Martins

Rafael Sousa Martins is a research engineer at ONERA - The French Aerospace Lab, specializing in lightning and plasma applications since April 2017. With experience in the experimental investigation of lightning strikes affecting aircraft, Rafael has developed instrumentation, measurements, and diagnostics, as well as on-board sensors for atmospheric characterization. Prior roles include postdoctoral research fellow at Ecole Centrale Paris, where Rafael focused on heat transfer modeling related to lightning arcs and aeronautical materials, and a PhD fellowship at ONERA, studying the interaction between lightning arcs and materials. Educational qualifications include a Doctorate in Plasma and High-Temperature Physics from CentraleSupélec, a Master's in Generalist Engineering from Centrale Méditerranée, and a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from Universidade Estadual de Campinas.