Team

Prof. Ricardo Novella Rosa, Principal Investigator of Project Aurora and member of CMT Research Institute in Valencia (Spain), focuses his research on the study of advanced powertrain systems for mobility, combining advanced experimental and modelling activities. His expertise comprises the analysis of advanced combustion concepts for future internal combustion engines, including the use of hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels, and the integration of fuel cell technology in propulsion systems. Prof. Novella has participated in more than 50 projects funded by public institutions or by top industry companies, and the quality of his research is supported by over 130 publications in scientific journals and 50 contributions to international conferences.

Luis Miguel García-Cuevas González is a Full Professor and a member of the CMT – Clean Mobility & Thermofluids Research Institute. He has supervised 4 PhD theses, published 50 journal articles, presented 26 papers at international conferences, holds one patent and has an h-index of 17. He has participated in 30 R&D&I contracts with industry and in 22 publicly funded competitive research projects, serving as Principal Investigator in 6 of them. He is co-Principal Investigator of Project AURORA.

His research focuses on simulation and experimental methods for thermofluid dynamic processes, including industrially relevant cycles, power plants, and internal and external aerodynamics, as well as conceptual design methods for non-conventional aircraft configurations. He is the academic director of UPV’s MSc. Program in Aeronautical Engineering, represents UPV in the PEGASUS association, he also represents his institution in the Spanish Aerospace Platform as an elected member of its Management Board, and is the technical director of UPV’s Aerodynamic Research Service.

Associate Professor Raffaello Mariani received a BSc in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Prescott, AZ, USA, in 2003. Interested in working in experimental aerodynamics, he obtained a MEng in Aerospace Engineering (Experimental Methods) from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA, in 2005. During his time at ODU, he was able to participate in several automotive and aerospace wind tunnel tests carried out at the (former) 60ftx30ft Langley Full-Scale Tunnel (LFST). He then joined BMT FM in Teddington, UK, as a wind tunnel operator working on wind tunnel tests for civil and wind engineering, exposing himself to new applications and techniques of wind tunnel testing. In 2007, he left BMT FM to pursue a PhD, which he was awarded in 2012, in fundamental fluid dynamics at The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, under the supervision of Prof. Konstantinos Kontis, focusing on the subject of compressible vortex rings impinging on stationary surfaces. From 2012 to 2017 he worked at ONERA as a Wind Tunnel Test Engineer at the Low Speed High Reynolds Number Wind Tunnel in Le Fauga-Mauzac, France, focusing on the technical management of industrial wind tunnel tests. In early 2017, he shifted his career back to academia by joining the research team lead by Prof. Daniel New at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), in Singapore, working on the development of quantitative schlieren for the analysis of supersonic jets. In August 2018, he joined KTH as an Assistant Prof. in the Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering Unit, and became Associate Professor in June 2022.

Dr. Andrés Omar Tiseira Izaguirre is an Aeronautical Engineering and Full Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). His background has enabled him to address four core themes throughout his research career: internal and external aerodynamics, heat transfer and energy. He currently focuses on experimental aerodynamics, aircraft design and the application of new control methodologies, such as morphing wings. Responsible for the design and implementation of facilities, such as a closed-circuit wind tunnel, he is the Director of Technology Transfer at the CMT Institute member of the Espai-Aero Valencian Community association and participates in the activities of the Spanish Aerospace Platform. He has led various projects in aerodynamics, most notably on turbofan engine cooling and the study of a morphing wing for the next generation of aircraft. He holds 3 positively evaluated research periods (sexenios) out of a maximum of 3. Furthermore, he has 6 years of experience managing an aerial works and maintenance company.

Dr. Marcos López Juárez, who graduated with a Ph.D. in 2022 from the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain, currently holds the role of associate professor at the same institution. His research focuses on hydrogen fuel cell systems for transportation applications, with a focus on advanced 0D-1D modeling, degradation forecasting, and optimization of propulsion systems. He recently developed a methodology to design fuel cell-based propulsion systems for aerospace applications and has successfully applied it to helicopters and advanced air mobility applications. Despite his short career, he has published 15 papers in JCR journals, presented 10 papers at international conferences, participated in 5 public research projects, highlighting two European projects, two national, one regional, and collaborated on 7 contracts with industry. His outstanding contribution to fuel cell technology development projects for the transport sector at regional, national and European levels led him to be awarded the Young Scientist Award 2025 by Hydrogen Europe Research in the usages pillar and the extraordinary PhD thesis award by the UPV.

Lorena Mercedes Aular Díaz is a PhD student and researcher at the CMT – Clean Mobility and Thermofluids institute, within the CFD research group at the Universitat Politècnica de València. She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Simón Bolívar (Venezuela) and a Master’s Degree in Propulsive Systems for a Sustainable Mobility from the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). Her research experience spans aeroelastic behaviour modeling of lifting surfaces and CFD-based aerodynamic analysis of UAV propulsion systems under non-axial inflow conditions. Her doctoral research focuses on the experimental and computational analysis of variable-geometry wings.

Dr. Pau Varela Martínez is an Aerospace Engineer and postdoctoral researcher at the CMT Clean Mobility & Thermofluids Research Institute of the UPV. His research activity has focused on aerodynamic and propulsive problems of unmanned aircraft. He conducts experimental activities at the SIA, which include the design, manufacture and calibration of bespoke compact multi-axis balances and the commissioning of optical techniques. Furthermore, he has collaborated on a project regarding the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for aerodynamic control, as well as on wind tunnel experimental activities at the Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan in Stockholm, Sweden.

Daniel Velasco Pérez is a PhD student and researcher at the CMT – Clean Mobility and Thermofluids group. He got his bachelor’s degree at Universidade de Vigo and his master’s degree at Universitat Politècnica de València, both in aerospace engineering. He has recently started his career in scientific research and presented his work at 1 international conference. His background includes participation in the student association UVigo Aerotech, where he developed his skills in aircraft design and aerodynamics. He has now shifted to powerplant design, evaluating power requirements for diverse aircraft. His research topic focuses on PEM Fuel Cell systems for advanced air mobility (AAM), at both modeling and experimental levels.

Néstor Alcañiz Brull is a PhD student and researcher at the CMT – Clean Mobility and Thermofluids External Aerodynamics group. He is a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree graduate in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). His research focuses on propulsive and aerodynamic interaction in aircraft for Innovative Air Mobility