Luiz Manoel Santos Santana

PhD (qualified) and Masters in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), with a specialization in Aerospace Systems and Mechatronics. Member of the ITA Space Center (CEI), the Space Robotics Laboratory (LRE), the Manufacturing Competence Center (CCM), and the Autonomous Computational Systems Laboratory (LAB-SCA) at ITA. His doctoral research focuses on the application of Artificial Intelligence in Robotics and Aerospace Systems, with an emphasis on Deep Reinforcement Learning for Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) of Space Vehicles, such as rockets, interplanetary rovers, and orbital robotic manipulators.Senior Aerospace Engineering Researcher (PIPE-FAPESP) at KVANTUM Technology and Innovation, where he is dedicated to the development of strategic softwarein compliance with international NASA and ECSS standardsfor the design of space vehicles, such as rockets and missiles, with a focus on mathematical modeling, trajectory control, and optimization. He employs advanced techniques in artificial intelligence, optimal filtering, systems control, machine learning, and mathematical optimization.At the LRE, he participates in a research project funded by the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) aimed at designing and building a microgravity simulation platform for experiments with space robots. He served as a Senior Researcher in a partnership between CCM and PETROBRAS, leading the development of software for 3D aerial scanning of offshore oil platforms using UAVs. The research aimed to address a previously unsolved scientific and technological challenge in the field. His work encompassed multidisciplinary activities, including flight tests, software engineering, laboratory testing, sensor fusion, computer vision, topography, systems integration, and project management. The resulting system is currently undergoing an international patent process.During his Masters degree at ITAs Aerial Robotics Laboratory (LRA), he designed and built a motion capture system for in-flight state estimation of drones, based on optimal filtering and computer vision. The system achieved satisfactory performance, with development and integration costs reduced by up to 90 compared to existing market solutions. Also at the LRA, he developed navigation, estimation, and control algorithms for multirotor drones.He holds an MBA in Project Management from FGV and completed extension courses in Space Technologies at INPE and in Astronomy and Astrophysics at IAG-USP. He earned a Bachelors degree in Control and Automation Engineering (Mechatronics). He participated in human-machine interaction research with humanoid robots at POLI-USP. His undergraduate research involved Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for load analysis in aeronautical structures. He designed and built a quadcopter as his undergraduate final project.He has professional experience in industry on large-scale mechanical engineering projects. He interned at INPE in the area of space mission simulation and management using STK software and served as a lecturer at ITA for the graduate course Artificial Intelligence for Mobile Robotics and the undergraduate course Dynamic Systems Modeling. He participated in robotics competitions, achieving third place overall in one event.Programming Languages: Python, MATLAB/Simulink, C++.Areas of Interest:Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science;Aerospace Engineering;Mobile Robotics;Software Development, Simulators, and Scientific Computing;Systems Control, Sensor Fusion, and Computer Vision;Mathematical Modeling and Dynamic Systems Identification;Hacking and Information Security;Intelligence and Counterintelligence;Military and Defense;Quantum Computing.Secondary Interests: Psychological Modeling, Computational Neuroscience, Financial Markets, Geopolitics, History, Philosophy, Theology. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)