Academic Staff

In 1987 obtained his Ph.D. degree in the area of Multiphase Flow at FEUP. Since then, he is responsible for the teaching of several disciplines in the area of transport phenomena (Fluid Mechanics, Heat and Mass Transfer and Unit Operations) in various undergraduate and postgraduate courses at FEUP.

Between 1990 and 1998 he was director of the Integrated Master’s Course in Chemical Engineering at FEUP. He founded in the 90’s the Transport Phenomena Research Center (CEFT) and has been its scientific coordinator since then. Currently, he is Full Professor at the Chemical Engineering Department of FEUP and member of the Board of Regents of FEUP and of the General Board of the Oporto University.

More recently, integrated the know how acquired with other skills of the core formation in Chemical Engineering, in Energy applications in particular in the Fuel Cell area, namely the Direct Methanol and Ethanol Fuel Cells (modelling and experimental studies, macro and micro scale), Microbial Fuel Cells, PEM Fuel Cells and Electrolysers and Hydrogen Generators and Storage (Chemical Hydrides) systems.

The main target is the development of solutions to efficiently produce energy for different applications which is strategically aligned to Horizon 2020 goals. Impact is expected in the transports sector (by increasing the Hydrogen storing capacity and PEM fuel cells optimization), in the wind sector (by developing more efficient PEM fuel cells and electrolysers for an alternative back-up power system) and in the portable sector (by designing micro direct alcohol fuel cells). By converting a variety of materials such as complex organic wastes or renewable biomass into electricity, Microbial fuel cells can be advantageously combined with applications in wastewater treatment.

Director of the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PDEQB), Chemical Engineering Department, FEUP, Portugal, since 2010. The program has an average number of 90 PhD students and produces around 14 PhD theses per year.

Was a member of European Network FCTESTNET (Fuel Cell Testing and standardisation Network).Is regularly invited to be an expert evaluator of Horizon 2020 Projects – Storage – Low Carbon Energy, FCH – Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, ITN – Marie Sklodowska-Curie

The dissertation thesis was awarded with the “Best PhD Thesis in Applied and Computational Mechanics 2010”, awarded by APMTAC – Portuguese Association of Theoretical and Applied Computational Mechanics. In 2017 received the Younger Researcher Award in Applied and Computational Mechanics Prof. João Martins, awarded by APMTAC – Portuguese Association of Theoretical and Applied Computational Mechanics.

Afonso worked, in 2012/13, as R&D Engineering at Bosch, developing new components and products for water heaters systems especially for low NOx combustion burner and fuel/air mixing systems, and monitoring the industrialization of new products, including production of prototypes and zero-series. During this period, submitted several innovation reports, from which 9 patents were granted.

Currently, Afonso is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at FEUP, where it received diploma for pedagogical recognition in the the academic year of 2016/17.

He has spent extended periods of time at the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (Tsukuba, Japan), the University of Liverpool (UK), University of California at Davis (US), Washington University of St. Louis (US), Federal University of RIo de Janeiro (Brazil) and the University of StrathClyde (Scotland).

His research on complex fluids initially focused on high Reynolds number flows and was fully experimental, but over the years and with the help of various collaborators and former students his interests also include computational rheology, turbulence modeling and microfluidics.

Since 2013 he is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics.

In 2011 she won a FCT postdoctoral research grant to develop her research activity in the area of rheology, combined with microfluidics, in CEFT being her research related with the study of the influence of the non-Newtonian properties of blood in the formation of cerebral aneurysms.

In 2012 she worked at the University of Oxford (UK) for three months in the Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory of the Chemistry Department, with the aim of acquiring in-depth knowledge in microrheology.

In 2013 she won an Investigador FCT Starting Grant for continuing develop her research activity at CEFT. She is now assistant professor at the department of Mechanical Engineering at FEUP.

I am an associate Professor at the Department of Physics Engineering of Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), where I began to teach when I finished my bachelor degree. I usually teach general physics (mainly Newtonian mechanics, thermodynamics, optics, electromagnetism) and more recently Plasma Physics for various Programmes/Cycle of Studies, as the Integrated Masters in Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Computers Engineering, Physical Engineering and Chemical Engineering.

Between 2010 and 2012, I was the Director of the Doctoral Program in Engineering Physics (PRODEF) at FEUP.Since 2010, I am the Director of the Department of Physics Engineering of FEUP.

My scientific areas of research are the study of the kinetics of electrons, heavy neutrals and positive and/or negative ions in electrical discharges in gases (atomic, molecular and mixtures of both, in particular argon, nitrogen and oxygen) at DC, HF, and microwave discharges. More recently, I am interested in the simulation of plasma thrusters for electric propulsion technologies, in particular electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thrusters.