Aldo da Rosa
Encyclopedia
Aldo Vieira da Rosa is a Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

 at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. His research interests are in ionospheric processes, energy processes and renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

. He is the author of "Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Processes" and "Fundamentals of Electronics". He is also the holder of a US patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 on the process for the production of ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

.

Da Rosa was born in Florianópolis
Florianópolis
-Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. After graduating from the Brazilian Military Academy and the Brazilian Aeronautical School, both in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, he attended Stanford and Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 Universities. He received a PhD from Stanford in Electrical Engineering.

From 1945 to 1951 da Rosa founded and was the first head of the Research and Standardization division of the Diretoria de Rotas Aéreas (the Brazilian FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...

). From 1952 to 1953 he was Associate Professor of Electronics at ITA, an engineering college in São José dos Campos
São José dos Campos
São José dos Campos is a municipality and a major city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and one of the most important industrial and research centers in Latin America. It is located in the Paraíba Valley, between the two most active production and consumption regions in the country, São Paulo ...

, Brazil. In 1954, da Rosa founded and was the first Director of the Instituto de Pesquisas e Desenvolvimento (IPD), and in 1956 became Chairman of the Brazilian National Research Council. He resigned from the Council following a serious injury to his leg during an international glider competition in France. From 1961 to 1963, da Rosa founded and was the first chairman of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, (the Brazilian NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

). In the early 1960s, da Rosa was a helicopter test pilot for the "Beija Flor", a helicopter designed by Heinrich Focke.

Da Rosa retired from the Brazilian Air Force
Brazilian Air Force
The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...

 as Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 in 1965 and in 1966 became a Research associate, then professor, and now Professor Emeritus at Stanford University.

An active Masters Swimmer
Masters swimming
Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming for swimmers 25 years or older...

, da Rosa has broken 99 National Records and 37 World Records. He currently still holds the world records in the 85-89 age group in the 200 meter IM and 200 meter breast stroke. He was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame in 2004.

In March 2010, da Rosa was awarded the Grã-Cruz da Ordem Nacional do Mérito Científicohttp://www.jusbrasil.com.br/diarios/1583517/dou-secao-1-04-03-2010-pg-17, an honor bestowed by the President of Brazil upon Brazilian and foreign personalities recognized for their scientific and technical contributions to the cause and development of science in Brazil.

Da Rosa continues to attract large numbers of students to his renewable energy classes at Stanford. He lectures on renewable energy topics, with an emphasis on classical physics.
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