Summary
PhD candidate in Electrical & Computer Engineering at CRAAM/Mackenzie, Brazil. My research focuses on the atmospheric electric field (PG), the Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit (GAEC), aerosols, dust storms, and space-weather forcing. I combine ground-based observations across South America with satellite datasets, statistical modeling, and development of the EGATEC model.
Alongside this research, I found and develop open scientific and civic platforms, including OpenMonitor and Chambica, as well as interactive tools for solar-data exploration and real-time environmental monitoring.
Education & Research Visits
PhD – Mackenzie Presbyterian University - CRAAM (Brazil)
Electrical & Computer Engineering · 2023–2027 (ongoing)Sandwich PhD Fellow – IG PAS (Poland)
Global Electric Circuit modeling (EGATEC) · Feb–Jul 2026-
IMCP Space Weather School 2025 – Haikou (China)
Lectures and training - Fully funded participant · Nov 2025 (1 week) Research Visitor – IG PAS (Poland)
EGATEC · May–Jun 2025Training Fellow – IG PAS (Poland)
EGATEC · Sep 2024 (15 days)BSc in Physics – UNICA (Peru)
2016–2022
Experience
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Engineering & Environmental Sanitation Services – CISSA SRL
Field Supervisor & Administrative Assistant · 2017–2023 · PeruSupervised environmental sanitation services across multiple cities; supported technical reports, certification, and logistics.
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Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) – Ica Station
Transmission Station Supervisor · 2020–2022 · PeruOperated HF transmission systems and the MAGDAS magnetometer; coordinated with Jicamarca Radio Observatory for preventive/corrective maintenance.
Technical & Scientific Projects
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OpenMonitor — Open-access scientific research platform
Founder, author, and maintainer. Browser-based platform for reproducible solar-flare inspection and live or archival atmospheric electric-field observations, integrating distributed institutional data sources.
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aireica.com — Real-time environmental monitoring
Full-stack design and deployment. Sensors: PG, PM1/2.5/10, wind, and RTSP video. Paracas alerts and interactive data exploration (Plotly). Private VPS (Linux), automated ingestion, and public visualization.
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GOES X-ray Viewer — XRS flux plotter (1995–Present)
Interactive viewer for historical GOES-08 - GOES-16 solar X-ray flux (XRS A/B). Features dynamic data loading, log-scale plotting, and flare class visualization.
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GOES Flare Explorer — Historical flare database (1975–Present)
Historical solar flare (GOES) data explorer since 1975. Allows filtering, sorting, and visualizing the complete NOAA event catalog (Classes A, B, C, M, X) in a fast and lightweight web interface.
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Atmospheric Electricity Monitor — Space Weather Perú
Live GOES-19 GLM lightning radar, six-hour discharge maps, Ica field-mill potential gradient, and regional cloud imagery. In production since May 2026.
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Chambica — AI-assisted local discovery for Ica
Founder. Mobile and web platform connecting residents and visitors with local services, professionals, places, and experiences through multilingual conversational discovery and appointment coordination.
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AFINSA — Electric-field network (2018–Present)
PG processing and analysis in Ica (PER), Atibaia and São Paulo (BRA), and Casleo (ARG). GLM integration to assess lightning distributions and their influence on PG; neural-network modeling.
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Additional Web Projects
Publications
Published
Peer-reviewed, in press- Romero, R. M., Loayza, R., Huaman, G., Calderon, D., Buleje, Y., Arroyo, J., Tasayco, M., Torres, C., Tacza, J., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Electrical lead time during an extreme haboob-like dust-front intrusion in Ica, Peru. Atmospheric Research, 342, 109171. doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.109171
- Romero, R., Tacza, J., Vara-Vela, A., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Regime-dependent sensitivity of the atmospheric potential gradient to anthropogenic air pollution in São Paulo, Brazil. Atmospheric Research, 109002. doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.109002
- Valio, A., Lopez, K., Gamonal, J., Romero, R., & Da Silva, D. (2025). Space weather impact of three solar flares observed by the POEMAS telescope at 45 and 90 GHz. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. doi:10.1029/2025JA034611
- Romero, R., Tacza, J., Arroyo, J., Prieto, F., Macotela, L., Buleje, Y., Loayza, R., Fernandez, U., & Raulin, J.-P. (2024). First results of the potential gradient variation in a tropical station in South America (Ica, Peru). Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2024.106198
Accepted
Publication pending- Romero, R., Tacza, J. A., Odzimek, A., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Recovery of a Carnegie-like diurnal signature of the Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit from urban potential gradient measurements. Radio Science Letters. Accepted — URSI Young Scientist Award paper.
- Tacza, J., Li, G., Fu, S., Chen, T., Xu, E., Kubicki, M., Gonçalves Silva, H., Raulin, J.-P., Romero, R., Fernandez, G., & Marun, A. (2025). The May 2024 geospace superstorm and its impact on the Global Electric Circuit worldwide. Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate. Accepted.
First revision
Under review, revised version with the journal- Romero, R., Tacza, J. A., Odzimek, A., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Constraints on the interpretation of atmospheric potential gradient anomalies associated with earthquakes: evidence from Peru and Argentina. Advances in Space Research.
- Tacza, J., Romero, R., Arroyo, J., Buzas, A., & Bor, J. (2026). Long-term land observations reveal distinct daily patterns in potential gradient measurements. Atmospheric Research.
Ready for submission
Manuscript complete, in co-author review- Romero, R., Odzimek, A., Tacza, J., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Solar-cycle modulation of fair-weather surface air conductivity at Świder, Poland (1965–2000). Geophysical Research Letters — target venue.
- Romero, R. M., Arroyo, J., Tacza, J., Orosco, G., Bonifaz, M., Loayza, R., Buleje, Y., Tasayco, M., Torres, C., Almeyda, A., Prieto, F., Grazziani, L., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Sea-Breeze Electrification and Its Interruption by Southerly Flow in a Coastal Desert. Atmospheric Research — target venue.
In preparation
- Romero, R., et al. (2026). Solar OpenMonitor: a browser-native platform for reproducible multi-instrument solar flare inspection.
- Romero, R., Odzimek, A., Tacza, J., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Response of the Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit to cloud generators and space weather forcing in the EGATEC model.
- Romero, R., Tacza, J. A., Odzimek, A., Szpigel, S., & Raulin, J.-P. (2026). Atmospheric potential gradient and ground-level gamma radiation during five solar eclipses at CASLEO, Argentina (2010–2024).
- Romero, R., et al. (2026). A decadal climatology of natural gamma radiation and the atmospheric potential gradient in Argentina.
- Romero, R., et al. (2026). GOES/XRS hot-onset solar flare statistics and SDO/AIA source attribution, 1995–2025.
- Perriyil, S., Romero, R., Giménez de Castro, C. G., & Simões, P. J. A. (2026). Improved Flare Anticipation Index (FAI) detection using GOES X-ray observations.
Academic Events
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URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium 2026 – Krakow, Poland
“Recovery of a Carnegie-like diurnal signature of the Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit from urban potential gradient measurements”.
Oral presentation · August 2026 -
AGU Fall Meeting 2025 – Online (New Orleans, USA)
“Advancing the EGATEC Model: Improving Generator Schemes and Validation with Ground-Based Electric Field Observations”.
Poster presentation · December 2025 -
XI International Congress and XIII National Congress of Research – CONINTI 2025 (Ica, Peru)
“Integrated Climate Monitoring in Ica: Air Quality Analysis and Early Warning of Dust Storms Using Atmospheric Electric Field Measurements and Meteorological Parameters”.
Poster presentation · Coauthor · December 2025 -
XIII International Congress on Technology and Innovation & XVI International Congress on Competencies and Multidisciplinarity – CITICI / COINCOM 2025 (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia)
“Integrated climate monitoring and early warning of dust storms in Ica - Peru”.
Oral presentation · Coauthor · November 2025 -
1st National Congress of Pure and Applied Sciences – CONACIPA 2025 (Ica - Peru)
"Monitoring of the Atmospheric Electric Field in South America: Advances and Applications".
Oral presentation · October 2025 -
Academic Week of Space Geophysics (INPE - Brazil)
"Atmospheric Electricity Research at CRAAM: Toward Regional and Global Applications".
Oral presentation · September 2025 -
IAGA/IASPEI Joint Scientific Assembly 2025 (Lisbon, Portugal)
Symposium A11: AC–DC Global Circuit for Atmospheric Remote Sensing
“Potential gradient as a proxy for anthropogenic air pollution in São Paulo, Brazil”.
Oral presentation · September 2025 -
Keynote Lecture - Faculty of Science, UNICA (Peru)
“Global Electric Circuit and Academic Perspectives in Geospatial Sciences”.
Oral presentation (Invited) · August 2025 -
Scientific Seminar – UNMSM (Lima, Peru)
“Air quality analysis for early warning of dust storms through climate monitoring in Ica”.
Oral presentation (Invited) · July 2025 -
Workshop “Atmospheric Discharges in Dynamic Environments” (Bath, UK)
Odzimek A., Tacza J., Romero R., et al. “The thunderstorm generator in the EGATEC model of the GEC”.
Oral presentation (Coauthor) · June 2025 -
Academic Week of Space Geophysics (INPE – Brazil)
“The Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit: An overview from the AFINSA network”.
Oral presentation · November 2024 -
São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Solar Activity (CRAAM – Brazil)
“Modeling the impact of space weather and local effects on the Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit”.
Poster presentation · November 2024 -
PolGEC Workshop 2024 (IG PAS – Poland)
“Neural Network-Based Prediction of the Potential Gradient: Insights from Peru, Argentina, and Brazil”.
Poster presentation · September 2024 -
International Scientific Meeting – ECI 2023 (Peru)
“Analysis of local and global effects in the variation of the atmospheric electric field in Ica – Peru”.
Oral presentation · August 2023 -
XII Latin American Conference on Space Geophysics – COLAGE (Chile)
“Status of Activities on Space Weather Research in Ica – Peru”.
Poster presentation · November 2021 -
XXVIII Peruvian Physics Symposium – Trujillo (Peru)
“Preliminary Results of Atmospheric Electric Field Study and its Variation in the City of Ica”.
Poster presentation · November 2019 -
International Space Weather Initiative Workshop (Italy)
“Recent activities for space weather research in Ica – Peru”.
Poster presentation (Coauthor) · May 2019