Dr Marta Camps Santasmasas is a Lecturer in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Salford, where she co-leads the master’s course in Aerospace Engineering and contributes to its academic and strategic development.
Her research brings together engineering, computer science, and environmental sustainability. Marta specialises in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), using advanced simulation methods to study how air moves around structures: from aircraft components to buildings and wind turbines. She leads the development of GASCANS, a high-performance CFD tool built to run on GPUs. GASCANS enables fast, accurate simulations of turbulent flows and supports near real-time modelling in selected applications such as wind energy and atmospheric flows.
Marta draws on her background in video game programming to create interactive and visually rich CFD tools, making complex simulations more accessible and responsive.
She has worked in both academic and industrial environments since 2010, including roles in wind farm design and urban air quality modelling. These experiences feed directly into her teaching, which focuses on real-world relevance, student engagement, and applied problem solving.
Marta serves on the UK Turbulence Consortium Committee and contributes her expertise as an evaluator for the European Commission, supporting the advancement of environmental modelling and fluid dynamics across Europe.
She is also a strong advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in STEM. As part of the Women in High Performance Computing network, Marta promotes respectful and empowering academic environments where both students and colleagues can thrive.
She regularly takes part in public outreach events such as Pint of Science, BlueDot Festival, and the Three Minute Thesis, helping to make science engaging and accessible to broader audiences.
