Rafa was awarded his MSc (Physics) in Fluid Mechanics from the National University of Mexico, and his PhD (Physics) in Quantum Optics from Imperial College in 2007.

His interests lie in the field of fluid mechanics, particularly in the understanding of fundamental processes during liquid breakup, coalescence and splashing. Rafa leads the Laboratory of Applied Sciences and his career includes 9 years in the University of Cambridge as a fellow and Senior Research Associate. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers including several in top journals such as Physical Review Letters, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Advance Functional Materials. His works have featured on magazines of wider circulation such as Physics Focus, Wired and The Engineer. His h-index is of 20, and his funding portfolio includes industrial grants from Airbus, Larkfleet and Inca Digital Printing ltd. Rafa has secured ca. £450k of support from various sources as either Pi or co-Pi, e.g. BBSRC (BB/P026788/1) and InnovateUK (TS/P001793/1). Rafa co-leads the EPSRC Special Interest Group in Droplet dynamics.