The scientific activity of Emilio Martines is mainly focused on the study of the physics of magnetically confined plasmas of interest for controlled fusion research, with side activities concerning other kinds of plasma applications. Most of the activity is related to plasmas magnetically confined in Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) configuration. The RFP constitutes a possible alternative to the more known tokamak configuration for building a fusion reactor.

The largest experiment in the world using the RFP configuration is RFX-mod, operating in Padova, Italy. This experiment is managed by Consorzio RFX, a consortium formed by CNR, ENEA, INFN and University of Padova, with a small participation of Acciaierie Venete. RFX-mod had a first activity phase from 1991 to 1999 (under the name of RFX). Subsequently major modifications were made to machine, which restarted operation in 2004.

The scientific activity of Emilio Martines runs along these main lines:

• Turbulence in magnetized plasmas
• Helical equilibrium configurations in RFP plasmas
• Density limit in fusion plasmas
• MPD thrusters for space applications
• In-vivo biomedical applications of plasmas

Other topics which were studied in the past are:

• Measurement of turbulence driven transport in the outer region of fusion plasmas
• Effect of plasma flow profile on transport processes
• MHD mode locking in RFP plasmas
• Advanced electric probes for plasma properties measurements
• Numerical studies of the electron velocity distribution function shape in RFP plasmas
• Use of parallel computers for simulating the plasma around solid objects
• Magnetron sputtering systems for thin film deposition