In 1964, Lins de Barros began studying engineering at the
Fluminense Federal University, switching after eighteen months to physics at
PUC-RJ before graduating in 1970. During this time, he began creating music as a hobby. and also worked as a teacher there. In 1989, he developed an exposition about 20th-century scientific questions. His research interests include
atomic physics,
biophysics, the
history of science and technology. He considered himself an experimentalist rather than a theorist.
Science communication Lins de Barros began as a science communicator during the
Brazilian military dictatorship in the 1980s and participated in conferences. Unable to balance his academic work with his science communication efforts, he discontinued his scholarly work.
Santos-Dumont Lins de Barros was considered an expert on the life and work of
Alberto Santos Dumont, having written four books about the Brazilian aviator and is considered a reference in Brazil and worldwide. His interest in Santos Dumont began in the 1980s when he saw a replica of the 1909
Demoiselle. He began researching Dumont and his plane, aiming to create a small-scale replica for himself. He also disputed the notion that the
Wright Brothers invented the airplane, asserting that the controversy in Brazil reflects a failure of Brazilian science communication. According to him, political pressure favors discussing the Wrights, and a clear campaign occurred in the late 1930s on behalf of the Americans, despite it lacking "any historical basis," because the brothers never "understood what it is to takeoff," according to the researcher. With
CNPq investment, he traveled to France in 1985 to research Santos Dumont for a film project by
Tizuka Yamasaki. Compiling the data, he wrote his first book, "Santos-Dumont," in 1986. The movie was ultimately scrapped due to budget constraints, but he was the screenwriter and composer of the documentary, "O homem pode voar" (2003). In 2005, he participated in the construction of a
14-bis replica by Alan Calassa. In 2014, he took office as chief of the Museum of Environment. ==Death==