Rathziel joined Purdue University in Fall 2017. Prior to coming to Purdue, Rathziel obtained his bachelor of Engineering at Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Colombia). Previously, Rathziel was a research assistant at the Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory at Universidad Nacional de Colombia. In Fall 2016, he visited Purdue as undergraduate research assistant under the UREP-C program fostered by the Colombia-Purdue Initiative. His research interests are combustion, alternative fuels, fire safety and renewable energies.