About Me
I was born in Bogotá Colombia, I graduated from the Colegio Santa Teresa de Jesús a catholic school, since then I like chemistry (I got fascinated by the smell of benzaldehyde!). I applied to the Coorporacion Tecnológica de Bogotá to study industrial chemistry, in which the emphasis was the development of new products and technologies for the industry based on sustainable development and a commitment to the environment. However, this emphasis in the industry left gaps in the knowledge of chemistry, so after two years there I started the bachelors program at the Universidad National de Colombia to study chemistry as basic science. During my bachelors I took several courses including laboratories of inorganic, physical, analytical, theoretical and organic chemistry. Additionally courses of Biochemistry, heterocyclic synthesis chemistry, and biomaterials. It was there where I learned from some of my physical chemistry professors (Alfredo Gómez (RIP) and Daniel Barragán) about the Belousov-Zhabostinsky reaction and Fractals. Since then self-organization of chemical and biological systems is one of my favorite subjects.
After the bachelors graduation I went to Florencia (Caquetá-Colombia) to work at the Universidad de la Amazonia. There I taught general, organic and analytical chemistry courses with their laboratories for a year and half. I wanted to continue my education, so I contacted Professor John Pojman who invited me to do research in his group at University of Southern Mississippi . My initial work there was a project funded by NASA in the field of polymer science. I worked as research scholar for a year and then joined the USM’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from where I earned the Masters of Science degree. My work during the master was mainly synthesis and kinetic studies of photo- and thermal-polymerization of new Ionic Liquid monomers.
Because of my interest in nonlinear dynamics, I applied to Florida State University to the Ph.D. program at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. I worked with Dr. Oliver Steinbock on the elucidation of the dynamics of scroll rings in the presence of heterogeneities. I graduated in December 2012. Since I wanted to branch out in the field of nonlinear chemistry in material science, I applied for a postdoctoral fellowship offer by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. Thanks to being awarded the fellowship, I joined the research group of Dr. Ryo Yoshida at The University of Tokyo in June 2013. There, I worked with zwitterionic thermo-sensitive polymers which change their solubility in water depending on the temperature. These polymers also exhibit self-assembly variations during the solubility switches. I returned to the US and looked for new opportunities in the nonlinear chemistry field with focus on the Origin of Life. In this search, Professor Epstein at Brandeis University offered me a postdoctoral researcher position in his group. I joined his group in the middle of the Spring 2015 semester. Presently I am (along with 2 undergrad students) working on special organic synthesis for the origin of life project, hydrogels that are able to transform chemical into mechanical energy, also on enzymatic systems that could potentially produce pH oscillations. Additionally, I had the opportunity to accept being an NRSA postdoctoral fellow in June, which implied some training on Neuroscience. My last year as a Postdoc June 2017! I got my first academic job at Bucknell University as a Visiting Assistant Professor, starting August 1st, 2017! Finally, the dream comes true, I got a tenure-track position at Notre Dame of Maryland University in the Chemistry department. At NDMU, the chemistry department is part of the women’s college; Notre Dame was the first Catholic college for women to bestow baccalaureate degrees and have been leading the way in women’s education ever since. In 2022, I decided I needed to transition to a larger and public university. In Fall 2023, I joined Salisbury University; as an assistant professor in the department of chemistry. I am very excited about this new academic home where I will start my research during the summer 2024!
Languages
• Spanish
• English