Please join the department to hear Professor Maria Soledad Peresin discuss nanocellulose materials and their challenges. She will provide an overview of her research platform, including the development of solutions for water remediation, macromolecules immobilization for controlled release and biosensing, and bio-based adhesives and coating systems for wood composites, among others.
All graduate Chemical Engineering students will receive an Outlook calendar event with webinar access details.
Everyone is welcome – If you are not a graduate Chemical Engineering student, contact the Manager of Graduate Studies for the access information you need to join the webinar.
Abstract
Nanosized cellulose materials present remarkable properties, such as low density, high aspect ratio, and high capacity to be modified. Such properties, along with recent breakthroughs in energy efficient and up-scalable production methods, make them very appealing for use in several high-performance applications. Successful use of nanocellulose in different applications requires a thorough characterization and a deep understanding of the phenomena occurring at the interphases when these materials are combined with other bio-based polymeric matrices.
Professor Peresin’s research focus is on understanding the structure-properties relationship of bio-based materials for developing of value-added by fine-tuning surface chemistry and interactions among the system components.
In this seminar, she will introduce nanocellulose materials and their challenges. An overview of her research platform will be presented, including the development of solutions for water remediation, macromolecules immobilization for controlled release and biosensing, and bio-based adhesives and coating systems for wood composites, among others.
Biographical sketch
Professor Maria Soledad Peresin got her Licenciate in analytical chemistry in 2007, from Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) with a focus on pulp and paper chemistry. In 2011, she obtained her PhD in Forest Biomaterials degree from North Carolina State University (USA). In 2010, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Forest Products Technology, Aalto University (Finland). After finalizing her doctoral dissertation, in 2011 she joined the High Performance Fibre Products Knowledge Team at VTT for her post-doctoral studies and she continued working there as a Senior Scientist. She has more than ten years of academic experience, with a strong emphasis on nanocomposite materials and surface chemistry of plant cell wall components and their interactions, including studies of the materials in model surface approach.
In 2016, she started her appointment as an Assistant Professor at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Forest Products Development Center at Auburn University. She has been recently promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, effective Fall 2021.
During her time at Auburn, Professor Peresin has established a solid multidisciplinary research platform that gathers expertise in the areas of chemistry, pharmacy, materials sciences and engineering, as well as product development, encompassing the needs for stimulating new businesses in food, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medicine sectors, through novel value-added products from biomass (wood, annual crops, agro-forestry, sericulture, etc.).
The impact of her research is well documented, with 38 publications, 6 book chapters, 6 invention disclosure applications and more than 100 presentations in national and international forums, including invited talks. Most recently, she completed co-editing a book titled “Lignocellulosics. Renewable Feedstock for (Tailored) Functional Materials and Nanotechnology” (Elsevier, 2020). She is one of the recipients of the NSF CAREER award 2021.
Professor Peresin is an active member of the Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division of the American Chemical Society and the TAPPI Nano Division, for which she serves as a Co-Chair of the Research Committee. She has organized many meetings and workshops, throughout the US, EU and S. America, including ACS National and Regional Meetings and TAPPI Nano International meetings.