I am a materials scientist with expertise in polymer processing and chemistry. My current research focuses on developing sustainable polymeric materials for agricultural applications.

Ā 

I completed an Honours degree in materials engineering at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil followed by an M.Sc in materials science at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. During my Masters I worked with bioinspired ceramic-polymer composites. I completed my PhD on bioinspired amphiphilic polymer conetworks in the Bruns Group as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between Switzerland, UK and US (PIRE for Bio-inspired Materials and Systems). My PhD research was mainly conducted at the University of Strathclyde with research stays at the Adolph Merkle Institute and ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and University of Darmstadt (Germany). My achievements have been recognized by several awards including nomination as an American Chemical Society Centennial Future Leader of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering (2024), the TAPPINano student award (2022) and valedictorian medal for my undergraduate studies (2015).

Ā 

I am also a strong advocate for supporting advancement of groups underrepresented in STEM and academia more broadly. I am a committee member of the Female faulty network Twente and have participated in projects including ChemDiverse (Strathclyde University), development and delivery of several public engagement initiatives. Ā 

Expertise

  • Chemistry

    • Polymer
  • Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science

    • Water
  • Material Science

    • Colloidal Processing
    • Microfluidics
    • Multiple Emulsion
    • Nanoparticle
    • Particle
    • Porous Material

Organisations

Publications

2024

Enhancing Stability and Efficacy of Trichoderma Bio-Control Agents Through Layer-by-Layer Encapsulation for Sustainable Plant Protection (2024)Advanced Sustainable Systems, 8(7). Article 2300409. Borup Løvschall, K., Velasquez, S. T. R., Kowalska, B., Ptaszek, M., Jarecka, A., Szczech, M. & Wurm, F. R.https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202300409

2023

ChemDiverse: A Chemistry Careers Activity Showcasing Diversity (2023)Journal of chemical education, 100(10), 3881–3887. Velasquez, S. T. R., Nimmo, R., Pookayil, T., Lydon, C., Willison, D. & Scott, F.https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00355Enhancing Stability and Efficacy of Trichoderma Bio-Control Agents through Layer-by-Layer Encapsulation for Sustainable Plant Protection (2023)[Working paper › Working paper]. ChemRxiv. Borup Løvschall, K., Velasquez, S. T. R., Kowalska, B., Ptaszek, M., Jarecka, A., Szczech, M. & Wurm, F. R.https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-k704bMicrofluidically produced microcapsules with amphiphilic polymer conetwork shells (2023)[Working paper › Working paper]. ChemRxiv. Velasquez, S. T. R., Belluati, A., Tervoort, E., Mattich, I., Hertel, B., Russell, S., Gouveia, M., Mugemana, C., Studart, A. R. & Bruns, N.https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-kmpmr

2022

Peptideā€Reinforced Amphiphilic Polymer Conetworks (2022)Advanced functional materials, 32(51). Article 2207317. Velasquez, S. T. R., Jang, D., Jenkins, P., Liu, P., Yang, L., Korley, L. T. J. & Bruns, N.https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202207317

Research profiles

Scan the QR code or
Download vCard