S.T. Roldan Velasquez (Sara)

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

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).

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.  

Organisations

• Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW), Sustainable Polymer Chemistry (SPC)