Dr. Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa completed his BS degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) in 2003. That same year, he went to Pasadena, CA to pursue a MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. Under Prof. John F. Brady’s advisement, he studied recent experiments showing catalytically driven propulsion at nano- and micro-scales appearing as a possible mechanism for the transport of colloidal particles. During his PhD work, he also devoted time to study macro- and microrheology of colloidal suspensions using Brownian dynamics simulations and propulsion mechanisms at low Reynolds number flow. This experience gave him the opportunity to become an expert in colloidal transport, the exploitation of chemical reactions, and in the use of analytical and computational methods. Nevertheless, the most important outcome of this stage in his life was the sudden deep and genuine interest in transport phenomena and colloidal hydrodynamics and the need to teach others what he was learning. In 2008 he obtained his PhD and returned to UPRM where he is now an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER award, and in 2013 as Distinguished Professor in Chemical Engineering. His research experience includes the authoring of peer-reviewed articles in Physics Review Letters, Soft Matter, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Advanced Functional Materials, and Nature Chemistry.
Research Interests: Fluid Dynamics, Transport Phenomena, and Colloidal Physics: Brownian and Stokesian Dynamics Sim- ulations, Low Reynolds Number Flow, Microrheology, Complex Fluids, Colloidal Suspensions, Colloidal Devices, and Granular Flows