Meet E. Daniel Cárdenas-Vásquez, Ph.D., a Grand Challenges Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow at the Fowler School of Engineering!

Dr. Cárdenas-Vásquez was born in Moyobamba, Perú. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo (UNPRG), in Lambayeque, Perú, and a Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering from North Carolina State University, where he conducted research about new functional materials using colloids and hydrogels for biomedical applications as well as exploring novel nucleation prediction methods using computational tools for drug discovery and other pharmaceuticals applications. Additionally, he has a keen interest in the ethics of science, specifically at the interface of organized religious entities and genetically modified foods (GMOs). On the side, he drinks lots of (specialty) coffee while trying to model in-silico its pour over extraction mechanism.

Q & A with Dr. E. Daniel Cárdenas-Vásquez

What is your current area of research – and why are you passionate about it?

My current research area is both experimental and computational rheo-mechanics of squishy particles (ultra-soft microgels), and how ionic charges affect their behavior at the molecular scale. I love it because we can probe very small scales with computational methods that would otherwise be extremely expensive experimentally.

What is the best advice you’ve received in your science career?

Failure is what propels discoveries. So, keep failing and you’ll get there, eventually.

What are you most looking forward to about GCI?

Interacting with students. I love having students from all majors of Fowler and Schmid and developing solutions to our current societal challenges.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a scientist?

Probably sleeping. Or cooking. Or making coffee.

How do you like your coffee?

The short answer: black. The long answer: I love a washed and light roasted Ethiopian or Peruvian coffee on a V60 at the beach.