Dr. Luis Villalobos Vazquez De La Parra

Biography

Luis Francisco (Paco) Villalobos is an Assistant Professor in the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Southern California. His research interests focus on understanding the mechanisms of selective transport of molecules and developing novel membrane technologies for sustainable production of critical materials and energy. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2017. His postdoctoral experience includes work at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) under a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation and at Yale University. He was the 2022 recipient of the North American Membrane Society Young Membrane Scientist Award. His group is dedicated to developing energy-efficient membranes and unraveling intricate molecular transport mechanisms, leveraging their expertise in materials science and chemical engineering. They manipulate materials on different scales, from atomic levels to the macroscopic level, facilitating the creation of ultrathin, highly selective films. The group also focuses on two-dimensional materials like graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, and explores nanoporous materials such as covalent metal-organic frameworks to achieve outstanding tunability for large-scale membrane production.

Research Interests

Awards