October 5, 2009

Rojas named Finland Distinguished Professor

Dr. Rojas
(Photo: submitted)

---

Dr. Orlando J. Rojas, associate professor in the Department of Wood and Paper Science at North Carolina State University, has been named a Finland Distinguished Professor (FiDiPro) by the Academy of Finland and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

FiDiPro enables distinguished researchers, both foreign and expatriates, to collaborate with the "best of the best" in Finnish academic research. The goal of the FiDiPro is to raise the level of scientific knowledge in Finland by supporting research institutes and creating international cooperation. Rojas' Finnish host for the five-year appointment will be Professor Janne Laine in the Faculty of Chemistry and Materials Sciences at the Helsinki University of Technology.

Rojas maintains active research collaborations worldwide and is the current program chair of the Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division of the American Chemical Society. His current research specializes in the interfacial and colloid science in new applications for lignocellulose-based materials. He is currently working on natural self-assemblies and hierarchies to construct soft materials at different length scales.

Rojas received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) in Venezuela; his Diploma in paper engineering from Universidad Politecnica de Catalunya in Spain; his M.S. in chemical engineering from ULA; and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Auburn University in 1998. Before joining NC State, he was professor of chemical engineering in ULA and senior researcher in surface chemistry at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden from 2001 to 2003.

- burnside -

/ News Index / News Archives Index /