Biography:

Josué David Mota-Morales is a Tenured Researcher at the Center of Applied Physics and Advanced Technology (CFATA) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Querétaro City, México. He received a doctoral degree in materials sciences from CINVESTAV in 2012. During his master's and doctoral studies, he completed several research stays at the Research Center for Applied Chemistry, Mexico; the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, Spain; Universite du Maine-CNRS, France; and Louisiana State University, USA. In 2014, he was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship at Louisiana State University, USA. Subsequently, in 2015, he joined the Center of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CNyN) of UNAM, Mexico, as a CONACYT Researcher.  

He has co-authored over 60 scientific papers (H-index 24) and has held level 2 status (of 3) in Mexico's national researchers' system (SNI) since 2021. Additionally, he is a member of the Early Career Board of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. In 2022, Josué received the Reconocimiento Distinción Universidad Nacional para Jóvenes Académicos (RDUNJA), a young researcher award granted by UNAM in the field of research in Natural Sciences.  

His current research focuses on the development of novel routes to synthesize polymeric materials and polymeric nanocomposites with specific properties, such as hierarchy, biocompatibility, and sustainability. He accomplishes this by leveraging strategies involving deep-eutectic solvents/systems, biomass, high internal phase emulsions, and eutectogels. Among his other interests are anisotropic gold-based nanostructures, their properties, and their applications in biomedicine and sensing. 

Lecture: "Biomass and bio-derived building blocks for device construction, with a special focus on the chemistry of cellulose".

Seminar:  "Functionalization of cellulose nanocrystals for the preparation of plasmonic aerogels as 3D SERS platforms".