About the PI

Dr. Vasquez is an Associate Professor in the Chemical and Materials Engineering Department at the University of Dayton.  Dr. Vasquez earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering at Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas (UCA) in El Salvador.  He received his M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University and his Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University. Before his appointment at the University of Dayton, Dr. Vasquez held a Postdoctoral Associate appointment and was responsible for the Surface Science Laboratory in the Polymer and Surface Engineering Group at the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering at Mississippi State University. Since 2015, Dr. Vasquez has served as the principal investigator (PI) of the Nanoscale Engineered Materials Laboratory (NEMLab) at UD. In 2021, Dr. Vasquez was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor at UD. 

NEMLab research interests are immersed in the nanoworld, with a focus on : 1) the synthesis and in-vivo/in-vitro evaluation of biocompatible nanoparticles, 2) nanomechanical properties studies and interactions of biomaterials with surface-functionalized nanoparticles, and 3) the development of stimuli-responsive nanocomposites with magnetic properties for applications in many fields, ranging from medicine and healthcare devices to transport phenomena applications such as cooling, heating, and mass transfer.  

Dr. Vasquez is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society for Biomaterials, American Chemical Society, American Society of Engineering Education, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and Sigma Xi. He has served as chair-elect-chair, and past chair of the Dayton Section of the ACS (2018-2020) and is now a board member of the Sigma Xi Chapter at UD (2020 -2023).