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Aline M. Castro writes children's books when she's not capturing carbon
Luis A. Colón has spent decades increasing diversity in the chemical sciences
Rogelio A. Hernández-López reprograms cells to fight cancer
Juan Paulo Hinestroza matches nanotechnology with fashion design
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Materials
Juan Paulo Hinestroza matches nanotechnology with fashion design
This materials scientist creates garments that can change color, filter pollutants, or detect explosives
by Malena Beatriz Stariolo, special to C&EN
September 20, 2024
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 102, Issue 29
Chemist Juan Paulo Hinestroza finds research inspiration in the superhero cartoons he watched growing up in Colombia. In the 1970s, Lycra hadn’t been invented, yet the creators of the Justice League were able to dream up a stretchy, form-fitting uniform that enabled the Flash to run at high speeds.
Vitals
Hometown: Bucaramanga, Colombia
Education: BSc, chemical engineering, Industrial University of Santander, 1995; PhD, chemical and biomolecular engineering, Tulane University, 2002
Current position: Rebecca Q. Morgan ’60 Professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, Cornell University
Professional advice: Be strong, and chase the positive of every situation.
Impactful book: One Hundred Years of Solitude. Every time I read it, I get a new interpretation of our Latin identity.
Fun project: I am learning Mandarin, and it is a lot of fun. I follow a Chinese chef on social media, and I love cooking Cantonese cuisine according to his recipes and learning Mandarin at the same time.
I am: Latino
Today, Hinestroza leads the Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory at Cornell University and dreams of bringing some superhero flair to the clothing industry. Working in his laboratory with chemists, engineers, and designers, he combines nanotechnology with fashion design to create fabrics with unique characteristics, like the ability to change color and filter toxic gases.
While growing up in Bucaramanga, a mountainous town in Colombia, Hinestroza loved to read books about other countries, and he dreamed of traveling the world. “I started to notice that three letters always appeared in the writers’ names: PhD,” he recalls. During his undergraduate studies in Colombia, he did an internship at the Colombian branch of Dow Chemical, where he worked as a project manager and process control engineer. This work gave him his first push into a research career. “I was always asking why, so my supervisor told me that I should pursue my PhD to find the answers.”
He discovered a passion for teaching during graduate school at Tulane University and became a three-time winner of the Omega Chi Epsilon Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. “I saw that I enjoyed the interaction with students and that I had a knack for explaining complex things like applied mathematics,” he says.
When he graduated, Hinestroza declined job offers from various companies and sought out a role as a professor. He found an opportunity at the Wilson College of Textiles of North Carolina State University. Until then, Hinestroza had no experience with fabrics, but he took the opportunity and ran with it like his childhood hero the Flash would have.
A few years later, he moved his group to Cornell University and focused on adding high-tech capabilities to one of the most common textile materials: cotton. His lab investigates how cotton and other natural fibers interact with nanoparticles so the team can create textiles that change color or capture pollutants.
The pollution-capturing textiles are based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), networks of metal clusters coordinated with organic ligands. They form cage-like structures capable of trapping other molecules, such as gases, but bringing MOFs into textiles is challenging. They tend to bond to one another rather than to the textiles—which stumped Hinestroza’s team.
In 2010, the researchers had a breakthrough when two of Hinestroza’s students created a structure made up of alternating layers of cellulose polymers and MOFs. With funding from the US Department of Defense, the team developed a cotton-MOF textile that can adsorb chemical warfare agents and industrial pollutants, making it potentially useful for military applications. The researchers then used this new fabric to create a mask and a hood.
We as instructors have to innovate and adapt so we can inspire new generations of scientists.
This work requires a nimble and flexible mind: Hinestroza says the group doesn’t always know what properties will emerge in the fabrics. “It’s like a soccer game; you never know what’s going to happen until the end,” he says. Hinestroza is passionate about the sport, and he compares a successful research group to a high-performance soccer team. The union of different skills makes the team and the lab stronger.
He attributes these values to his Latin American roots, which he thinks were essential in developing his creative, resilient, and receptive spirit. “Growing up in a culture with Indigenous, Afro, Latin American, and European influences has taught me to understand others and be open to different influences,” he says.
These characteristics are essential for working in such a dynamic field. “In fiber and textile science, we get to combine the technical aspects of chemistry and materials with design and culture,” says Ellan Spero, a historian of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who first met Hinestroza in 2006. Hinestroza’s combination of curiosity and the desire to apply what he learns to his research is striking, she says. “He is always integrating experiences from different cultures, inspiring students to combine technical knowledge with design challenges,” she says.
This approach is present in the way Hinestroza leads his research group. For example, in 2012, Hinestroza unveiled a bodysuit capable of releasing insecticides for malaria control, a project he worked on with Frederick Ochanda, a then postdoctoral scholar from Kenya, and Matilda Ceesay, who was then a student from the Gambia majoring in apparel design. Also, Hinestroza says he loves experimenting with natural fibers from various parts of the world, such as Brazilian sisal, which leads him to keep collaborations in the country. “I love going to Manaus because the Amazon is where the greatest diversity of plants is found. I have learned that nature is much smarter than us.”
Credit: Lauren Petracca Photography
Juan Paulo Hinestroza's lab made this metal-organic framework out of textile waste.
His enthusiasm fuels his group’s ingenuity. “He always seeks ways to encourage a passion for the laboratory and challenges us to find solutions to adversities without losing optimism,” says Luiz Gustavo Ribeiro, who conducted part of his doctoral research under Hinestroza’s supervision.
Hinestroza is worried by the lack of Latine representation in the chemical sciences. Because of that, he actively recruits Latine students and provides short visit opportunities for university professors from Latin America. “If we want to motivate more kids to study chemistry, we need to have more role models,” Hinestroza says. Since 2000, he has been a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, where he participates in workshops for the professional development of Latine students interested in academic careers.
“I have discovered that students have changed their learning habits, and we as instructors have to innovate and adapt so we can inspire new generations of scientists,” he says. Lately, Hinestroza has been exploring generative artificial intelligence as a teaching tool, asking students to use it in their projects to encourage them to experiment with different approaches. Meanwhile, in the laboratory, he is investigating ways to synthesize MOFs from recycled polyester clothing as an innovative and ecofriendly way to manage textile waste.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society
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