In January 2017, João Rodrigues joined the COMPASS Research Group as a Postdoctoral Researcher. His research interests include organic and inorganic synthetic chemistry, materials science, and is working towards the modification and functionalization of natural-origin polymers to be used in supramolecular and functional biomaterials.
João received his first university degree (2007) in Industrial Chemistry from FCTUC where his first introduction to chemistry research was with the study of the influence of suspension agents in thermal stability of PVC. He continued his work in the field of synthetic organic and materials chemistry by pursuing a MS (2010) and a Phd (2015) at University of Aveiro. Research endeavours there involved synthesizing new molecular derivatives (such as porphyrins and phthalocyanines) and nanomaterials for anion binding and photodynamic therapy applications.
In his spare time, he enjoys attending to live concerts, cycling and hiking in the nature, watching TV series, gallivanting across Europe and is a craft beer enthusiast.