Orlando Rojas

Orlando J. Rojas
Born	Orlando J. Rojas 1962 (age 62–63) Venezuela
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	Auburn University
Known for	Renewable nano- and micro- particles from plant-based sources Nanocellulose products
Scientific career
Fields	Nanoscience Nanotechnology
Institutions	University of British Columbia Royal Institute of Technology

Orlando J. Rojas (born 1962) ^{[1] [2]} is a Venezuelan-born Canadian materials scientist and professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, and also, a visiting professor at Aalto University in Finland. ^[3]

He holds the position of Canada Excellence Research Chair in Bioproducts, with appointments in the Departments of Wood Science, Chemistry, and Chemical & Biological Engineering. ^[4] He presently is also the scientific director of the UBC Bioproducts Institute. ^[5]

Research career

Rojas received his B.Sc. from Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela, an M.Sc. from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and a Ph.D. from Auburn University. He completed postdoctoral research at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. ^[6]

Rojas then joined the University of British Columbia in 2019 as Canada Excellence Research Chair in Forest Bioproducts. ^[7] He directs the Bioproducts Institute at UBC, which develops renewable and sustainable materials from forest biomass. He leads the research group of Biobased Colloids and Materials (BiCMat), focusing on renewable nano- and microparticles (e.g. cellulose, lignin, proteins), sustainable processing, and bioinspired functional materials. ^[8]

His research interests include: (a) Renewable nano- and microparticles from plant-based sources, (b) Sustainable biomass processing and green chemistry, (c) Biomimetic and bioinspired materials with hierarchical structure, and (d) Functional materials for catalysis, sensing, and controlled release ^{[9] [10] [11]}

In August 2025, Rojas was ranked at the top 2% of researchers in the world at the area of polymers ("nanoscience – nanotechnology") ^[12] having a very high c-score of 3.5912. Until October 2025, the entire research work of Rojas has received more than 54,000 citations at Google Scholar. ^[13]

Recognition

• Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Forest Bioproducts, University of British Columbia (2019–2026); which is one of Canada’s most prestigious academic positions, supporting transformative, high-impact research
• Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2013) ^[14]
• Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (2017)
• Anselme Payen Award (2018), awarded by the American Chemical Society Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division ^[15]
• TAPPI Fellow (2025) ^[16]
• Listed among the top 1% of researchers globally by citations
• TAPPI Nanotechnology Division Technical Award and IMERYS Prize (awarded for novel work in renewable nanomaterials and industry-relevant nanotechnologies)
• Inaugural Faculty Scholar, North Carolina State University

See also

• Wood science
• Nanocellulose

References

1. Forestry, UBC (2023-11-16). "Tara Martin, Orlando Rojas, and Nicholas Coops featured on 2023 Global Highly Cited Researchers list". UBC Faculty of Forestry. Retrieved 2025-10-03. Prof. Dr. Orlando Rojas
2. "38 BPI Researchers Named Among World's Top 2% Most Cited Scientists". Bioproducts Institute. 2025-05-23. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
3. "Orlando Rojas". Aalto University's research portal. 2025-03-15. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
4. "Orlando Rojas – Faculty Profile". UBC Faculty of Forestry. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
5. "Orlando Rojas". UBC Bioproducts Institute. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
6. "Orlando Rojas". UBC Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
7. "Chemistry welcomes Dr. Orlando Rojas". UBC Department of Chemistry. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
8. "Rojas Research Group". UBC Chemical & Biological Engineering. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
9. "Orlando Rojas". Rojas Group. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
10. Cao, Mengnan; Ren, Yiran; Wu, Yue; Shen, Jingjie; Li, Shujun; Yu, Zhen-Qiang; Liu, Shouxin; Li, Jian; Rojas, Orlando J.; Chen, Zhijun (2024-03-15). "Biobased and biodegradable films exhibiting circularly polarized room temperature phosphorescence" (PDF). Nature Communications. 15 (1) 2375. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. Bibcode:2024NatCo..15.2375C. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45844-5 . ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   10943238 . PMID   38490985 . Retrieved 2025-10-01.
11. Beaumont, Marco; Jusner, Paul; Gierlinger, Notburga; King, Alistair W. T.; Potthast, Antje; Rojas, Orlando J.; Rosenau, Thomas (2021-05-04). "Unique reactivity of nanoporous cellulosic materials mediated by surface-confined water" (PDF). Nature Communications. 12 (1) 2513. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.2513B. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22682-3 . ISSN   2041-1723 . Retrieved 2025-10-01.
12. Ioannidis, John P.A. (2025), "Bibliometrics", August 2025 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators", vol. 8, Elsevier Data Repository, doi:10.17632/BTCHXKTZYW.8 , retrieved 2025-10-01
13. "Orlando J. Rojas". Google Scholar. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
14. "Orlando Rojas". Rojas Group. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
15. "Chemistry welcomes Dr. Orlando Rojas". UBC Department of Chemistry. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
16. "Orlando Rojas – Bioproducts Institute". UBC Bioproducts Institute. Retrieved 1 October 2025.