Faculty Profiles

Professor Oscar Vazquez Mena’s research focuses on integration and application of nanoscale nanomaterials like graphene for energy harvesting, biological applications and flexible technologies. His research experience covers the fields of two-dimensional (2-D) atomic materials, nanofabrication, photovoltaics and biophysics. He aims to exploit nanoscale physics phenomena to address challenges in energy harvesting. He also aims to develop novel biomedical microdevices by combining nano- and bio-engineering, and integrating nanoscale materials to biological structures like cell membranes and proteins to study biological processes. His research also looks into developing two-dimensional hybrid metamaterials with novel functionalities for flexible devices.

Capsule Bio:

Professor Oscar Vazquez Mena received his Ph.D. in 2010 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. He did postdoctoral research stages at the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Physics from 2011 to 2014, and at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona in 2015 with a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship. At UC Berkeley, Vazquez Mena founded the Indigenous Pipeline program, which aims to increase the access to UC Berkeley for children from indigenous communities in the Bay Area. He has also received a DARPA- Young Faculty Award in 2018 and the prestigious DARPA-Director's Award in 2020. He has also received the UC San Diego Cesar Chavez Faculty Award and named as an Emerging Scholar by the Diverse Journal for his work promoting equity and inclusion in academia.    

Selected Publications:

Google Scholar Publications