Rodrigo Martinez-Duarte

Dr. Rodrigo Martinez-Duarte is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University and a Faculty Scholar in the university’s School of Health Research. He also serves as elected President of the AES Electrophoresis Society and directs the Multiscale Manufacturing Laboratory (M²L), which he founded in 2013.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2010
• M.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2009
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), 2004

Research Interests: Dr. Martinez-Duarte’s scholarship sits at the intersection of micro/nanofabrication, carbonaceous materials, electrokinetics and microfluidics. He is internationally regarded as a pioneer of carbon-electrode dielectrophoresis (carbon-DEP), a technique that enables label-free manipulation and sorting of bioparticles, pathogens and cells. His group currently pursues advanced manufacturing routes—including origami, 3-D printing and bionanomanufacturing—to convert renewable cellulose into lightweight carbon and carbide structures for healthcare diagnostics, structural batteries and smart scaffolds.

Publication Trends: Across 120+ peer-reviewed works his recent papers emphasize (i) low-voltage, battery-operated DEP platforms for point-of-care diagnostics, (ii) light-induced DEP for sub-100 nm “nanoweaving” with living microbial factories, and (iii) sustainable carbide/carbon origami derived from paper or bacterial cellulose. These strands collectively target scalable, low-cost, green manufacturing of micro- and nano-systems for health, energy and environmental monitoring.

Scientific Awards & Leadership:

• UC-Irvine Public Impact Fellowship, 2010
• Elected President, AES Electrophoresis Society (2020–2022 term; continues in leadership)
• Chair/organizer for multiple international symposia on electrokinetics and microfluidics

Grants & Advising: His interdisciplinary program is supported by NSF, DOE, DTRA, NIH and industry partners. Graduate students and postdocs in M²L routinely collaborate across Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Bioengineering and the School of Health Research; alumni have entered academia, national labs and the medical-device sector.

Labs & Teams: The Multiscale Manufacturing Laboratory houses facilities for carbon-MEMS, robocasting, DEP chip fabrication, and rapid prototyping. The group participates in Clemson’s celebration of Día de los Muertos, engaging the local community in STEAM outreach.