If basic research is to lead to a better world, microscale observations must be adjusted on a global scale. This is the kind of work carried out by Professor Orlando Rojas, who develops biomaterials in Finland and Canada. SPELLBOUND BY SCIENCE
MARIANNA SALIN, photo TANYA GOEHRING
pens to be convenient to stay in touch with students and colleagues on another continent when local ones are asleep or off duty. The only presence watching over our interview beginning at six in the morning is the maple tree behind Rojas’s window. “A tree is the most wonderful thing, right? It grows tall and drives water up. It protects itself from UV radiation and against the attacks of bacteria and fungi. It can with- stand winds, storms and rain. It is perfectly organised. And the most fascinating thing of all is that it turns light, air and water into complex micro and nano structures.” THE BEAUTY OF SCIENCE: KNOWLEDGE ADDS TO KNOWLEDGE Rojas found himself fascinated by the structure of wood and paper at a time when the surface and colloid chem- istry that focused on it was not a particularly fashionable subject. Yet, a good decade ago its reputation took a swift upward swing, and the attention shifted from paper to oth- er biomaterials. We have nanocellulose to thank for that. “The nanoscale was already interesting in paper re- search. As a matter of fact, the trailblazers of surface and colloid chemistry – including a Finn, Per Stenius – ob- served many of the phenomena currently considered most interesting. The work of the Finns and Swedes was a great inspiration to me.” Rojas emphasises that most of the research done on pa- per can now be applied to biomaterials. “It is precisely this that makes science so beautiful. Most of our work involves the search for new connections be- tween past research and current challenges. And that re- sults in something new.”
Many career choices seem surprisingly clear in retrospect. This is also true in the case of Orlando Rojas . As a child, he became fascinated by science after receiv- ing a chemistry set for Christmas, and as a young adult, he began studying chemical engineering at university in his native country, Venezuela. During his student years, he completed one internship in the oil industry and another at a pulp and paper mill, after which he had to choose between the two raw materials, oil and wood. Inspired by a great teacher and mentor, Rojas gave up on oil and chose wood. Now, 30 years later, this is the choice he also encourages others to make. It is easy to justify the replacement of a fossil-based raw material with a renew- able one, but Rojas does not want to stop there. “Oil contains dead carbon, which has no function in itself, whereas the carbon in wood forms the structure of a living plant with a multitude of uses. We have a won- derful opportunity to make use of nature’s intelligence and create unique, sustainable biomaterials that are not in direct competition with cheap oil and plastics or other products derived from oil.” FASCINATING TREE, FASCINATING STRUCTURE Once the young Rojas had chosen wood, the world opened up to him. After periods in Spain, Sweden and the United States, he came to Finland in 2009 as a professor at Aalto University. Last year, he embarked on a venture in Canada, at the University of British Columbia. “There are days when I feel that I am living in two con- tinents at the same time,” says the professor with a laugh, sitting by his computer in his Vancouver home. For him, the time difference between Finland and Can- ada does not seem to cause problems; rather, it seems to create much hoped-for extra time. This is because it hap-
FIBRE CONDUCTS OR ISOLATES, DEPENDING ON THE DIRECTION New things have already been created. Rojas promises
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