Maria Helena Godinho
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Maria Helena Godinho Associate Professor with Habilitation email: mhg@fct.unl.pt |
| Research Interests: Liquid Crystals, cellulose, Cellulose Liquid Crystals | |
Short Bio
Graduation in Chemical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, D.Sc, PhD and MSc in Materials Science from New University of Lisbon, Portugal. Nato/Invotan fellow at the Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée at Nice University in France. Member of the International Advisory Board 27th International Liquid Crystal Conference, Chairperson: 6th International Liquid Crystal Elastomer Conference, member of the Steering Committee: International Liquid Crystal Elastomer Conference, member of the International Advisory Board: 8th Ibero-American Workshop on Complex Fluids and their Applications. Invited overseas lecturer by the British Liquid Crystal Society (2016). Awarded the “Frederiks medal” in 2019 (field of Liquid Crystals), by Russian Liquid Crystal Society “Sodruzhestvo”
Main scientific interests: Helena Godinho research is focused on several aspects of the molecular, mesoscopic (nano and micro scale) and macroscopic properties and behavior of soft materials and complex fluids, mainly liquid crystals (LCs) and cellulose-based systems (CBS). In addition she is interested in the modification, preparation and characterization of cellulose micro/nano rods. Considering the LCs as well as CBS and cellulose nano rods she is much involved in the study of their self-assembling, defects and photonic properties. Helena Godinho is also concerned in the use of liquid crystalline CBS for building moisture driven cellulose micromotors and electro-optical devices. The development and optimization of liquid crystal based light shutter sensors, which can be used as smart windows or dynamic scattering layers for solar cells are also among her main interests. She is involved in European as well as in National projects.
Recent Books
- "Liquid Crystals - New Perspectives” (bilingual (English and French)), Edited by P. Pieranski and M.H. Godinho, 2021, “Cristaux Liquides: Nouvelles Perspectives”, 2022, ISTE-Wiley.
Articles
- “Cellulose Nanocrystal Aqueous Colloidal Suspensions: Evidence of Density Inversion at the Isotropic- liquid Crystal Phase Transition” R.R. da Rosa, P.E.S. Silva, D.V. Saraiva, A. Kumar, A.P. Mendes de Sousa, P. Sebastião, S.N. Fernandes, M.H.Godinho, Advanced Materials, 2108227, 10.1002/adma.202108227.
- “When the Smallest Details Count” M.H. Godinho, Science, 369, 918, 2020 (by invitation)