Susete Nogueira Fernandes received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (UL, PT) in 2006 within the sub-area of polymerization and catalysis. From August 2006 to June 2010, Dr. Fernandes received her first post-doctoral fellowship (CEBQ/IST) and spent a semester at the Materials Science Centre from the University of Manchester, UK.

In November 2010 Dr. Fernandes joined the Materials Research Center (CENIMAT), a hub of the Associated Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication (i3N) at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon as a post-doctoral fellow within a research project. In April 2012 Susete Fernandes was awarded a competitive Post-doctoral fellowship from FCT-MCTES.

Recently, she became a researcher of the Materials Science Department of Science and Technology. In November 2019 she was elected by her peers to be the researchers’ representative in the council of the Department of Materials Science. Susete Fernandes has extensive experience in polymers’ syntheses and its functionalization (as polyolefins, cellulose nanocrystalline and other cellulosic derivatives) and presents skills in several characterization techniques. In the last years, she has devoted her research interest in sculpting the flow of light with cellulosic based materials derived from liquid crystalline phases to produce color-generation systems with a bio-inspired optical response. To date, she participates, as member or coordinator, on ten EU and national projects, and two projects with industry. Susete Fernandes is the co-author of several peer-reviewed papers and book chapters (see outputs and activities). She is also a member of the scientific committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Interest group.

She is actively involved in the dissemination of Nanoscience and Condensed Matter through the scientific community by presenting systems derived from natural resources. Engage in teaching and supervisor activities she has been able to mentor students showcasing the importance of a sustainable economy while transmitting the state-of-the-art knowledge with biopolymers nanoscience.

Current Research Interests: Structural coloration is one of the three ways through which Nature presents an astounding range of coloration. They can arise from the interaction of sub-micrometric structured surfaces with light and have proven to play a critical role in animal communication, mating, and camouflage. Inspired in Nature’s structural coloration and its similarity with the chiral nematic liquid crystalline phase that some cellulosic derivatives present, her research studies are mainly focused on the preparation of new colored-generating bio-inspired cellulosic composites materials. To attain such results, it is of extreme importance to understand the mechanisms originating optical responses in Nature and mimic such structures at the nanoscale. These systems will allow obtaining cutting-edge products able to satisfy the demands of the comfort of end-users using sustainable approaches.