Short Bio

Luis Francisco (Paco) Villalobos is an Assistant Professor in the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Southern California (USC). His research interests focus on understanding the mechanisms behind the selective transport of molecules and on developing novel membrane technologies for the sustainable production of critical materials and energy. He was the 2022 recipient of the North American Membrane Society (NAMS) Young Membrane Scientist Award, was selected for an Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA Fellowship in 2022, and received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2026.

Paco received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2017 and his BS in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in 2010. His postdoctoral experience includes work at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and a fellowship through the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) at Yale University.