Juan Felipe celebrates as he crosses a marathon finish line in this black and white photo.

Dr. Juan Felipe Torres Gonzalez

Image courtesy of the subject.

Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight: Juan Felipe Torres Gonzalez

by Danielle Doughty | Department of Chemistry |
Categories: Postdocs, Research

Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Juan Felipe Torres Gonzalez describes his research and answers 20 random questions.

Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Juan Felipe Torres Gonzalez has been a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Mircea Dincă‘s lab for a year now. Juan Felipe is currently working on the development of new materials that can support metals for catalytic applications of industrial interest. The goal is to obtain robust heterogeneous catalysts that minimize the cost and the environmental impact of separation processes.

“What brought me into the field of chemistry was my curiosity,” said Juan Felipe. “I have always asked myself many questions about the nature of things, and chemistry offered a good explanation for a lot of those questions. In the future, I expect to continue my academic career, have my own group and continue teaching chemistry.”

As the subject of this Postdoctoral Researcher in the Spotlight, Juan Felipe reveals the things he’d do if he didn’t have to sleep, three of his favorite fictional characters, small things that improve his day, and more!

  1. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
    There are too many things that I would like to do. I would train for an Ironman 70.3, practice more salsa, bake more stuff, and learn more languages.
  2. Who are three of your favorite fictional characters?
    – Batman
    – The cookie monster
    – Tanjiro (from Demons Salyer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)
  3. What are some small things that make your day better?
    The smile of people around me, no matter if I know them or not. Also, hugs can completely change my mood in a bad day. And, I can’t forget about vanilla ice cream and chocolate.
  4. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
    I think I could easily give a talk on multiple subjects, but I thing I could give a spectacular presentation about Colombia, or about transition metals (a little too academic, but I am really passionate about inorganic chemistry).
  5. What’s worth spending more on to get the best?
    Food!!!! I feel that this is particularly true when you are cooking.
  6. What movie title best describes your life?
    Failure as a lifestyle.
  7. What is special about the place you grew up?
    Bogotá is such an amazing city in the middle of the mountains, at an altitude of 2600 m over the sea level (8660 ft). I love that the temperature never goes above 22 C (72 F), that you can find bakeries and food stores everywhere, and the immense number of cultural events that happen every day. I love the cold mornings, and the small chaos that is always around. (I could definitely give a 40 minute talk about Bogotá)
  8. If you could pick any career other than the one you’ve chosen, what would it be?
    I would love to be a professional cook and baker.
  9. What food do you crave most often?
    Definitely sweet things: ice cream, a brownie, a cake….. You name it.
  10. If you had an app that showed three stats about any person you looked at, what three stats would you want it to show?
    – Last time this person give/received a hug
    – What is the food that makes this person happier
    – What is the longest distance this person have ever run
  11. What are you most looking forward to in the next decade?
    I think we are about to see significant changes in many areas, I am very excited to see where the quantum technologies can take the human being.
  12. What’s something common from your childhood that will seem strange to future generations?
    Looking for information in encyclopedias.
  13. What is on your bucket list?
    There are a lot of things that I would like to do. I want to travel around Colombia and also to go see by myself multiple places in the world. I really want to see lava. I want to qualify for the Boston marathon and complete an Ironman 70.3.
  14. What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?
    Skydiving.
  15. If you could know the absolute and total truth to one question, what question would you ask?
    How did life appeared on earth?
  16. If someone narrated your life, who would you want to be the narrator?
    Morgan Freeman.
  17. What skill would you like to master?
    I think cooking and baking. Making food for someone else is a great bonding experience.
  18. Who would be in the lineup for your ideal music festival?
    It would probably have to be a festival with many different types of music. I love to dance, so it should have some salsa artists, definitely La 33 is one of my favorite groups. I also enjoy reggaeton a lot, so Daddy Yankee, J-Balvin and Wisin y Yandel would be a must. From the electronic music world, I would like to include Sigala, Galantis, Kygo, and Major Lazer.
  19. What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
    I think it was the week after my graduation from the PhD. I went with my girlfriend, my mom, and my brother to New Orleans. It was awesome to spend some time with people that I love and to go to place with a lot of music and good food.
  20. What did you think was going to be amazing but turned out to be horrible?
    Beer, I find it disgusting. I am also allergic to hops, so beer also makes me sick.