REPU MAGAZINE N 3
An interview with Edson Bellido
2017
An interview with
Edson Bellido
Co-Director of REPU
Edson Bellido, co-director of REPU and in charge of
NanoREPU, shared his research experience, his
involvement in REPU, and gave valuable advice to
undergrads in Peru.
Could you tell us a bit about your journey from
Peru to where you are now?
the best electron microscopes on the world, were the
perfect place for me to work on my PhD. I applied and
I was fortunate to be accepted in the Materials Science
PhD program at McMaster University. Since then I
have been working on the fabrication and
characterization of optical properties of silver and gold
nanostructures. In particular, my research has two
main objectives, one is to develop new methodologies
for the characterization of plasmonic structures at the
nanoscale using an electron probe, and the second is
to understand the relationship between the geometry
of metallic nano-structures and its plasmon
resonances using high-resolution electron energy loss
spectroscopy.
My journey began in the "Thin films" laboratory at
Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, where I started
doing research in nanotechnology, working mostly in
the synthesis and fabrication of nanostructured TiO2
thin films that were used as photocatalyzers in
prototype devices for solar water decontamination in
the Peruvian Andes. Thanks to the experience I gained
in that lab I was able to apply and be selected for a
research internship to work under the supervision of
Prof. Jorge Seminario, PhD, a distinguished Peruvian
professor in the department of Chemical Engineering
at Texas A&M University.
In the internship, I worked on measurements of the
electrical properties of origami DNA. I was able to
publish two papers from this work, and was thanks to
these papers and the experience I acquired during the
internship that I was accepted into the materials
science and engineering PhD program at Texas A&M
University. During my first years in graduate school I
worked on simulations of graphene based nano-
devices and explored applications of the vibrational
modes of this material for molecular circuits and
sensors. While I was working on these simulations, I
found myself always thinking about the experimental
procedures that will be required to reproduce my
simulations. I realized that I had this strong desire to
go to the lab and "do, try and experiment". After this
realization, I decided to switch from the PhD program
to a master program and look for a new lab where I
could work on experimental research for my PhD.
How did you find out about REPU?
It was through my friend and colleague Dr. Luis
Jauregui that at the time was a PhD student at Purdue
University. He was starting the "Nano" branch in
REPU, and he contacted me and other PhD students
working in nanotechnology to be part of the selection
committee for nanoREPU. I gladly accepted his
invitation and I started working in REPU since then. In
2014, I assumed the responsibility of the organization
of nanoREPU that was moving from Purdue University
to McMaster University, and I started my role as
mentor.
What is your role at REPU?
I have three main roles at REPU: responsible for the
organization of nanoREPU, mentor and the new role
as co-director of REPU. As the person responsible for
the organization of nanoREPU, I coordinate the
student selection process and serve as chair of the
selection committee. After the selection, I organize the
internship of the REPU students that are coming to
In the search for a new lab I found the group of Prof.
Gianluigi Botton and the Canadian Centre for Electron
Microscopy at McMaster University. The great
research and the state of the art facilities, with some of
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