About Marquez

Chemical engineering doctoral candidate Maricel Marquez loves her work.

Marquez, a native of Venezuela and 2006 recipient of OU’s Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant award, focuses on two areas of surfactant research: polymer nano-devices and polymer surfactant coatings.

Under the direction of professor Brian Grady, Marquez is exploring the intrinsic properties of polymers that adopt the form of a template to create tiny devices that have a potential plethora of applications. Possibilities range from the practical and even life-saving – a biosensor for glucose testing, for example – to the creative – a nanoparticle-covered wall that could change color with the flip of a switch.

Also with Grady, Marquez is working toward development of a polymer surfactant coating that would reduce friction in sand particles used as drilling fluids in the oil industry. The same sand particles are used in drilling both to fracture rock and to keep the fracture open so oil can be extracted. The coating improves the flow properties of the slurry, which in turn requires less power to be pumped down the wellbore, thus reducing overall production costs.