ENGINEER · SCIENTIST · ENTREPRENEUR
I’m Luismar Porto. I connect scientific foundations, engineering and new questions to understand complex systems and develop possibilities.
01 / THE QUESTIONS THAT DRIVE ME
My work moves between industrial processes, living systems and information. Choose a perspective to explore these connections.
Matter / Transform
From catalysis to oil extraction, I connect physical and chemical phenomena with engineering decisions. Modeling helps explain what happens inside a process — and what we need to measure to improve it.
Biorefineries: integrating feedstock, conversion routes and different products.
Explore projectsLife / Understand
Cells, metabolism and biological materials bring engineering into contact with the complexity of living systems. My experience includes tissue engineering, bacterial nanocellulose, metabolic modeling and cultivated proteins.
Connecting the cellular microenvironment, cell behavior and bioprocess design.
Explore publicationsInformation / Investigate
I investigate relationships between information, models and the organization of systems. Artificial intelligence and hybrid models also belong to this agenda, with attention to foundations, interpretation and validation.
Primonics is exploratory research. Its hypotheses are under development and are not presented as established theory.
Explore my agenda02 / THE JOURNEY
From chemical reactors to cellular systems. From academia to building initiatives for innovation.
EDUCATION
FURB · Blumenau, Brazil
An undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. Training in processes, reactions and the transformation of matter establishes the foundation for a journey that later expands into bioengineering.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Federal University of Santa Catarina
The beginning of my career at UFSC: teaching, research, student supervision and contributions to building its Chemical Engineering department and graduate program. Now a retired Full Professor.
DOCTORAL RESEARCH
Northwestern University · United States
PhD in Chemical Engineering, researching catalyst deactivation in fixed-bed reactors. A master’s degree in Chemistry at UFSC focused on catalysis and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis.
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
Queensland · Harvard–MIT HST · FAU
Research periods in biological engineering, biomedical engineering and biomaterials: University of Queensland (2001–2002), Harvard–MIT HST (2007–2011) and FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg (2013–2014).
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Tubanharon · Florianópolis
Founding of Tubanharon Process Engineering. Modeling, advisory and technology development connect scientific foundations with industrial challenges.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
JBS · Cultivated proteins
President of the Cultivated Meat Division and JBS Biotech Innovation Center. Concept development, structuring and leadership of the center’s initial phase in Florianópolis.
CURRENT AGENDA
Engineering · Bioeconomy · Information
Senior advisory at Tubanharon, technical leadership in developing 4Wood Biotech, genomic engineering initiatives and independent research on information and artificial intelligence.
03 / PROJECTS AND CONNECTIONS
Advisory, leadership, entrepreneurship and research: each experience has its own role and stage of development.
Engineering for complex decisions.
Senior advisory in process engineering, modeling, innovation and capability integration.
Tubanharon Innovation Systems embodies this work: framing the problem, building models, examining evidence and supporting technology development decisions.
Explore TubanharonFundamentals connected to operations.
Experience with Bunge and Cargill in oil extraction engineering, process modeling and simulation.
This work includes development of the ExtraOil platform and analyses connecting mass transfer, data and equipment behavior. Industrial results, parameters and commercial terms remain confidential.
Biomass as a platform for value.
Technical leadership in developing a bamboo biorefinery for second-generation ethanol and coproducts.
Integration of conversion routes, capabilities and validation strategies for a bioeconomy project in Maranhão, Brazil. The venture is under development; scale-up decisions depend on studies and validation.
From scientific vision to structure.
Former President of the Cultivated Meat Division and JBS Biotech Innovation Center.
Concept development and leadership of the center’s initial phase, connecting science, infrastructure, teams and industry–university cooperation. This is a historical role.
Institutional recordMaterials at the interface with life.
Science-based entrepreneurship rooted in cell and tissue engineering and bacterial nanocellulose.
A trajectory connecting research, biomaterials development and bioengineering applications through training and knowledge transfer.
Connecting institutions and possibilities.
An initiative bringing together universities, industry, training and technology development in bioengineering.
The proposal connects research and innovation capabilities in Santa Catarina. It is presented as an ecosystem-building initiative, without assuming an institute is currently operating.
Models to question metabolism.
Connecting genomic engineering, metabolic modeling, biological data and computational tools.
This agenda combines metabolic network models and analytical strategies to inform hypotheses and experimental decisions. Computational models are research tools and require validation.
New questions for biotechnology.
Development of concepts and opportunities in bioengineering and biological systems.
Exploring technology development at the intersection of engineering and biology. Specific projects and intellectual property strategies are discussed confidentially.
Information as a fundamental question.
Independent investigation of information, models and the organization of complex systems.
A conceptual research direction under development. Its hypotheses remain exploratory, seeking clear foundations and criteria for analysis before claiming results.
Organizations provide context for the career described. Their mention does not imply endorsement or a current contractual relationship.
04 / SCIENTIFIC WORK
A thematic selection of coauthored work. Titles and identifiers link to the original publications.
Metabolic engineering
Biotechnology and Bioengineering · 111 · 2280–2289
DOI: 10.1002/bit.25297
Biomaterials
Materials Science and Engineering C · 33 · 4684–4691
DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2013.07.029
Biomaterials
Carbohydrate Polymers · 94 · 655–662
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2013.01.041
Processes
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering · 28 · 169–174
DOI: 10.1590/S0104-66322011000100018
05 / BEYOND DISCIPLINES
I’m from Tubarão, in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Florianópolis is my base — and connections with other places, cultures and fields of knowledge are part of who I am.
Questions about the origin and organization of the universe and life have long accompanied my interest in science, technology and innovation. Engineering taught me to seek explanations; research, to keep asking questions.
Agalychnis callidryas, the red-eyed tree frog that already lived on this website, remains a personal symbol of the search for new perspectives.
Reflections and writing
Science, ideas and questions that reach beyond the boundaries of a single specialty.
Visit my blog06 / MEMORY AND EXPERIENCE
The Academic Activity Memorial documents the journey to promotion to Full Professor at UFSC in 2017. The historical collection has a permanent home at /maa/.
07 / CONTACT
Research, scientific collaboration, technology development or a conversation about a complex problem.
luismarporto@gmail.comConversations in Portuguese and English.
LinkedIn profileAdvisory and industrial projects
Tubanharon Innovation Systems