Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Querétaro

HEXORB

Angel Misraim Tepale Ortega, Geraldine Miranda Garcia, Mya Yaretzi Cerón Salinas, Diego Eduardo Castañón Cortés, Hannah Belén González Vega

HEXORB is a modular, bio-based oil-absorbent system designed to address marine oil spills using brewery waste materials. It combines treated brewer’s spent grain with natural loofah fibers and pine resin to create fully biodegradable hexagonal mats that scale from small leaks to large ocean spills without producing microplastics. The design also supports local fishing communities by providing paid work assembling the modules, linking environmental cleanup with social empowerment, ecological restoration, and economic resilience.

Maritza Alonzo-Macías holds a B.Sc. in Biochemical Engineering, an M.Sc. in Food Science and Technology, and a Ph.D. in Bioprocess Engineering from La Rochelle University and Tecnológico de Monterrey. She also completed a postdoctoral research position at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN).

She is currently a professor-researcher at Tecnológico de Monterrey and has served as Director of the Biotechnology Engineering Program since 2022. She is a member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII-CONAHCYT), Level I, in recognition of her scientific contributions and research excellence.

Her research focuses on bioprocess engineering, particularly in food drying technologies and the extraction of bioactive compounds. She is recognized for her expertise in emerging processing technologies, especially Instant Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) technology.

Also, she is a core researcher in the Biointensification Lab within the Department of Bioengineering, where she contributes to the development of innovative and sustainable bioprocesses for food and biotechnology applications.

Mariana Maya holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design, a Master's in Visual Studies, and a specialization in Strategic Design. She has previously taught Strategic Design and Design for Social Innovation. Currently, she serves as the Director of the Design Program at ITESM, Campus Querétaro, where she teaches courses in Experience Design, Innovation and Design, and Industrial Design Futures. She is currently engaged in developing the Circularity Laboratory, exploring the optimal avenues for designing responsibly. Her ongoing quest for spaces where design can serve due to its transformative potential is the driving force behind co-generating value for individuals and their environment.

Giselle Dení Teresa-Martínez is a Biotechnology Engineer, graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Querétaro campus (2019), where she also completed her Master's and Doctoral studies in Biotechnology, obtaining her doctoral degree in December 2025. Her research focuses on the use of Instant Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) technology as a pretreatment to enhance the extraction of bioactive compounds from aromatic plants. She has worked with cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and marjoram (Origanum majorana), evaluating the effect of DIC on the yield and antioxidant activity of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation and ultrasound-assisted extraction. In marjoram, she evaluated CID pretreatment coupled with different extraction methods to quantify carvacrol and thymol and investigated the calming potential of the extracts using a zebrafish (Danio rerio) model. She has four articles published in high-impact journals, including Molecules (MDPI), Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio) and Food Science & Nutrition (Wiley).