Carlos Solanilla Salinas

About Carlos Solanilla Salinas

Hello! I have recently passed my final defense in Computational Chemistry at North Carolina State University, and have a passion for simulation and modeling.I began my academic journey as a biochemistry student at the University of South Florida, where I discovered my love for chemistry while working in a lab focused on the synthesis of peptide mimics. Initially, I planned to refine my synthetic chemistry skills in a similar lab during my PhD at NC State, particularly in peptide mimicry. However, during orientation weekend, I attended a talk by one of the few computational chemists in the department. In that talk, I saw the future of chemistry—a future led by cutting-edge computational techniques powered by the very technological advances I had grown up with. At that moment, despite having no prior programming or computational experience, I decided to dive into computational chemistry.Since then, I have grown as a computational chemist to heights I could have never imagined when I was first struggling with the basics of coding. I was fortunate to join a lab with access to Schrödinger software, which allowed me to simulate proteins and perform ligand docking studies to identify the most effective molecular scaffolds for optimal binding activity. Although the lab was disbanded within a year, the experience ignited my passion for biological modeling, a spark that continues to drive my research today.After this formative experience, I knew I couldn’t return to traditional wet chemistry. I resolved to challenge myself again by joining a computational lab focused on materials rather than biology, specifically the simulation of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). In this lab, I have developed extensively as a scientist, using classical and quantum mechanical simulations to study MOFs and their applications in gas storage and separation. My work has spanned two papers in Nature Chemistry and Angewandte Chemie, where my simulations have helped elevate the analysis of materials through mechanistic studies using Density Functional Theory methods. My journey has been marked by a willingness to step outside of my comfort zone and continually learn new skills, whether that’s diving into coding without a background in programming or tackling new areas like machine learning and materials modeling. Today, I am excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what computational chemistry can achieve and to contribute to the future of advanced materials design.

Experience

1. Technical Account Manager

   Qc Ware Corp

   Jan 2026 — Present · US

   Technical Account Manager supporting QC Ware’s Promethium platform, serving as the primary technical and commercial point of contact for a portfolio of customers. Partnering cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success to drive adoption, troubleshoot issues, and expand customer value over time. Main responsibilities include- Maintaing and growing relationships with existing customer accounts- Provide hands-on technical support, guidance, and product education- Support successful deployments and help expand usage across teams/use cases- Identify expansion opportunities and support select new business conversations

Education

• North Carolina State University

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Chemistry

• University of South Florida

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Biochemistry