DJ Donn Matienzo

Featured on October 2, 2022

This week, we’re joined by the multi-hyphenate Dr. DJ Donn Matienzo, a chemical engineer, R&D scientist, and entrepreneur.

DJ graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of the Philippines Diliman. After graduating, he worked as a process engineer at Petro Corporation’s Refining Division as well as a Senior Analyst – Conflict Minerals at Emerson Electric (Asia).

DJ then took up the Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Chemical Innovation and Regulation at the Universita di Bologna in Italy and the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, graduating cum laude. He then proceeded to get his doctorate degree in Chemistry and Chemical Technology at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Czech Republic. While studying in Europe, DJ also worked as an R&D scientist at the Industrie de Nora in Italy, as well as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Antler in Netherlands.

Today, DJ is a DOST-PCIEERD Balik Scientist at UP Diliman and Technological Institute of the Philippines, where he is a research fellow for the project called CIPHER: Clean and Vertically-Integrated Pure/Applied Hydrogen Energy Research for Next Generation Power Systems. He is also an R&D advisor at NeoCarbon and a Chief Commercial Officer at a stealth mode startup.

Some fun facts about DJ:

1. He can speak 4 languages: Filipino, English, Spanish, and Italian—and he’s looking to learn more!
2. He’s a full-time furdad to two dogs.
3. He’s been to over 30 countries in just 5 years!