Srivastava Lab
Self-Assembly of Soft Materials
The Srivastava Lab is based in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Our research focuses primarily on harnessing self-assembly as a tool for materials design. We are specifically interested in the role of electrostatic interactions, and our work spans from molecular design and synthesis to fabrication characterizations of nano-, micro- and macro-scale materials, with applications in consumer products (such as cosmetics, adhesive and coatings), biomedical and biochemical industries, construction materials and 3D printing.
Openings
We are building a multidisciplinary team of researchers. Currently, we are looking for graduate students to join our group.
Graduate Student Opening in the Srivastava Lab
We are looking to hire 1-2 graduate (MS and Ph.D.) students for an ongoing NSF-funded project on electrostatic hydrogel-based wet adhesives. This experimental research project will envisage polymer synthesis, material characterization, and application in diverse biomedical settings, and will offer ample opportunities for collaborations with biomedical scientists and clinicians. Students with a background in chemical engineering, materials science, chemistry and biochemistry, and physics are encouraged to apply. Interested candidates should email Samanvaya at samsri@ucla.edu
Postdoctoral researchers: We do not have any active openings currently. However, please email Samanvaya with a copy of your CV and a statement of research interests if your research interests match with our group's work.
Group News
[March 2023] Members of our group present their research at the APS March Meeting 2023 in Las Vegas, NV.
[January 2023] Our work on polyelectrolyte complex scaffolding for photocrosslinked hydrogels led by Defu appears in Molecular Systems Design & Engineering. [PDF]
[December 2022] Sam presents an invited talk at Chemcon 2022 in Kanpur, India.
[December 2022] Our work on hybrid organic-inorganic composites based on glycolyzed polyurethane led by Divya is published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. [PDF]
[December 2022] Divya wins 1st place in the Suspensions and Colloids Poster Session at the CompFlu 2022 Conference in Kolkata, India.
[December 2022] Sam presents an invited talk at CompFlu 2022 in Kolkata, India.
[December 2022] Sam presents a seminar in the Polymer Physics Seminar series at the Pennsylvania State University.
[November 2022] Sam presents an invited talk at APS March Meeting in Pheonix.
[November 2022] Sam presents our research on complex coacervate microemulsions at the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) in Ventura.
[November 2022] Advait gets nominated for the Emerging Soft Matter Excellence (ESME) Award by DSOFT and will present in the award session in the 2023 APS March Meeting.
[November 2022] Divya attends the NSF-EFRI Circular Economy Workshop at Arizona State University.
[October 2022] Sam presents a seminar in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in Northeastern University.
[October 2022] Sam presents a seminar in the Program in Polymers and Soft Matter in Massachusetts Institute of Technology.