Srivastava Lab

Samanvaya Srivastava 

B.S. and M.S., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Cornell University

Postdoc, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago

Samanvaya is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. He completed his undergraduate and master's work from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and his Ph.D. with Lynden Archer from Cornell University, all in Chemical Engineering. Before coming to UCLA, he was a postdoctoral scholar with Matthew Tirrell at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago.

Samanvaya's research interests are in understanding the influence of intermolecular interactions on material structure and properties, with a broader aim to combine this fundamental understanding with molecular engineering and self-assembly processes to improve materials design. Samanvaya has received various awards, including the Austin Hooey Graduate Research Excellence Recognition Award at Cornell University (2013), the RSC Researcher Mobility Grant (2017), AIChE 35 under 35 (2020), and the NSF CAREER award (2020).

samsri<at>ucla<dot>edu

Department website           CV            Google Scholar

B. Kollbe Ahn

Ph.D., Kansas State University

Postdoc, University of California, Santa Barbara

Before joining UCLA, Kollbe was a faculty member at UCSB and UCF, and has recently left his tenure-track professor position to focus on his roles at several companies located in the greater LA area as CEO, Board of Directors and Advisory Board member. He has managed several millions of dollars of multiple government/industrial R&D funds as PI, and authored numerous high-profile publications (e.g.,  Nature Materials, JACS, and Science) in the field of surface science and biomaterials. He is currently affiliated with UCLA and UCSB, and maintains his academic activities. His research interest is to translate the chemistry of biological organisms to synthetic materials for biomedical applications.

Xiaodi Dai

Ph.D., Ghent University

Xiaodi is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA. In his PhD, focused on to bridging knowledge gaps for alkali-activated materials (AAM) by applying experimental and theoretical methods. His Ph.D. subject is "rheology and setting behavior of alkali-activated cements." Now his research focuses on the rheology of cementitious suspension and its active control. 

daixiaodi<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Advait Holkar

B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi

Advait is a graduate student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. His research focuses on the understanding the interaction between polyelectrolytes and charged nanoparticles and investigates the structure-property relations of the resulting complexes. He enjoys listening to music and exploring different cultures.

advaitholkar<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Divya Jayaram Iyer

B.Tech., Polymer Engineering & Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai

Divya is a graduate student in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. In the Srivastava group, she is working on fabricating upcycled organic-inorganic composites, and studying the fundamentals of polyelectrolyte complex coacervates. Outside of lab, she enjoys hiking, playing the violin, and following cricket.

divyajayaram<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Holly Senebandith

B.A., Biology, Bryn Mawr College

M.S., Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology, UCLA

Holly is a graduate student in the biochemistry, molecular and structural biology program at UCLA. As a graduate student in the Srivastava Group, she is working on protein encapsulation within polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) domains. In her spare time, Holly loves traveling and is an aerial fitness enthusiast.

hollys<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Fahed Albreiki

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago

M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago

Fahed is a graduate student at the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at UCLA. As an undergraduate and MS student, he worked on understanding the effects of viscoelasticity on interfacial instabilities and pattern formation with a focus on purely elastic polymer solutions. He enjoys sports, art, and engaging in community-based activities. 

fahedalbreiki<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Caitlyn Fick

B.A., Chemistry, Scripps College

M.S., Chemistry, UCLA

Caitlyn is a graduate student in the chemistry department at UCLA. Outside of lab she loves to hike, run, and be outside with her friends and family.

caitlynfick<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Andrew Kilby

B.S., Physics, Yale University

M.S., Physics, UCLA

Andrew is a graduate student in the Physics & Astronomy department at UCLA. He will be using microfluidics to make and study the properties of polyelectrolyte complex coacervates. He enjoys teaching, climbing, composing, and playing piano for his cat.

andrewkilby<at>g<dot>ucla<dot>edu

Mohammad Galadari

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Southern California

Mohammad is a graduate student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. Besides academics, he enjoys scuba diving, traveling, and collecting wristwatches. 

mgaladari<at>ucla<dot>edu

Zara Khan

B.Tech., Polymer Science and Chemical Technology, Delhi Technological University, India

Zara is a graduate student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at UCLA. She has recently joined the Srivastava Lab. In her undergraduate studies she has worked on hydrogels and their characterization. Outside of work, she likes traveling, reading, and following tennis.

khanzara<at>ucla<dot>edu

Thomas Wakuta 

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Californa, Irvine

Thomas is a graduate student in Materials Science at UCLA. In his spare time, he loves to cook, hike, and play video games. 

twakuta<at>ucla<dot>edu

Haleema Kashif

B.S., Chemistry, UCLA

Haleema is a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, boxing, and capoeira. 

hkashif316<at>ucla<dot>edu

Katie Villaseñor

Katie Villasenor is an undergraduate student in the Bioengineering department at UCLA. Her research within the Srivastava Lab involves the stabilization of self-assembling polyelectrolyte precipitates and coacervates with applications to pesticide and protein encapsulation. Katie’s favorite things to do outside of school are backpacking, surfing, and playing trumpet in UCLA’s Afro-Latin Jazz Band.

ktvillasenor<at>ucla<dot>edu

Vanessa Huaco

Vanessa is an undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Chemical Engineering. In the future, she plans on enrolling in graduate school to pursue a doctoral degree. She began working with the Srivastava Lab through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) and will be continuing to work with the lab this academic year. Aside from research, she enjoys baking/cooking, music, and spending time with her family.

vhuaco<at>ucla<dot>edu

Tianyue Yu

Tianyue Yu is an undergraduate student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. She is interested in studying adhesives using polyelectrolytes. In her spare time, Tianyue likes drawing, hiking, and fishing.

tianyueyu<at>ucla<dot>edu

Chad Nishimura

Chad is an undergraduate chemical engineering student at UCLA. He began working in the Srivastava lab over the summer and plans to continue through the upcoming academic year. In his spare time, Chad enjoys exploring LA, baking, and playing frisbee.

chadnishimura<at>ucla<dot>edu

Lucas Willey 

Lucas Willey is an undergraduate Chemical Engineering student at UCLA from St. Louis, Missouri. When he’s not working in lab, he enjoys painting, surfing at Venice Beach, and cooking.

lwilley78<at>ucla<dot>edu

Peter Goh

Peter Goh is a UCLA Chemical Engineering Undergraduate from Singapore, intending to pursue a Geography/Environmental Science Minor. He started volunteering in the Summer of 2022 at the end of his first year. During his free time, Peter is an avid rock climber and enjoys other outdoor activities such as hiking and camping. His other hobbies include cooking and baking. 

petergohrf01<at>ucla<dot>edu