Lab Culture and Expectations

At the Srivastava Lab, we are deeply committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment for all our researchers. We expect every team member to actively contribute to maintaining this atmosphere through their actions and interactions. Together, we can create a supportive and collaborative lab where everyone feels valued and empowered.

At the Srivastava Lab, we strongly believe that the ability of someone to do research doesn't depend on their religion, skin color, disability, or gender. Furthermore, we strongly believe that someone’s passion for science is a more important metric than someone having scientific experience.

At the Srivastava Lab, as a team, we aim to measure our scientific impact not only by the scientific challenges we explore or the technological products we invent but also by the scientific and industrial careers we can cultivate.

At the Srivastava Lab, we focus on maintaining a healthy work-life balance to preserve enthusiasm and productivity. We encourage a balanced approach that allows for dedicated time to both scientific work and personal interests.

For researchers interested in joining the Srivastava Lab, please review our statement on expectations and lab culture.
[Expectations statement].

Special Note for Interested Undergraduate Researchers Joining Fall 2025. The Srivastava Lab welcomes undergraduate researchers without prior research experience or specialized knowledge in a specific field. That said, research can be demanding; our work often involves exploring untested ideas, which may take time to yield results, if they do at all. For this reason, successful undergraduate researchers tend to be self-driven, curious, eager to learn, open to setbacks, and able to dedicate sufficient time to their solo projects. Undergraduate researchers from TTU who have met these expectations have gone on to publish their independent projects in high-impact, top-tier scientific journals like ACS Nano and Advanced Functional Materials, and have earned prestigious national honors, including the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Most importantly, whether facing setbacks or celebrating achievements, all undergraduate researchers are expected to contribute positively to the lab environment and treat others with respect, as these values are central to our work culture.

Adapted from Sammy Katta.