Scientific American Names Steven Chavez to Early-Career Honors List

Steven Chavez, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has been selected as one of Scientific American’s inaugural class of Young American Scientists for improving the effectiveness of catalysts used in industrial processes.

Featured on the cover of the journal’s special issue, Chavez is one of 28 early-career researchers recognized for innovative work with the potential for long-term impact. Honorees were selected through a competitive nomination process that included publication record and research impact. 

Chavez joined UCLA Samueli in 2024, where he leads a research group developing custom reactors and spectroscopic tools to advance understanding of dynamics in heterogeneous catalysts with applications in energy production, chemical manufacturing and emissions mitigation.

Before joining UCLA, Chavez was an Arnold O. Beckman postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley, and M.S. and Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Michigan. There, he was a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow, a Ford Foundation fellow, a Rackham Merit fellow and a Rackham predoctoral fellow.

At UCLA, Chavez also serves on the faculty advisory board for the Chicano Studies Research Center and has been recognized by the Undergraduate Research Center – Sciences for his commitment to mentoring student researchers.