Capella Kerst M.S. ’14 is the founder and CEO of geCKo Materials, a technology company specializing in bio-inspired adhesives. Inspired by the way geckos cling to walls with microscopic hairs, Kerst developed an adhesive that became the foundation of geCKo Materials. She earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from UC Berkeley, a master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from UCLA Samueli and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford.

The ultra-strong adhesive developed by geCKo Materials is designed to be environmentally friendly, reusable, residue-free and functions across extreme temperatures with minimal force required for application or removal. Under Kerst’s leadership, the company has grown rapidly, counting global automakers and national space agencies among its clients. The firm’s adhesive technology has been deployed on the International Space Station and is currently utilized in active Space Force missions. In 2024, geCKo Materials was named Disruptive Startup of the Year by Startup Grind, and Kerst received Startup Grind’s Female Founder of the Year award. That same year, the company was a runner-up at the Startup Battlefield at the TechCrunch Disrupt and earned recognition on UCLA’s Bruin Business 100 list.

As a graduate student at UCLA, Kerst co-founded the student-led hackathon organization LA Hacks. Despite her busy career, she has remained committed to supporting future engineers, including serving as a mentor for LA Hacks and Hacker Fund, a nonprofit organization that grew out of LA Hacks. Since its inception, Hacker Fund has provided mentorship and financial support to more than 60,000 students, helping them develop coding and problem-solving skills.