January 2026 group photo of the Laboratory for Sustainable Catalytic Processes.

Pavel Kots, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Pavel Kots joined NYU Tandon School of Engineering in September of 2024. His research group uses chemical engineering, reactor design and heterogeneous catalysis to address key sustainability challenges of our time.

Previously, Pavel worked as Process Development Engineer at Evonik Global Process Research, where he was involved in scale up of several catalytic processes. His research on plastic waste upcycling started during his time as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Delaware.

Meet the Team

Xavier Shen

Ph.D. student
Xavier Shen is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at New York University. He earned his undergraduate degree in Materials Engineering from McGill University and completed a master's in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. During his master’s, his research focused on flexible polymer composite foam and polymer crystallization. His current work focuses on sustainable catalysts.
Harsh Gandhi

Harsh Gandhi is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), India. During his undergraduate training, he worked with multiple catalysis-based research groups, gaining research experience in biomass valorization and photocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide. His doctoral research focuses on polyurethane upcycling and the development of sustainable chemical processes. Outside of his academic work, Harsh enjoys playing badminton and learning ice skating.
Soham Joshi

M.S. student
Soham Joshi, a master's student with a passion for catalytic oxidation and sustainable energy solutions, completed his undergraduate studies in Chemical engineering at Thadomal Shahani Engineering College in India. His research journey includes valuable experience with hydrogen fuel-based vehicles, which has fueled his enthusiasm for clean energy technologies. Through innovative approaches and rigorous experimentation, Soham aims to contribute to the advancement of catalytic systems and sustainable energy developments that have the potential to revolutionize various industries.
Arwa Tunkiwala

Arwa completed her Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and MBA in Marketing in Mumbai, India, and is currently pursuing her MS in Chemical Engineering at NYU. Her work in the Lab focuses on upcycling of waste fluoropolymers like Teflon.
Aderline Diaz Fernandez

Undergraduate Student

Aderline is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from NYU Tandon. Her research focuses on designing new catalysts for the upcycling of polyolefins.
Alice Pan

Undergraduate Student
Alice is an undergraduate at NYU Tandon, studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She currently works on process intensification for plastic waste upcycling.
Nisha Awan

Undergraduate Students
Nisha is an undergraduate at NYU Tandon, working on new catalytic pathways for plastic waste oxidation using green solvents
Aaron Keser

Undergraduate Student
Aaron is an undergraduate at NYU Tandon, studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He works on new catalytic reactions for plastic waste upcycling.