The Department of Materials Science & Engineering is excited to welcome two new faculty members, Renato S. Navarro, Ph.D., and Ravit Silverstein, Ph.D., who will join as assistant professors in January 2025. Both bring remarkable expertise and diverse experiences to the department, promising to enrich its research and educational mission. Navarro, a first-generation and non-traditional student, brings a unique perspective shaped by a military career that ignited his passion for engineering and regenerative medicine. Meanwhile, Silverstein, a seasoned research scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, specializes in groundbreaking approaches to materials characterization and design. Together, they embody a commitment to advancing knowledge and mentoring the next generation of engineers and scientists.
Navarro is a first-generation and non-traditional student. Before pursuing a formal education, he undertook a career in the military that sparked his passion for engineering and regenerative medicine.
Navarro began his higher education at San Antonio Community College before moving to St. Mary’s University, where he majored in biochemistry. After receiving an M.S. in chemistry at Texas State University – San Marcos, Navarro attended the University of Michigan, earning a Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering. During this time, his research focused on developing sustainable biomaterials for cardiovascular engineering.
As an NIH K99 Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University, Navarro’s interest has been developing injectable hydrogels to deliver therapies after a heart attack.
Beyond his research, Navarro has a passion for mentorship and service. At Stanford University, Navarro mentored students from the Stanford BIO-X summer research program, Stanford Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and Foothill Community College, earning him the BIO-X Star Mentorship Award. Additionally, he serves as a board member for the Stanford Latinx Postdoc Association and assists in recruiting efforts for underrepresented minority postdocs through the Stanford Postdoctoral Recruitment Initiative in Sciences and Medicine program. Ultimately, he aims to lead a research team that pursues comprehensive solutions to cardiovascular clinical challenges via chemistry and materials engineering approaches.
Silverstein is currently a research scientist in the Materials Department at the University of California Santa Barbara, where she oversees the Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility.
Silverstein earned her doctorate in materials engineering from Ben-Gurion University, in tandem with her position as a research associate at the Applied Physics Division, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Israel. Following that, she was a post-doctoral fellow in the Materials Department at UCSB from 2018 to 2021.
Her research focuses on developing innovative design paradigms based on metastability and pioneering processing approaches through metastability pathways utilizing techniques such as spectroscopy, 4D-STEM, and in situ SEM/TEM experiments and developing novel characterization modalities.