Growing up hiking through the forests of Colorado and New Jersey, Shivani developed a deep respect for nature’s quiet ingenuity. That reverence followed her to Penn, where she joined Shu Yang’s lab and later found her stride in DumoLab Research. There, she worked with shrimp shell chitosan and cellulose—two renewable feedstocks often overlooked in industrial design. With these, she created biodegradable materials that could be 3D printed into latticed spirals, some of which were showcased at Milan Design Week.
“Nature already did the hard work,” Shivani says. “We just have to engineer with it, not against it.”
Her work wasn’t just about aesthetics. The materials she developed could change color in sunlight, warning of high UV levels—an elegant fusion of science, sustainability, and public health. And because everything in the lab had to be edible, the process remained clean, safe, and circular.
Shivani’s passion for sustainability extended beyond the lab. A summer at the EPA’s Pacific Southwest office introduced her to clean air policy, where she worked on emissions permits and environmental regulations. Though bureaucracy moved slowly, she found meaning in the mission.
Now, as she eyes a future in affordable housing and urban design, Shivani remains committed to integrating renewable materials into the built environment.