Devleena Samanta, Ph.D., (M.S. ’12) is the William H. Tonn Endowed Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin, where she leads the Samanta Laboratory, focusing on the creation of nanomaterials to aid medical challenges.

Inspired by her interest in nanoscience during her undergraduate studies and limited by access, she moved from her hometown in Kolkata, India, to Richmond, Va., where she could pursue the subject in VCU’s Department of Chemistry. Under the guidance of key faculty members, Samanta not only learned more on the subject, she also began to develop her techniques as a teacher and a mentor that she employs today in her own lab.

What drew you to VCU to pursue your graduate studies in chemistry?

During my B.S. in chemistry at St. Xavier’s College, one of my professors, Dr. Indranil Chakraborty, who played a big role in shaping my career interests, handed me a few papers by Moungi Bawendi on quantum dots. Nanoscience was not part of our curriculum, so reading those papers felt like stepping into an entirely new world. The idea that the size and shape of a material, not just its composition or bonding, could change its fundamental properties was almost unthinkable. In class, we were taught that in chemistry, the properties of matter were driven by which atoms were present and how they were connected. But here was this whole new dimension of chemistry where even something as familiar as gold could behave completely different once you made it small enough. Instead of being just the same metallic yellow we all know, it could take on a spectrum of colors like red, blue or green. That realization blew my mind and hooked me instantly.

When I began considering graduate school, I discovered that VCU was one of the handful of universities in the U.S. offering a dedicated Ph.D. program in nanoscience and nanotechnology. That unique opportunity stood out to me right away. Moreover, I had already spent a summer interning at VCU, where I experienced firsthand the high quality of the research environment. Needless to say, VCU quickly became the obvious choice for me.

What was your first memory or first impression when you arrived on campus?

Because I had already spent a summer interning at VCU, arriving for graduate school felt more comfortable than it might have otherwise. Even so, it was still a big step to leave home thousands of miles away in Kolkata. What stands out to me most from those first days was the energy in the classroom. I was surrounded by other students who were just as eager to learn and dive into research as I was. Back in India, I hadn’t had many opportunities to do hands-on research, so the idea that I was finally going to be a “real scientist” felt incredibly exciting.

Was there a faculty member that made a particular impact on your education and/or career journey? How so?

One of the key figures who has shaped the course of my entire career is Dr. Puru Jena, Ph.D. He was my research mentor and the impact he had on me is simply immeasurable. He’s a physicist, but because of my chemistry background he often came to me with chemistry problems, and the way he thought about science was incredibly creative. I still remember one day when he shared a wild idea about designing molecules that could make unreactive atoms reactive. My first reaction was, ‘Well, chemistry doesn’t really work like that.’ But when I actually did the calculations, my jaw dropped when I saw he was right. That moment was humbling, and it completely changed how I saw science. He showed me that the boundaries between disciplines are just artificial lines we draw, and the most exciting discoveries often happen when you cross them.

From him, I learned how to think outside the box, but also how to explain science clearly, both in writing and in presentations.

Dr. Samy El-Shall, Ph.D., also played an instrumental role in shaping me. The class I took with him is one of the best I have ever had, and I’ll never forget when he explained the idea of peeling off graphene layers with Scotch tape. This was right after graphene had won the Nobel Prize, so the excitement was palpable. At the time I was doing computational work in Dr. Jena’s lab, but hearing from Dr. El-Shall about all the exciting experiments in nanoscience is what ultimately made me realize I wanted to pivot toward experimental nanoscience. He was also incredibly supportive. His teaching and encouragement gave me the confidence to take that leap.

What is your favorite memory from attending VCU?

My favorite memory from VCU is the time I spent with my friend, Pooja Ponnusamy. We lived in the same building and instantly connected from the very first time we met. Some of my happiest moments were the simple ones we shared: listening to Telegu songs (even though my native language is Bengali), learning to cook together for the first time, exploring new restaurants like Galaxy Diner on Cary Street, or taking long walks by the James River. Those everyday experiences outside the lab are what made VCU feel like home and gave me a friendship and memories I still cherish.

What was it like to be a part of Tiranga on campus?

Tiranga gave me a little slice of home while I was thousands of miles away. It was a wonderful community of Indian students from all across the country, and through it I got to celebrate culture, make friends, and stay connected to my roots. We organized periodic events, and I was an active member, often taking part in the cultural programs. One of the coolest experiences I had was choreographing and dancing with a 10-girl team in a performance called “Navrasa,” which represents the nine human emotions. It was so much fun to be a part of! 

Here are the YouTube videos of that performance:

Tell me about The Samanta Laboratory interdisciplinary research group at the University of Texas. What does your day-to-day look like? What’s your favorite aspect of working in research and academia?

In my group, we focus on creating nanomaterials that can be used to develop better diagnostics and therapies. What excites me most is exploring how chemistry behaves so differently at the nanoscale in a biological context, and then turning that knowledge into strategies that can actually help people.

Day to day, it never gets boring. I wear many hats: I teach, mentor students and postdoctoral students, serve on university committees that help shape policies, review the work of other scientists, raise funds to support our research and travel around the world to share our work. It can be hectic and even stressful at times, but I honestly feel so lucky to do what I do. It’s one of those rare jobs where I don’t feel like I’m working because I love it so much.

My favorite part of research is the thrill of discovery. Every time we get an exciting result, it feels like opening a door to something completely new. And my favorite part of academia is the students. Watching them grow, from the early days when they know so little, to the point where they’re teaching me things, is one of the most rewarding experiences I can imagine. I love seeing their ideas take shape, their confidence grow, and even those moments when they’re reluctant to follow my advice but later come back and say they’re glad they did. That kind of growth, both scientific and personal, is what makes this job so special to me.

Your research has focused on proteins and DNA. What interested you in these specific areas?

When most people, including scientists, hear the word ‘nanomaterials’ they usually think of graphene or quantum dots because of the Nobel Prizes associated with them. But to me, proteins and DNA are nature’s own nanomaterials. They are nanoscale in size, and they function like tiny robots, working tirelessly inside our bodies to make life possible.

So we thought, what better way to design nanomaterials than to start with the best examples nature has already given us? By working with proteins and DNA, we can harness their incredible capabilities and combine them in new ways to create structures that don’t exist in nature. These new structures can go beyond what natural molecules do, opening the door to useful applications that nature never evolved on its own.

With this approach, we’re exploring some exciting and impactful questions. Can we detect cancers with just a drop of blood? Can we develop anticancer therapies that are more effective but cause fewer side effects? Can we design faster ways of running chemical reactions to make important drugs more efficiently? These are the kinds of challenges that drive our work and keep us pushing the boundaries of what nanomaterials can do.

Reflecting on your time at VCU, how do you feel your time on campus helped prepare you to accomplish the work you’ve done so far in your career?

When I first arrived at VCU, I knew almost nothing about nanoscience. Today, I run a lab dedicated to it. That transformation would not have been possible without the foundation I built at VCU. My research experience with Dr. Jena was especially formative: it gave me my first real primer on how to do research. To this day, the way I write papers and prepare presentations is still shaped by what I learned from him.

VCU also gave me a community of peers who have gone on to become exceptional scientists themselves. I feel especially fortunate to have a friend in Dr. Ahmed Hamid, who is now a professor running his own lab at Auburn University. Ahmed was a few years ahead of me, and back in grad school we often commiserated about the challenges of research and traded ideas on debugging computational problems. Over the years, he has continued to share his wisdom, offering advice and encouragement when I was applying for faculty positions, and even now as I navigate my career.

The classes, the research experiences and the friendships I made at VCU all laid the foundation for the scientist, educator and mentor I am today. Like bricks, each one has helped me to successfully build the lab I now run at UT Austin.

What’s your why?

I want to do something meaningful, something that improves lives across the world. By discovering and sharing new knowledge, I want to empower others, expand their thinking, and, simply put, help create a better world.