After spending the first decade of his professional life working as an analytical chemist with the U.S. EPA, David returned to graduate school at Rutgers University and earned his Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry and catalysis with Alan S. Goldman. After graduating in 2013, he started his academic career by teaching in full-time visiting positions at several excellent institutions, and then joined Seton Hall University in 2017. In 2022, Dr. Laviska joined the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI) as the Portfolio Manager for Green Chemistry & Sustainability in Education.

At Seton Hall, Dr. Laviska was the Associate Director of Communications and Curricular Development for the Green Chemistry, Stewardship, and Sustainability Program. He taught General Chemistry and focused much of his attention on helping first-year students build a solid foundation for their future studies in the STEM disciplines. As a committed advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Laviska has worked to ensure the success of all students, including those from traditionally underrepresented groups in the sciences. As a first-generation college graduate and scientist, he has also been closely affiliated with “Gen-1” at Seton Hall – an initiative designed to encourage and support first-generation students in all disciplines. Dr. Laviska’s research interests include the synthesis, characterization, and utilization of late transition metal complexes for small molecule activation, hetero- and homogeneous catalysis, and new materials with unique optical properties. In addition, in his role as a leader in the Green Chemistry community, he has placed high importance on the concepts of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Accordingly, the principles of green chemistry have been applied across all projects in his laboratory. Several of his enthusiastic undergraduate researchers have worked on developing and piloting green(er) experimental methods for both undergraduate course curricula and applied research.