Congratulations to Alexandra Polasko, who was recognized by the UCLA Academic Senate with the university’s highest honor for excellence in teaching.

Alexandra Polasko, a 2021 Ph.D. graduate in civil engineering, received a 2020-21 Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award. She helped teach upper-division undergraduate classes on environmental engineering and water and wastewater treatment, as well as a graduate course on environmental biotechnology. She was also an instructor for a graduate teaching seminar. Polasko’s doctoral thesis was on how microbes interact with contaminants in water and on surfaces. Her advisor was Shaily Mahendra, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Polasko is now a postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA School of Dentistry, studying biofilms that form in the mouth.

Read the Samueli Newsroom Announcement: Engineering Professors and Recent Graduate Named UCLA 2020-2021 Distinguished Teachers