In this episode, I sat down with Prof. Jillian Buriak of the University  of Alberta and Executive Editor of ACS Nano. Until recently, she was the Editor-in-Chief of Chemistry of Materials.  We spoke to each other about her life in chemistry, her journey as an  editor, the role of impact factor, inclusion in science, and integrating  work and life, especially with children.

Studies show that engagement in undergraduate research is one of the  surest predictors of retention and success of students in science and  engineering. Unfortunately, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars  assigned to mentor these students rarely receive training. In this  episode, I discuss strategies you can use to mentor undergraduate  researchers effectively. I draw from my own history as an undergraduate  researcher, and my experience mentoring undergraduates at Harvard,  Stanford, and UC San Diego.

UC San Diego MS/PhD graduate Brandon Marin shares his harrowing tale of  addiction, arrest, and street living and his rise to successful R&D  engineer at a leading semiconductor firm.

In this episode, I sat down with Rafael D. Alvarez, science &  engineering educator and Director of the MESA Program at San Diego City  College. Rafael is the Founder and Director of the Mathematics,  Engineering, and Science Achievement program (that is, the MESA program)  at San Diego City College. Rafael grew up in the community of Encanto  in east San Diego and was a first generation student. He earned his  undergraduate degree in engineering at Harvey Mudd College and his MS  degree in electrical engineering from USC. He worked as a professional  engineer before returning to academia in the 1990s at San Diego City  College. He founded the MESA program in 2000, and recently published the  book “Turning on the Lights: Using Learning Culture to Increase Student  Success,” which is available on his website, turning on the lights dot  com, with hyphens between each word. The MESA program now includes an  alliance of partner institutions in the western US. In recognition of  his achievements in using learning culture to increase student success,  Director Alvarez was awarded the 2012 John & Suanne Roueche ROOOSH  Excellence Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College  and the 2021 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award from the San Diego  County Engineering Council.

In this episode, IDEA Center Director Darren Lipomi sat down with Prof. Raychelle Burks of American University to discuss her career as a crime  scene investigator, new approaches to field analytics, her side gig as a script consultant for movies, and approaches to inclusive teaching and  mentoring.

Lilo Pozzo is the Boeing-Roundhill Professor for Excellence in Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. She is also a professor and  the Interim Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She earned her BS degree in chemical engineering at the  University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez in 2001 and her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006. She obtained her  current position at UW after a postdoctoral stint at the National  Institute for Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research from  2006 to 2007. Her research concerns the development, measurement and control of self-assembly processes for soft materials over nanometer and micrometer scales. Current projects include high-throughput experimentation and data science for materials design, functional emulsions, and materials for energy storage and conversion. She is known for her excellence in teaching and mentoring, scientific and  technological outreach to Puerto Rico in recovery after hurricane Maria, and advocacy of LGBTQ scientists and engineers, especially trans and Latinx communities. We spoke in this episode about a wide range of topics.

Zhigang Suo is the Allen E and Marilyn M Puckett Professor of Mechanics  and Materials in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.  Professor Suo obtained his BS degree from Xi’an Jiaotan University in  1985 and PhD  in mechanical engineering from Harvard University in 1989.  He began his independent career at UC Santa Barbara, moved to Princeton  in 1997 and to Harvard in 2003. It was during this period that I became  aware of Zhigang’s work, when he attended some of our more  mechanics-oriented group meeting. Zhigang has been a leader in the  thermomechanical reliability of semiconductor devices, and did some of  the first mechanical analyses on soft matter devices critical to  haptics, robotics, adhesives, and human-machine interfaces. He is an  engaging public speaker and storyteller, and his talks generate  standing-room-only crowds at conferences. In this episode, we talked  about his trajectory in his career and life and challenges facing Asian  and Chinese American scientists and engineers.

My guest today is Eric Mazur, professor of physics and applied physics at Harvard University. He is also a creator and entrepreneur in the area of technological resources for classroom teaching. He is known for his research in ultrafast optics and condensed matter physics, and also for his extensive work in the teaching methodology known as Peer Instruction. Attending one of his lectures on teaching as a graduate student was one of the formative experiences of my professional life. He is a true pioneer in active learning in science and engineering education, and was practicing and espousing the benefits of “flipped classrooms” long before the word came into common usage.

Malika Jeffries-EL is a professor of chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, and associate Dean of the graduate school, at Boston University. She is an organic materials chemist and polymer engineer focusing on organic semiconductors. That is, the type of materials used in organic light-emitting displays, biosensors, solar cells, and other next-generation thin-film devices. She is well known on social media and in the community for her work on equity in academia and in the sciences. I first got to know Malika through her work on conjugated polymers when I was a graduate student, when one name kept appearing over and over. Her early work on molecular engineering of semiconducting polymers and their combination with nanostructured materials was an inspiration to me during my grad school and postdoc days. She is joining me today to talk about her work, her mentoring, and her new role in university leadership, and what she has learned. 

In this episode of IDEAs in STEM Ed, Darren Lipomi sits down with Professor Andrea Armani. Andrea Armani is the Ray Irani chair in Engineering and Materials Science and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Southern California. Her laboratory uses a mixture of tools from chemistry, physics, engineering, and biology, and bridges the disciplines of materials science, medical imaging, and nano photonics. Among many awards she has earned over her career, she is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2010, and recognized as a World Economic Form Young Global Leader in 2015. Andrea is perhaps known as much for her scientific work as she is for her advocacy of students, young faculty, and women in science. She regularly organizes events stressing the importance of mentoring, careers in and outside of academia, and equity issues in science. We’re honored for her to join us today.