In this episode, I cover a range of topics having to do with the role of organic chemistry in chemical and engineering education. I also share my thoughts on flipped classrooms, active learning, peer instruction, and other teaching methodologies.

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.

In this episode, I 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.

This episode is cross-posted with IDEAs in STEM Ed. Please consider subscribing there also for faster access and exclusive content. Thanks! Darren

Everything I know about writing, reading, and being asked for letters of recommendation. Excuse the sound quality of this Covid-era recording. I was speaking through a mask to a group of IDEA Scholars at UC San Diego. Learn more at jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/idea.

This is a bonus episode from my new podcast, IDEAs in STEM Ed. I never  charge for any of my content and don't monetize (though YouTube may), so  if you've found this useful, please consider subscribing to the "IDEAs  in STEM Ed" podcast on Spotify or Apple (https://open.spotify.com/show/6wnj0T4yiFbehk5eTtBF50?si=8080602ae33e4952), and to the IDEA Engineering Student Center on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiY4py9Yhn4dTRzPUO53ItqQ5tRmHN-or    

Thanks! Darren  

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.  

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the IDEAs in STEM Ed podcast and the IDEA Center at UC San Diego channel on YouTube for early access to the episodes.

This is a bonus crossover episode to get some visibility for my new  interview podcast, IDEAs in STEM Ed. If you've reached this episode,  please do me a big favor and search for "IDEAs in STEM Ed" and  subscribe! Everything I put up I do for free, and this will help me a  ton. Thanks!

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.

This is a bonus crossover episode to get some visibility for my new interview podcast, IDEAs in STEM Ed. If you've reached this episode, please do me a big favor and search for "IDEAs in STEM Ed" and subscribe! Everything I put up I do for free, and this will help me a ton. Thanks!   

In this episode of IDEAs in STEM Ed, Darren Lipomi sits down with Professor Andrea Armani. Andrea 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.

My guest in this episode--my first ever livestream--is my UCSD colleague, Professor Brian Keating. Brian is a Chancellor’s distinguished professor of physics at UC San Diego, co-director of the Arthur C Clarke Center for the imagination, host of the Into the impossible podcast, YouTuber with 30k subscribers, and writer of the scientific memoir “Losing the Nobel Prize.” Brian is joining me today to discuss his new book, Into the impossible, thinking like a Nobel prize winner. Lessons from Laureates to Stoke Curiosity, Spur Collaboration, and Ignite Imagination in your life and career. The book is a distillation of conversations with nine different Nobel prize winners in physics on his podcast, into the impossible. The book deals not with the technical details of their discovery, but rather with the collaborations involved, the importance of working in a team, curiosity and the process of discovery, and also personal insecurities.

Topics include:

Is this a science book or a self-help book?

Why should we care about Nobel Prize winners?

Do they really suffer from the Imposter Syndrome or know what it is?

Does high-level academic work allow service? That is, were any of these people ever Department Chair or Associate Dean?

Did any of them have a podcast? ;)

Is partisanship and rivalry helpful in advancing science?

In this episode, I discuss the reasons why science and engineering  professors always seem to be on the road, including the good and bad  aspects. For example, the joy and excitement of meeting old friends in  new places and sharing scientific discoveries, as well as the sacrifices  that one makes in terms of time with one's students and family. I'll  also discuss why I believe most of this travel is gratuitous and hard to  justify after the birth of a child and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.