Topics include generating ideas, finding the right funding agency, working with program managers, the grant proposal as an experiment in psychology, what goes on behind closed doors, and how to write concisely and convincingly.

I spoke in this episode with Maynard Okereke. Maynard is a trained civil  and environmental engineer who has developed a second career in  scientific communication for young people and particularly young people  of color. He arrived at this interest from previous careers in  engineering and then acting and music. He is also a seasoned  entrepreneur, forgive the pun, with his own line of flavoring salt which  are vegan and number one selling brand on Amazon. He is the host of  hip-hop science...

In this video, I discuss how to write an effective and engaging statement of purpose, how to structure your essay, and how to use your  writing to compensate for potentially weaker sections of your  application. Thanks to the California Forum for Diversity in Graduation Education for the Invitation to give this talk. This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation  CMMI-2135428. The views expressed are those only of the author and do not necessarily represent those of...

In this talk, I discuss strategies for research and writing, how to know  how much you should put in a paper, how to manage conflicts with  co-authors, and how to respond to reviewers.   Darren Lipomi, PhD Professor and Associate Dean for Students Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego lipomigroup.org

This is an unusual episode for me. Rather than responding to questions about graduate school, in this video, I responded to an interviewer performing an ethnographic survey about how researchers in bioengineering and bioengineering-adjacent fields view certain controversial subjects like human modification.  0:50 Would you be in favor of a prenatal treatment such that it would be possible for children to live 200 years?  2:04 What if we could guarantee no inequities, and anyone that would...

0:00 How do you get your research published in high-impact journals?   2:05 Grad students and postdocs are busy. How do you vet undergraduate  researchers so that they are productive and not breaking equipment?   3:56 I noticed that you had a mini MBA on your resume. How valuable do you think business training is in academia?   6:25 Can you describe ways in which criticism from your students has  landed particularly heavy and changed your approach to teaching and  mentoring?   9:58 What...

The pillars of academia--research, teaching, and service--often seem  like very separate activities. However, it can be really rewarding to  find ways to make connections between these areas to get more out of  parts of academic life that may seem mundane. Here are some thoughts I  collected and delivered at the Asian American Association for Scientists  and Engineers (AAASE) in October, 2022.

0:00 What does your group work on?   2:20 How is your work funded?   3:25 Is there one project or grant you’re especially excited about?   4:13 How many students are in your group?   4:25 Is that typical?   4:54 How do you communicate with your lab members?   6:01 The roundtable sounds like great idea, does that work well?  7:44 How long have you been doing the shoutouts?   8:16 How have shoutouts and other cultural elements you have implemented influenced climate in the lab?   9:08...

In this episode, I collected my responses to questions I received on a  panel discussion hosted by the American Chemical Society. I redacted any  names and read the questions myself. Here is the list of topics with  timestamps.  0:28 What is your background and how did you become interested in mental  health of academic researchers?  2:00 Is there something special about researchers that make them especially susceptible to mental health challenges?  4:39 We often hear that academics are not...

This episode is a crossover with the Teach the Geek Podcast, hosted by Neil Thompson, engineer, author, podcaster, and speaking coach. Here, we discuss my academic path and approaches to public speaking. You can learn more about Neil at teachthegeek.com and askuncleneilbooks.com.

This is a bit of an unusual book review for the book The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race. I'm going to focus on Walter Isaacson's portrayal of how scientific research happens in academic settings and provide some context for the comments he makes on scientists, the scientific method, the role of competition, fundamental science vs. technology, and the philosophy of science.   My brief bio: I did my PhD at Harvard in chemistry and postdoc in...

In this episode, I sat down with my colleague, Prof. Tod A. Pascal, of  the Department of NanoEngineering and Chemical Engineering at UC San  Diego. Tod developed an interest in computational materials science at a  young age while growing up on the island of Grenada in the Caribbean.  During his schooling, he spent significant time in Houston, New York,  Philadelphia, Pasadena, South Korea, Japan, and Berkeley, before  starting his lab at UCSD. In our wide-ranging discussion, we talk about...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

This is a highly personal, idiosyncratic, unrehearsed talk I gave to my own research group on  scientific publication and peer review, when I was on the verge of 100  papers. I hesitated a long time in posting this, but I think it  accurately represents my thinking on society vs. for-profit journals,  the value-add of publishing, the harm done by careless referee reports,  alternatives to traditional publication, and some thoughts on patents  vs. publications.

This is the full version of my thoughts on choosing a grad school and a PI/lab. I gave this talk for the American Chemical Society East Bay California Section and the American Women in Science virtual seminar series, and the organizer was kind enough to let me repost my side of the presentation, here. The Q&A topics are as follows: 26:56 If the chances of getting a faculty position is only 5%, should I even bother if I don’t get into a top-10 school? 30:49 If we indicate diverse...