In this thorough conversation, I tell interviewer Andrew Akbashev everything I know about graduate admissions. My credentials are graduate admissions chair, associate dean for students, department chair, advisor to many successful applicants, and applicant myself. Please check out his YouTube channel here for a trove of information for young researchers, and PLEASE subscribe to his channel. This is better than payment to us content creators: http://www.youtube.com/@andrew_akbashev

Cheers,

Darren

Since arriving in my role at the University of Rochester, I've developed a great collaboration with Jeff Koslofsky, Senior Marketing Strategist at the U Rochester Medical Center. Here, he asked me about my own particular brand of scientific communication, which eschews production flourishes in favor of honesty. (At least that's what I tell myself. It could also be because I don't have the skills or budget to make things more polished ; ) Please check out Jeff's other content here: exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/@JeffKoslofskyUR Medicine: https://www.youtube.com/@URMedicineThe Next Step Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7byv4p78X1wB5JQHQTfyQ6?si=9e6ba3c2a5b84273

I sat down with Brian H. Davison, PhD, Chief Scientist of Systems Biology & Biotechnology in the Biosciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Center for Bioenergy Innovation. Brian is a graduate of the University of Rochester and Caltech and candidate for President of the American Institute for Chemical Engineering (AIChE). Brian discusses his career trajectory from bench scientist to Chief Scientist, science communication, skills needed for effective leadership, discovery and commercialization, and his long history of leadership in AIChE and what he would aim to accomplish as President.

My down-the-hall colleague Marc Porosoff and I sit down to discuss the public perception of scientific research done in universities and its value to society.

Want more of Marc? He is the co-host of PodCAT, available on your favorite podcast apphttps://open.spotify.com/show/0tzTnMlZNcgBQfVUbvgchA

I was invited by the School of Medicine and Dentistry to participate in a panel discussion on Health and Wellness for Graduate Students. The panel was organized by Jeff Koslofsky, who has a large catalogue of excellent resources for graduate students in the sciences, engineering, and medicine.Original postings here so you can subscribe/follow: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7305217005781929984/comments/https://youtu.be/0CeioQJJ7fg?si=gY0LmhYd_TcMOQoshttps://www.linkedin.com/school/urochester-schoolofmedicine/

The story behind my trip to Washington DC in 2019 to get an award from the White House (PECASE, class of 2017). Intersection of science, politics, and personal beliefs. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

There are no get rich quick schemes, but if you have a PhD or are getting one, you knew that already. However, there are some ways of developing financial security that are open to PhDs that may not be so available to others, even though you spent most of your 20s earning very little income. In this quick monologue, I say some things that may be common wisdom but were definitely not obvious to me when I was living every day in the lab.

I don't usually make videos/podcasts specific to a time, but given the magnitude of the crisis in academic research, I made an exception. To try to add light to the heat, I took some time to chat with my colleague, Prof. Marc Porosoff, co-host of the PodCAT also at the University of Rochester, to discuss our reactions to cuts in federal funding for research and possible consequences on the future of research and graduate education.Subscribe to PodCAT here: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tzTnMlZNcgBQfVUbvgchA?si=f0c6e663d8e04bb5

There is a lot of incorrect information out there on the role of research funding in the economy. Does it waste money or create it? Here, I use some data and back-of-the-envelope projections from my own lab at UC San Diego and University of Rochester to argue that a $10M investment in the form of grants & contracts will generate many hundreds of millions in combined earnings of trainees in the private sector and commensurately pay back the American taxpayer many times over.

I was given the opportunity to give my thoughts in an interview on the topic of managing finances at the lab and department level.

As I've gotten older, more and more people make light (in a good way) about my apparent healthy habits (if only they knew the truth!). Herein, I describe the advice I would give, and which I might even follow myself (on a good day).

Thoughts based on my years counseling students on changing your PhD advisor or PI and where you can find resources to assist in the transition. Darren Lipomi, PhD Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering University of Rochester Formerly UC San Diego

This is a reading of Chapter 1, second half, on the connection between Nanoengineering and all the other fields of engineering: electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and bioengineering. Footnotes, figures, and problems for this chapter can be obtained from my book, Introduction to Nanoengineering, which I coauthored with Robert S. Ramji. If you'd like access to these resources, consider buying it or asking your institutional library to buy it! https://a.co/d/5SxYBVm

Part 1 of 2 of Chapter 1 of my book, an annotated fireside reading. Available in hard copy with footnotes, figures, and 150 solved problems, here https://a.co/d/4FZ73Z9

My thoughts on what research is, what function it serves in society, how it is differentiated from "science," and how undergraduate students can obtain research positions at a university.

In this video, I give an annotated reading of the introduction to my book, co-authored with Robert Ramji, Introduction to Nanoengineering.

Beyond finance, what actually IS a research university? What is its place in society? What is its mission and mandate? Where do you fit in?

This is a talk I felt compelled to give after the grad student / postdoc strike in the University of California in the fall of 2022. There was so much I didn't understand about university finance. In an effort to learn more, I decided to put together this talk and share it as a professional development seminar to PhD students, postdocs, and faculty at UC San Diego (UCSD). Halfway through preparing this talk, I came across a WONDERFUL book by Andrew Comrie, Like Nobody's Business: An Insider's Guide to How US University Finances Really Work, which provided me with the viewgraphs compiled from his own extensive research from publicly available information. (A monumental undertaking on his part!) His book is available free of charge as an open access book on www.openbookpublishers.com. Please check it out! Cheers, Darren Correction: when speaking, I accidentally put Worcester Polytechnic into the "public R2" category. I misspoke, it is a "private R2." Thanks!

A few uncategorized tips for working with your PI in grad school.

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.