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Postdoctoral fellows at primarily undergraduate institutions: The mentor’s perspective . Julio de Paula Department of Chemistry Haverford College. Outline. The view of the faculty mentor The view of the postdoctoral fellow Postdoctoral fellows at Haverford College
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Postdoctoral fellows at primarily undergraduate institutions: The mentor’s perspective Julio de Paula Department of Chemistry Haverford College
Outline • The view of the faculty mentor • The view of the postdoctoral fellow • Postdoctoral fellows at Haverford College • Haverford’s Nanoscience Program • Emerging models
Challenges: staying current and competitive, doing interdisciplinary science, maintaining complex instrumentation, lack of continuity, daily interaction with non-peers, time. Rewards: infusion of new knowledge, moving into emerging areas, additional technical expertise, enhanced continuity, daily interaction with a peer, more time for research. The view of the faculty mentor
Benefits: exposure to scholarly life at a PUI, teaching experience, interaction with undergraduates. Disadvantages: less vibrant research environment, fewer publications, impact on job placement. The view of the postdoctoral fellow
Postdoctoral fellows at Haverford • Teaching postdoctoral fellows in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. • Placement: • Union College • Calvin College • Marshall University • Involvement in interdisciplinary science: • Study of supramolecular light-harvesting complexes (with Swarthmore and Goucher Colleges) • Haverford’s Nanoscience Program
Haverford’s Nanoscience Program • Interdisciplinary team: • Karin Åkerfeldt and Julio de Paula (Chemistry) • Robert Fairman and Karl Johnson (Biology) • Suzanne Amador-Kane and Walter Smith (Physics) • Robert Manning (Mathematics) • Postdoctoral fellows: Alexander Schwab and Bala Tanjore • Funding: David and Lucile Packard Foundation • Focus areas: • molecular photonics • artificial photosynthesis • protein-based biomaterials • biosensors • Web site: http://www.haverford.edu/biology/Nanoscience_Program/nanoscience.htm
Haverford’s Nanoscience Program Alexander Schwab
12.0 10.0 8.0 Current / pA 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 Potential / V Haverford’s Nanoscience Program Alexander Schwab and Deirdre Smith
Emerging models • Impact on productivity of faculty at PUIs • Impact on teaching at colleges and universities • The DeGrado/de Paula Proposal: • Capitalize on growing interest in careers at PUIs • Tap into talent and resources at prestigious research institutions • Offer teaching opportunities at PUIs • Enhance research and curricular partnerships between Ph.D.-granting and primarily undergraduate institutions