This workshop is designed to enhance the career development of three early-career faculty with research expertise related to ceramic materials. Specifically, three faculty who have recently been awarded NSF CAREER grants through the Ceramics Program in the Division of Materials Research have been targeted as the focus of the workshop activities. Other participants in the workshop will include researchers selected for their expertise in the specialties of the faculty, volunteer-leaders in relevant technical societies, NSF personnel from complementary program areas, and other early-career faculty. The two-day workshop is intended to help the targeted faculty identify the most promising directions for their research along with possible difficulties in their proposed approach. In addition, the workshop will help the faculty build a network of professional colleagues from around the world.
TECHNICAL DETAILS The goals of this activity are to enhance the research skills and help build the professional network of early-career faculty. To that end, several objectives have been established to guide the organization of the workshop. First, the workshop will consist of sessions over a two-day period that will include critical evaluation of research plans and identification of potential difficulties for each of the targeted faculty. Second, the schedule will be designed to encourage interaction among the all of the workshop participants, which will be diverse group to provide a broad array of perspectives. The workshop organizers will invite program directors and administrators from other NSF program areas such as the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE), Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), and the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) to inform participants about other research opportunities to complement and enhance the activities funded by their CAREER grants. Finally, the workshop participants will tour another government agency to learn about its programs in the area of ceramic materials. The laboratories of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has been targeted for the tour. Taken as a whole, the workshop activities will help the target faculty refine their research plans and build a strong, supportive professional network.
was held May 23 and 24, 2011 in Arlington, VA. The objective was to enhance the professional development of early career faculty, in particular three recent CAREER awardees in the ceramics program in the Division of Materials Research (DMR) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. These three faculty were Erica Corral, an assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering at University of Arizona; Javier Garay, an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Riverside; and Shriram Ramanathan, an associate professor of Engineering Sciences at Harvard University. In addition, three leading professionals were invited to evaluate the research activities of each CAREER awardee. Based on the success of this workshop, a second professional development workshop was held in August 2012 for four CAREER awardees from the ceramics program in 2011. The workshop activities aimed at career development were: 1) a critical evaluation of the research plan for each of the targeted faculty including potential difficulties that might be encountered; 2) formal and informal interactions among the participants; and 3) a tour of facilities National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) pertinent to ceramics research to learn about resources available through collaboration (at no cost to academic researchers). In addition, workshop participants were selected to provide a diverse group of professionals who had a broad array of perspectives on research and professional development activities. Finally, Directors from several NSF units, namely the Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS), Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE), Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), and the Directorate for Engineering (ENG), informed participants about other research opportunities. Considering the results of the post-workshop survey as a whole, publication in peer-reviewed journals was identified as the most important factor in professional development for early-career faculty. As indicated by the workshop discussions and some of the written comments, publications require that the faculty establish a research area, mentor students to perform research, and produce advances that are sufficient to warrant publication. However, the relative importance placed on the reputation of the present institution, networking at technical meetings, and mentoring programs indicate that faculty are more likely to have successful research projects if they work at a university with a strong reputation, network with professional colleagues, and have a strong mentor. Likewise, a heavy institutional service load may take time away from time that would be better spent preparing manuscripts, networking, or interacting with mentors. Overall, faculty who develop active research and outreach programs with support from their department and professional colleagues without substantial service loads or unrealistic teaching expectations seem to have the best chance for professional success.
