Dr. Brian Cullum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and serves as an iCubed Faculty Mentor for freshman students majoring in Chemistry or Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.  Dr. Cullum’s research involves the development of novel sensing tools and strategies for the monitoring of biological and environmental systems at both the nano- and macro-scales.  On the nano-scale, they are developing implantable sensors capable of being inserted into individual cells and optically positioned for the monitoring of cellular response to various external stimuli.  This work has direct implication to both bio-medical and bio-defense related applications, such as pre-symptomatic disease diagnosis.  On the macro-scale, they are developing new spectroscopic techniques for real-time disease (e.g., cancer) diagnosis in clinical and surgical settings.

What is your mentoring philosophy?  Generally speaking, mentoring is about sharing experiences with others to open their eyes to possibilities that exist and helping them to find their own path based upon their unique personal situation and desires.  I personally believe that anyone is capable of achieving any goal they set for themselves, but they must realize that along the way they will need to make decisions about their priorities in achieving these goals.  As long as they are clear what their priorities are and are happy with them then life’s decisions are relatively easy.  The difficult part of this is sometimes determining those priorities and a key role of a mentor is to be an open minded sounding board during this process.

In terms of mentoring students in STEM fields, I believe that one of the most important things to do is to first talk to them about the nearly infinite possibilities that exist for them in the job market when they graduate and to ask them what they would imagine doing everyday for the rest of their life if they were already independently wealthy and did not need a job.  Based on their response, I try to provide any additional opportunities that exist that they may not have known.   From this we continue on discussing what potential difficulties or hurdles may lie ahead along that path and discuss ways of possibly approaching those obstacles.  Ideally these discussions continue throughout the student’s entire academic career and even beyond.  In the end, I believe that a mentor’s role is simply to expose students to new possibilities and provide them with information to allow them to make their own informed decisions.

What do you enjoy most about mentoring freshman students?  The thing that I enjoy most about mentoring freshman or new college students is the satisfaction that I receive for helping them find their own path and realize that they can achieve it.  This is actually a very personal thing for me.  I grew up not far from UMBC and after high school did not know what I wanted to do or even what was available.  I was working full-time at the time and decided to go to a nearby community college since I had a scholarship that made it free.  At the time, I had no particular thoughts about what I wanted to do when I graduated college and was more focused on my job than school.  After a year at the community college, I needed to declare a major since I had only one year left for my AA degree.  Still without much thought about what I wanted to do when I graduated, I picked the major that I was closest to satisfying the degree requirements for Chemistry.  After I got my AA degree, I went on to get my bachelor’s degree since that is what was expected.  When I had to declare a major for my bachelor’s degree, I picked Chemistry since that is what I got my AA degree in.  Luckily for me, I accidentally stumbled into Analytical Chemistry and Instrumental Analysis classes that first year and absolutely loved Chemistry for the first time.  As I continued that year, one of my professors talked to me about going to graduate school and how the school that I went to would pay me to get a Ph.D.  After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I went on to graduate school and later a postdoctoral stint at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  During these experiences, I learned a great deal and was lucky enough to have some excellent mentors.  By telling others about the work we were doing and their interest in the instrumentation and techniques we were developing, I was able to meet with cabinet secretaries (Secretary of Homeland Defense, Secretaries of Energy), members of the joint chiefs of staff and other military officials, FBI personnel, world-renowned medical doctors and surgeons, etc.  These experiences opened my eyes to the possibilities and impacts an everyday person can have.  I never imagined that me, a small town kid with no particular plans for the future would have worked on projects that have had and currently are having significant impacts on millions of people.

Dr. Jennie Leach   is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering.  Dr. Leach serves as an iCubed Faculty Mentor for the freshman Chemical Engineering and General Engineering majors.   Dr. Leach’s research is focused on designing, synthesizing, and characterizing biomaterials for tissue engineering applications to develop strategies to repair damaged tissues and gain a more detailed understanding of neural and cancer cell behavior.   Her research aims to elucidate key design principles that will aid in the development of improved therapies to treat nerve injury and tumor growth.

What is your mentoring philosophy?  Professors in engineering have many aspects to their job, but mentoring students is one I enjoy most.  My career has been profoundly influenced by several key mentors who have opened my eyes to options that I never thought about or had the confidence to choose on my own. My mentoring philosophy is to pass along their enthusiasm for engineering, encouragement to students to set high standards and believe in themselves, and knowledge about maneuvering through perhaps the hardest and most fun times in your life – college and becoming an independent adult.

When I was an undergraduate at Rensselaer, I did research in the labs of Drs. Georges Belfort and Todd Przybycien (now at Carnegie Mellon University). Both professors as well as their graduate students were invaluable mentors to me. They introduced me to research, but more importantly, encouraged and convinced me to go to graduate school.

My Ph.D. adviser at the University of Texas, Dr. Christine Schmidt, continues to be one of the most inspiring people in my life. Her advice and everyday actions convinced me to pursue a career in academia. She demonstrates life as a highly successful researcher and skilled educator who cares deeply for students and their success. She challenged me to do more than I thought possible. She knew when to be tough, when to be my cheerleader, when to give advice and when to let me forge out on my own.

What do you enjoy most about mentoring freshman students?  I am honored to be part of the iCubed program and hope to help freshmen envision themselves as engineers. Many of our graduating seniors remark that our department is close-knit, supportive and much like a family. However, prerequisite requirements make it such that students take their first chemical engineering course at UMBC in their sophomore year. Through programs like iCubed, we are able reach out to freshmen and more effectively integrate new students into our departmental community.  

Dr. Wayne Lutters is an Associate Professor of Information Systems and the Graduate Program Director for Human-Centered Computing. He serves as an iCubed Faculty Mentor for first  year Information Systems and Business Technology Administration students.  Dr. Lutters’ research is at the nexus of human computer interaction, social media, and knowledge management.  His lab specializes in the study of information technology-mediated work to better design and evaluate collaborative systems.

What is your mentoring philosophy?  One of the most important components of the college experience is self-discovery. The most successful students use their time at UMBC to understand their own passions, strengths, and weaknesses. They are honest in their self-evaluation and strategic in self-improvement – working hard toward realizing their ideal future self. UMBC provides a world-class collection of resources to help every student on their journey. I view my role as a guide -- not as a static signpost to degree requirements, but as someone who can ask challenging questions, listen carefully, and direct students toward new opportunities.

As a graduate of a small liberal arts college, I am a firm believer in the value of a broad undergraduate education. This is a vision enthusiastically shared by UMBC. Even within the tightly regimented trajectories for STEM majors, there are ample opportunities for students to get out of their comfort zones and challenge themselves with new experiences. College affords a rare opportunity in life to explore boldly, both inside and outside of the classroom. My most disheartening advising moments are when students cannot visualize their time at UMBC as more than a four-year trudge through required coursework. Few things are more exciting than searching through a course catalogue!

As a researcher in the applied sciences, I understand the tremendous value of grounding one’s intellectual development in real world application. Every student should maximize the opportunities to study abroad, complete a summer internship, volunteer, network with local industry, work in a research lab, and build a portfolio of their own research productivity. Your education should make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

What do you enjoy most about mentoring freshman students?  The enthusiasm! Yes, the college experience can be bewildering at first, but incoming students are often wildly excited by the prospects. Mentoring in the first year is usually a mix of thinking big (“what major truly fits me?”) and being practical (“so, my study skills may not be as strong as I thought they were.”) It is wonderful to work through this together as bits of both, the wide-eyed enthusiasm and the focus on self-improvement, somehow always managed to rub off on me as well.