Hersam Group Values

The Hersam Group values diversity and welcomes researchers of all personal and academic backgrounds and identities. The Hersam Group consists of an international team of visiting scholars, postdoctoral research associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students from a broad range of disciplines including chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering.

           Hersam Group members are united by a drive to perform research at the highest level and make a difference while doing so. Members strive to create a friendly, collaborative environment, and they support one another professionally, academically, and personally. Though the group is larger than most in the department, undergraduates, grad students, and postdocs get to know each other through various informal traditions. New members are onboarded by designated mentors but are encouraged to reach out to any group member for support and advice. At the beginning of group meeting, presenters are welcome to discuss personal topics such as their personal background, family history, and favorite social causes. Members frequently organize game nights, sporting events, happy hours, picnics, and bittersweet farewell dinners. Additionally, Prof. Hersam hosts a holiday party every December to celebrate the group’s successes over the year. These social connections and a flat working structure enable rich collaborations between members on a variety of nanomaterials research topics. 

           The Hersam Group also takes pride in its various departmental recognitions, especially its reigning status as three-time group winner of the Materials Science Student Association 5K, which is largely due to a strong turnout of group members and their families and pets. Additionally, the Hersam Group has been awarded “Most Fun Group” and “Group most likely to throw a great coffee hour” by peers in the department. 

 

The management structure of the laboratory is flat in that all members of the laboratory lead their own research projects and report directly to Prof. Hersam. In addition, all laboratory members are expected to collaborate extensively and thus support other research projects beyond those that they are leading. The structure of the laboratory is similar to a network in that each group member is a node in the network (where they lead their respective projects) but also interconnect to other projects via collaborations both within and outside of the research group. This structure is highly dynamic since interconnections can be easily reconfigured without collapsing the entire structure (unlike a pyramidal scheme where evolving research directions require major restructuring).  In addition, this structure allows all group members to be leaders (with deep expertise in their respective domains) and effective collaborators (with corresponding interdisciplinary exposure to a diverse set of research topics).

           The flat structure of the Hersam Group implies that all students and postdocs are directly mentored by Prof. Hersam. In practice, Prof. Hersam maintains an open door policy (both physically and electronically) that allows any group member to seek advice and support from the PI at any time. In addition, the Hersam Laboratory holds a weekly group meeting where group members periodically give extended presentations and receive feedback from Prof. Hersam and other members of the laboratory. Additional one-on-one and project team meetings with Prof. Hersam are also arranged as needed by the PI and/or group members. Prof. Hersam specifically encourages professional development through a variety of opportunities outside of the research laboratory including:

 

  • Participation in career development events and activities conducted across the Northwestern University campus including programs offered by the Materials Research Center, Kellogg School of Management, Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Innovation and New Ventures Office.
  • Participation in seminars and workshops on learning and teaching, as well as access to teaching mentoring programs, conducted by the NU Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching.
  • Participation in education and outreach such as mentoring high school students and undergraduate researchers.
  • Participation in technical writing including peer-reviewed journal publications, grant proposals, and reporting requirements.
  • Participation in weekly research group meetings where feedback and coaching is given by the PI to develop communication and presentation skills.
  • Opportunities to network with visiting scientists when they participate in departmental colloquia and/or seminar series.
  • Travel to conferences where group members further develop technical presentation and networking skills.

Hersam Group members actively participate in education and outreach activities at all levels including mentoring undergraduate research, volunteering in local K-12 classrooms and the Boys & Girls Club, and engaging the general public through presentations, demonstrations, and science policy discussions.  Hersam Group members also play leadership roles in several organizations on and off campus including the Materials Science Umbrella Society (MSUS), Materials Science Student Association (MSSA), Materials Science Alliance for an Inclusive Community (MATSAIC), Northwestern Postdoctoral Association (NUPA), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Women in Science and Engineering Research (WISER), McCormick Graduate Leadership Council (MGLC), Graduate Leadership and Advocacy Council (GLAC), Splash at Northwestern, Science Policy Outreach Taskforce (SPOT), Science Club at Northwestern, Mentorship Opportunities for Outreach Engagement (MORE), and Jugando con la Ciencia (JCLC).

           Prof. Hersam is personally committed to strengthening the STEM pipeline through a variety of education and outreach activities. For example, Prof. Hersam is actively involved in curriculum development and fully committed to teaching as evidenced by 8 Teacher of the Year Awards as selected by the students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Prof. Hersam also served as the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Director for 12 years. In this role, Prof. Hersam was the Founding Editor of the undergraduate research journal, Nanoscape. In addition to providing a forum for undergraduates to publish their research results, Nanoscape asks undergraduates to participate in all aspects of the publication process, including peer reviewing other undergraduate papers, thus effectively preparing them for a research career. Prof. Hersam currently serves as the Director of the Northwestern University Materials Research Center, which is the administrative home for the National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Mellon Foundation Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts, and National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education, all of which sponsor extensive education and outreach programs.

           Prof. Hersam also provides outreach and mentoring to K-12 students through the Northwestern University All-Scout Nano Day, where Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Explorer Scouts visit campus for lectures, demonstrations, laboratory tours, and hands-on experiments. Dr. Hersam gives an introduction to nanoscience at the All-Scout Nano Day, which has served as the basis of other major public lectures including the Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture, which attracted ~1,000 members of the general public. Prof. Hersam also participated in the development of the Materials Science Exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, which receives ~1.4 million visitors annually, including more than 340,000 children, primarily from the socioeconomically diverse Chicago Public Schools. This exhibit is designed to be portable and has subsequently been showcased at the Harold Washington Library and Chicago O’Hare International Airport, amplifying the reach of this exhibit to the 66 million domestic and 11 million international travelers to O’Hare Airport annually.

           Prof. Hersam is strongly committed to science policy and diplomacy in an effort to bridge cultural and international boundaries. For example, Prof. Hersam was selected as 1 of 5 scientists nationwide in all fields to serve as a Science Envoy for the U.S. State Department. In this role, Dr. Hersam was assigned to Eastern Europe with the mission of engaging in scientific outreach for proactive diplomacy. In addition to meetings with government, industry, and academic leaders, these international visits included several public outreach presentations, particularly engaging students on issues related to leadership, innovation, and transitioning scientific research to commercial technologies. Dr. Hersam was also co-chair of the National Science Foundation International Study of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, which resulted in a 610 page book published by Springer (Nanotechnology Research Directions for Societal Needs in 2020) that helps guide federal policy related to the National Nanotechnology Initiative.