Greetings all. My delay in contributing to these posts was for a very good reason. After many years of graduate school, and after experiencing the transient life of a postdoc, moving from Wisconsin to France and then back to Wisconsin for positions as a research scientist, I believe I will be staying put for a while.

We’re in the process of relocating the whole family to State College, Pennsylvania for my new position as an assistant professor at Penn State, in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. I will be pursuing my dream of environmentally aware materials science in the pursuit of new photovoltaic devices. I admit, I’m excited and terribly nervous at the same time. I plan to work hard and make progress in my research, and I plan to extend my network of connections with academia, government, and industry. I also really want to be a good mentor to both undergraduates and graduate students. So much of this, you just have to do it rather than make the perfect plan. The system is dynamic and fun, and more like surfing than following a recipe.

So wish me luck, and keep an eye out for new posts from the bench of the new nanomech professor!