Raising the bar: MatSE at Illinois faculty, graduate student earn campus awards for excellence

Our MatSE at Illinois team is simply inspirational. In fact, three of our faculty, including Qian Chen, Cecilia Leal and Ken Schweizer, and one graduate student, Emiliana Cofell, are recipients of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s campus awards for excellence.

Their impressive display of awards include:

• Qian Chen — 2022 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, Associate Professor
• Emiliana Cofell — Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award
• Cecilia Leal — 2022 College Award for Sustained Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Ken Schweizer — Excellence in Graduate & Professional Teaching award

All will be recognized at the College Faculty Awards Ceremony at the Campus Instructional Facility Monday, April 25, from 6-9 p.m.

Meet the legends behind MatSE at Illinois. Hear from these all-star teachers, researchers and community leaders in a fun Q&A.

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Qian Chen

Qian Chen is the 2022 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, Associate Professor recipient. The MatSE at Illinois associate professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar is being recognized for her imaging efforts with a technique called liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which captures movies of nanomaterials and living cells as they move and interact.

Chen joined the MatSE at Illinois faculty in 2015, and she has already earned a National Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program, or CAREER, award, an Air Force Young Investigator Research Program award and a Sloan Fellowship.

Without further ado, let’s chat with Chen about her accomplishment.

Q: How does it feel to have earned the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research?

A: “I am excited and extremely grateful for the support that the department has given me during the whole path of my academic career. I am an alum(na) to our MatSE department. I got my Ph.D. degree here back in 2012, and I am glad to stay as part of MatSE and contribute to its long tradition of excellence.”

Q: What made you want to research materials science and engineering?

A: “I got my bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and my Ph.D. advisor, professor Steve Granick, really guided me to see the exciting new world of materials science and engineering. He gave me one gift upon my graduation, the book (by Pierre-Gilles) de Gennes (called) ‘Petit Point: A Candid Portrait on the Aberrations of Science.’ In an interesting way, that makes me determined to pursue a career in academia in materials science and engineering.”

Q: What do you hope to impart to U of I students with your research efforts?

A: “I hope they can be fascinated with squishy, soft materials and the ever-growing magic of electron microscopy. And most importantly, I hope to impart to them to enjoy research and find a career they like for their future.”

Q: What’s been the most rewarding thing about researching materials science and engineering here at the U of I?

A: “Building an exciting and ever-expanding community of collaborations and educational networks for students and postdocs.”

 

Emiliana Cofell

Emiliana Cofell has been awarded the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award. The fifth-year MatSE at Illinois doctoral student is being honored for all of her hard work in teaching Introduction to Materials Science (MSE 182) and Freshman Materials Laboratory (MSE 182) the Fall 2019 and 2020 semesters, respectively.

Let’s hear from our stand-out MatSE at Illinois graduate student.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out you were being recognized for the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award?

A: “Teaching and mentorship (have) always been a big part of my life. Since high school I’ve tutored younger students in multiple subjects every year, and during college I was involved in science outreach and teaching efforts with elementary and middle school students (at GLAM Camp, now GEMS Camp), where I got to experience the classroom setting.
“When I decided to become a TA (teaching assistant), I knew that I really wanted to help make the material accessible to students since I remember being really overwhelmed when starting college as a STEM major. I hoped to help students feel confident and inspired by the MatSE major and subject material. 

Q: What do you hope undergraduates take away from your teaching?

A: “I hope that all students know that every learning style is valid, and if you feel like it’s taking you longer to understand some concepts, you are still just as good of a student/scientist/engineer as people who get it right away. A lot of people you may look up to had struggles in their learning journey as well. In MatSE and other STEM fields, every individual brings a unique perspective and skill set that is so valuable.”

Q: If you could say anything to your students what would it be?

A: “I was so impressed with all of my students because that was the year that the pandemic started, and everyone worked so hard in such a tough situation and helped each other out, especially the 183 students who never got to do EOH (Engineering Open House). Your projects were awesome and appreciated. 

Q: What’s next for you? What do you aspire to be long term?

A: “I will be starting a career with 3M in Minnesota in August, and I’m so excited for this next step.
“I don’t really think about my life as aspiring to be any profession as an end goal, but rather aspiring to embody my values and help others wherever I am. For that reason, I plan to get involved in local STEM outreach projects through 3M and in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area to pursue the work of mentoring upcoming students and scientists no matter where life takes me.”

Q: How do you hope teaching undergrads about materials science and engineering prepares you for that next step in your journey?

A: “As a person with anxiety, I think teaching really helped me get more confident talking in front of groups of students and to know that it’s OK not to know the answer to everything right away. Grad school in general has helped a ton with my public speaking and communication skills, and I think teaching was really integral to this.
“Being a good communicator is so valuable in science, and I’ve often found myself in teaching situations even outside of the classroom.”

Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect about teaching MatSE at Illinois students?

A: “I really appreciate the collaborative and positive attitudes of students in this department. Through teaching, outreach summer camps and research, I’ve gotten to know some really amazing undergraduate students. During my time as a TA it was really cool to see the students working together, supporting and uplifting each other.”

 

Cecilia Leal

 Cecilia Leal is the recipient of the 2022 College Award for Sustained Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The associate professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar has served the department for nearly 10 years. Leal chairs MatSE at Illinois’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, a team of faculty, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students that focuses on energizing DEI efforts in the department, college and even campus wide.

Q: What are some of the exciting things happening on the DEI Committee? What’s your role in making those efforts come to fruition?

A: “One thing I am very proud about is that we created two new awards at the department that recognize our graduate and undergraduate students for their DEI efforts. My role is to materialize, pun intended, the ideas and aspirations of the DEI committee.”

Q: What was your reaction when you found out you were being recognized for the 2022 College Award for Sustained Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?

A: “I don’t know how many years of this job are going to take for me to stop feeling my heart racing a little bit every time I get good or bad news about papers published, grants or awards. This was no different. I was just so happy — smiling from ear to ear.”

Q: How does it feel to have earned the 2022 College Award for Sustained Excellence in DEI?

A: “I feel very grateful. I shared the news immediately with my friend and colleague (MatSE at Illinois associate professor) André Schleife, who has championed DEI with me all these years. He should get it next!”

Q: What do you hope to impart on the MatSE at Illinois students, faculty and staff with your DEI efforts?

A: “I think it is clear that true excellence can only be achieved through scientific and education environments that foster diversity, equity and inclusion. I hope that we at MatSE, the college and campus go about all our actions of creating opportunities, policy, recruitment and retention guided by that principle.”

Q: What’s been the most rewarding part of advocating for DEI?

A: “I always like to point out that back in 2012, I was the first female assistant professor hired in MatSE in over 20 years. I am so pleased that over these 10 years MatSE has composed its community with 30 percent incredibly talented women — faculty, graduate and undergraduate students (and) the department head!”

Q: What do you hope your legacy is, in terms of DEI, here at MatSE, the college and even the larger campus community?

A: “Change is often slow and sometimes uncomfortable, but as the example above suggests, investing in diversifying our community really pays off. I cannot imagine a better plan for impact and enrichment than to improve DEI at UIUC. I hope for a future where the faces that represent our department, college and campus mirror the diversity of our society.”

 

Ken Schweizer

Ken Schweizer is the recipient of the Excellence in Graduate & Professional Teaching award. The MatSE at Illinois Morris Professor is in his 31^st year of teaching, and is being recognized for his “excellence and innovation” in graduate-level teaching that goes well beyond classroom instruction.

Schweizer created and taught Polymer Physics (MSE 458) as well as the Dynamics of Complex Fluids (MSE 583). Both are core elective courses in the soft materials area drawing enrollment from many other science and engineering departments on campus. He also re-created Statistical Thermodynamics of Materials (MSE 500), modernizing this core, required doctoral student course.

Let’s catch up with this award-winning MatSE at Illinois professor.

Q: What was your initial reaction when you found out you were being recognized for the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award?

A: “Very grateful, and a sense of satisfaction that my teaching efforts were recognized at the campus level.”

Q: What made you want to become a professor of materials science and engineering?

A: “A combination of my love of fundamental research, a desire to have my own research group and train Ph.D. students and postdocs, and my strong interest in teaching this interdisciplinary subject, which lies at the crossroads of physics, chemistry and engineering.
“I joined the department only a few years after it was created, so there were a lot of challenges and opportunities, especially on the educational and teaching side. This situation was attractive to me.”

Q: What do you hope to impart to the graduate students in your classes?

A: “Knowledge of the fundamentals of materials science from qualitative and quantitative physical perspectives, an appreciation of basic scientific understanding both for its own sake and for its foundational role in materials engineering, a broad exposure to appreciation for the scientific process of developing new ideas and theories, and how they are confronted with experimental reality; and my personal passion for the rich and diverse concepts and phenomena that permeate the field of modern materials science.”

Q: What’s been one of your favorite moments from your graduate teaching?

A: “There is no single favorite moment. Rather, for me it is the creative process of constructing new courses that did not previously exist on campus, the fun and satisfaction from teaching them to engaged graduate students, and the positive feedback I have received from students concerning their experience in the courses both while they are here learning to do research and after they have graduated and moved on to their own careers.”

Q: If you could say anything to your students regarding the award in their efforts in your classes what would it be?

A: “Thank you for your enduring interest in taking the elective courses in soft materials that I have taught, and the many stimulating and insightful questions and curiosity you have brought to the classroom which have enriched my own understanding and enthusiasm for the subject matter.”

Q: What do you hope is your legacy here at the U of I?

A: “The interdisciplinary style of the courses I created and taught, the strong integration of theory and experiment in classroom education, and my belief that a focus on the fundamental physics and chemistry that underpins modern MSE is of enduring importance for the education of Ph.D. students and their future success and adaptability as independent scientists and engineers. I also hope that my emphasis on critical thinking and rigorous analysis has been valuable in a more general sense beyond the specific subject matter, regardless of what career path a student pursues after graduation.”