Jeffrey Halpern is an associate professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering at the University of New Hampshire. Below is our correspondence with Dr. Halpern about his own research and his mentoring experiences with undergraduate students.
Inquiry: What is your research focus?
My laboratory is called the Surface Enhanced Electrochemical Diagnostic Sensors (SEEDS) Laboratory. We try to modify metal surfaces with dynamic polymers to determine chemical activity with an electrochemical measurement. The SEEDS Lab research umbrella creates three sub-projects including the (a) unique electrochemical measurement looking at impedance changes without the typical electrochemical reaction, (b) using cyclodextrin (active ingredient in Febreze) in a sensor towards the diagnosis of diseases, (c) using protein surfaces for measuring biological materials at the point of need such as bioreactors.
In addition, my lab actively engages with three education projects that build inclusivity, belonging, and equity across different grades within STEM disciplines. These activities include: (a) best mentoring practices for undergraduate researchers in STEM across neurodiversity; (b) building design-level workshops in K-5 STEM curriculum with social justice components; and (c) building community and cohort-mindset through online engineering gateway courses.
Inquiry: Did your undergraduate studies or an important mentor influence your research trajectory?
The focus of my laboratory is influenced by all of my past experiences. I encourage all of my students to look at how their unique experiences can be integrated into something novel, and how that individuality can influence their approach to science.
I have had a lot of good and bad previous mentors in my life. But my mentorship philosophy is uniquely mine, learning and integrating all of these mentors’ approaches into one approach. It is important to learn from those you do not want to replicate in addition to those you do want to model. Someone once told me, we can learn from both Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it is important to be your true self in your mentoring approaches.
Inquiry: What interests you most about your research?
I have always been passionate about electrochemical systems ever since my own undergraduate education. Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, where I studied, has a long history of electrochemical researchers and instructors. However, what really drives me in my research space is building collaborative relationships where multiple researchers (myself and collaborators) can come together to create new research based on both shared and differing unique experiences.
Inquiry: What is the purpose of a mentoring relationship? What should the student and you gain from it?
Every mentoring relationship is different. Therefore, whatever is gained from it is also unique to that specific relationship. But with a growth mindset, both the mentor and mentee can positively change within that special relationship. Every one of my mentees has influenced me to be a better mentor to my current students. Just like every one of my mentees and students have influenced the research in my laboratory. My laboratory’s goals and research activities are no longer my own, but influenced by every student that has ever been a part of the lab. And alumni from my lab can see that unique mark they have made on my laboratory even years later.
Inquiry: Please describe one or two memorable mentoring experiences or mentees.
I have had so many mentees over the past ten years at UNH, that I hate to be exclusive (or inclusive) of anyone. But without naming specific names, I will share about two undergraduate students who have since graduated from UNH.
One mentee showed up to my office during their first year. They expressed to me, while I was just meeting them, that they would become a faculty member, and more specifically, they wanted to know how I could help them get there. After working within my laboratory for three years, they graduated and pursued a PhD at another university. Yet, their persistence, drive, creativity, and curiosity allowed us to continue scientific discussions since they graduated from UNH. From those discussions, they transitioned from “student” to “partner”, and currently, they are a full partner (co-principal investigator) on one of my research projects.
Another mentee was really struggling with their studies, future, and almost feeling lost. Through effective coaching, I was able to work with them on their confidence. While trying to rebuild their GPA, they were also very active in my research laboratory. From that outcome, they finally presented their work at a national meeting. From there, they found a post baccalaureate research position to launch their current post-graduate education to become a medical doctor.
Inquiry: Please describe any difficulties or problems you have had in mentoring undergraduates.
When I first started as a faculty member, I assumed that students had the same drives, desires, knowledge, and ambitions I had. These assumptions led to a mismatch of what and how much work undergraduate students can accomplish, which created frustrations and false promises. Instead of taking this frustration out on my students or laboratory, I challenged my own framework as flawed. This allowed me to grow into a more inclusive and equitable mentoring mindset by adjusting how we define progress, research objectives, and conversations for the growth of the student.
Mentoring and the progression of training undergraduates isn’t supposed to be easy, and difficulties and challenges should be expected. Every mentor/mentee relationship can be challenging. True mentoring is to respectfully push boundaries and growth into new areas. Therefore, good mentoring, by definition, can be difficult. It is hard for mentees to think beyond what their typical framework is, just as it is hard for faculty to think beyond ours. Mentees challenge me to think about different frameworks in equity and accountability, and I have been a better faculty member because of those painful moments of growth and learning.
Inquiry: What advice or tips would you give a faculty member new to undergraduate mentoring and/or for undergraduates seeking a mentor?
For faculty: Have an open framework on what the undergraduate values are, which is likely different from your own. It is hard to understand someone else’s priorities and coach that mentee to be their best self. But, as faculty, our biggest impact is the students we train. And there is no greater impact than directly mentoring a student.
It is important for faculty to have a strong foundation of a scholarly agenda and a mentoring plan with a mentoring philosophy. This sets the framework in which your lab can operate with, absorb, and support undergraduate students. But each student is different and unique, and I strongly encourage faculty to take differing approaches to each student within that mentoring philosophy.
For undergraduates: A mentor/mentee relationship is a unique relationship. If you want to do research, sometimes a match in the interest/activities are just as important as a good match with an advisor. That match can be outside of technical areas, such as how mentors/faculty approach research, conduct meetings, manage their research, support students, and their ability to have conversations. Ask for the mentor’s mentoring philosophy and join a lab where you can learn from their approaches in science.
Inquiry: Please feel free to add anything else you would like to share with Inquiry’s audience.
I was honored, based on some of my educational research, to get the inaugural College of Engineering and Physical Sciences Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor of the Year Award in spring 2023. I continue to encourage positive equitable mentoring by creating an inclusive and belonging space.
