The walls in Reza Abdolvand\u2019s office are mostly bare. A few dozen books sit indiscreetly on the lower shelves of a bookcase. There is no evidence of Abdolvand\u2019s induction into the National Academy of Inventors or of his 15 U.S. patents for micro- and nano-devices \u2014 they\u2019re literally and figuratively invisible. Abdolvand would rather turn all focus to topics other than his accomplishments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we take our values seriously,\u201d he says with a voice as welcoming as his smile, \u201cthen good things will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
His statement about values would be rather vague if there weren\u2019t concrete reminders of them at the top of Abdolvand\u2019s bookcase: thank-you cards from current and former 麻豆原创 students. The centerpiece of his uncluttered desk serves as another reminder: a well-worn mousepad with a picture of his daughter and son taken around the same time Abdolvand came to 麻豆原创 in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis,\u201d he says, picking up the mousepad, \u201cis a big reason why I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He mentions values two more times before moving on to \u201cthe objectives of 麻豆原创 as a whole\u201d and \u201cthe objectives of the electrical and computer engineering department as a unit.\u201d Asked to explain what he means, Abdolvand pulls out another visual aid: a department magazine he helped conceive, called Charged<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cRight here,\u201d he says, pointing to the 10 faculty members on the magazine\u2019s cover. They\u2019re among 21 new electrical and computer engineering hires over the past two years, an expansion of more than 50%. \u201cYes, this is about engineering and research, but people \u2014 quality<\/em> people \u2014 are the most important part of our infrastructure. And this kind of growth \u2026 I didn\u2019t think it was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an interesting comment from a research professor who could be describing impossible inventions that are smaller than dust particles. Instead, he has something bigger in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cSee the tagline of the magazine?\u201d he says, tapping a finger on the four words under the Charged<\/em> title: To empower and serve. \u201cServing our constituents \u00a0is at the core of our values.\u201d<\/p>\n Abdolvand has spent nearly as much time <\/strong>since 2022 vetting faculty candidates as he has looking through powerful electron microscopes. It isn\u2019t enough to simply hire enough faculty to keep up with the demand from student enrollment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to find the right<\/em> faculty,\u201d he says, speaking partly about their research interests in key fields like energy, AI and semiconductors. \u201cIt\u2019s more than that. They need to also fit the personality of 麻豆原创. Just like it is with humans, our personality is unique.\u201d<\/p>\n With that, he brings the connection between values, objectives and personality full circle to the link that until now has been missing from the conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cInvention,\u201d he says. \u201cWe invent in labs, of course, but there\u2019s another kind of invention that makes 麻豆原创 different. Anyone who comes into our department will help us invent new ways to serve our students.\u201d<\/p>\n What he is talking about includes a new master\u2019s program in robotics, certificate programs in electronic parts engineering and semiconductor manufacturing, and other tracks and minors that are still being developed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe foundation of our infrastructure, however, are the faculty and students,\u201d Abdolvand says. \u201cThey reflect our personality. Young. Creative. This is a top university for social mobility, which is big. And we have a history rooted in technology. All of this is in the genes of 麻豆原创.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s this personality that attracted him to 麻豆原创 10 years ago when there was no university-level facility for fabrication of the microscale devices that his research depends on. He was willing to help build this infrastructure because he admits to also being drawn to something more obvious.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is Florida. It\u2019s beautiful. And we are not a college town in the middle of nowhere. We\u2019re in Orlando,\u201d he says as he picks up the mousepad again. \u201cIt\u2019s a great place for raising a family.\u201d<\/p>\n We can\u2019t leave Abdolvand the father<\/strong>, the hiring manager and the mentor without seeing something from Abdolvand the inventor.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to see what we research?\u201d he says, standing up from his desk. \u201cOK, I\u2019ll show you. Although, you cannot actually \u2018see\u2019 anything.\u201d<\/p>\n He leads the way across the L3Harris Engineering Center to a cleanroom in another building. Until recently, it would have taken months to gain access to the cleanroom. Abdolvand spent four years reshaping the process.<\/p>\n \u201cQuicker access fits the infrastructure we want,\u201d he says. \u201cIt means our research can be far more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n Along a hallway, Abdolvand stands outside the windows of the cleanroom. Inside, researchers wear protective suits, head coverings and booties. From the windows, it\u2019s like watching delicate surgery from a safe distance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people don\u2019t need to protect themselves from anything,\u201d Abdolvand says. \u201cThey\u2019re protecting the devices.\u201d For context, the air in a typical room has more than 500,000 particles of size 0.5 micrometer or larger per cubic feet. A cleanroom should have far less than that. \u201cIf those small \u00a0particles sit on a device we\u2019ve fabricated, the device can be ruined.\u201d<\/p>\n None of it is visible: the particles or the devices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s complex, I know,\u201d Abdolvand says.<\/p>\n For more context, he points out a scanning electron microscope near the window. The scope bounces high-energy electrons off the surface of micro- and nano-devices to convert what is impossible to optically see into gray-scale pictures. This has helped Abdolvand develop microscopic devices similar to the tiny microphones that are utilized in smartphones.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still amazed at times that we\u2019re doing this kind of research,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n As he walks back toward his office, Abdolvand casually waves to one student and faculty member after another. These are the values and objectives he explained earlier, in plain sight. People. Personality. Mentorship. Then, before heading into another meeting, he finally opens up about the one topic he\u2019s avoided: himself.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an engineer, an inventor,\u201d he says. \u201cYou know the [notion] \u2014 we\u2019re good with \u2018things,\u2019 but not necessarily with people. And it\u2019s true that I\u2019m naturally an introvert. It\u2019s my personality. So, for a long time I believed making the next important gadgets would be my calling. But after I came to 麻豆原创, I realized how fulfilling it is to be a teacher and mentor. It surprised me. What I\u2019m doing now, the relationships, the cards in my office, this is not what I anticipated for my career. It\u2019s much better than anything I ever imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reza Abdolvand approaches his work as an engineer, inventor and professor with the intent to make a lasting impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":143272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[23,24],"tags":[973,2297,14916,54296],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-143267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-science-technology","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-innovation","tag-research","tag-reza-abdolvand"],"yoast_head":"\n