The walls in Reza Abdolvand 麻豆精品 S檚 office are mostly bare. A few dozen books sit indiscreetly on the lower shelves of a bookcase. There is no evidence of Abdolvand 麻豆精品 S檚 induction into the National Academy of Inventors or of his 15 U.S. patents for micro- and nano-devices 麻豆精品 S� they 麻豆精品 S檙e literally and figuratively invisible. Abdolvand would rather turn all focus to topics other than his accomplishments.
麻豆精品 S淚f we take our values seriously, 麻豆精品 S� he says with a voice as welcoming as his smile, 麻豆精品 S渢hen good things will happen. 麻豆精品 S�
His statement about values would be rather vague if there weren 麻豆精品 S檛 concrete reminders of them at the top of Abdolvand 麻豆精品 S檚 bookcase: thank-you cards from current and former UCF 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 UCF in 2014.
麻豆精品 S淭his, 麻豆精品 S� he says, picking up the mousepad, 麻豆精品 S渋s a big reason why I 麻豆精品 S檓 here. 麻豆精品 S�
He mentions values two more times before moving on to 麻豆精品 S渢he objectives of UCF as a whole 麻豆精品 S� and 麻豆精品 S渢he objectives of the electrical and computer engineering department as a unit. 麻豆精品 S� Asked to explain what he means, Abdolvand pulls out another visual aid: a department magazine he helped conceive, called Charged.
麻豆精品 S淩ight here, 麻豆精品 S� he says, pointing to the 10 faculty members on the magazine 麻豆精品 S檚 cover. They 麻豆精品 S檙e among 21 new electrical and computer engineering hires over the past two years, an expansion of more than 50%. 麻豆精品 S淵es, this is about engineering and research, but people 麻豆精品 S� quality people 麻豆精品 S� are the most important part of our infrastructure. And this kind of growth 麻豆精品 S� I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 think it was possible. 麻豆精品 S�
It 麻豆精品 S檚 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.
麻豆精品 S淪ee the tagline of the magazine? 麻豆精品 S� he says, tapping a finger on the four words under the Charged title: To empower and serve. 麻豆精品 S淪erving our constituents 聽is at the core of our values. 麻豆精品 S�
Abdolvand has spent nearly as much time since 2022 vetting faculty candidates as he has looking through powerful electron microscopes. It isn 麻豆精品 S檛 enough to simply hire enough faculty to keep up with the demand from student enrollment.
麻豆精品 S淲e need to find the right faculty, 麻豆精品 S� he says, speaking partly about their research interests in key fields like energy, AI and semiconductors. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 more than that. They need to also fit the personality of UCF. Just like it is with humans, our personality is unique. 麻豆精品 S�
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.
麻豆精品 S淚nvention, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲e invent in labs, of course, but there 麻豆精品 S檚 another kind of invention that makes UCF different. Anyone who comes into our department will help us invent new ways to serve our students. 麻豆精品 S�
What he is talking about includes a new master 麻豆精品 S檚 program in robotics, certificate programs in electronic parts engineering and semiconductor manufacturing, and other tracks and minors that are still being developed.
麻豆精品 S淭he foundation of our infrastructure, however, are the faculty and students, 麻豆精品 S� Abdolvand says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey 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 UCF. 麻豆精品 S�
It 麻豆精品 S檚 this personality that attracted him to UCF 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.
麻豆精品 S淭his is Florida. It 麻豆精品 S檚 beautiful. And we are not a college town in the middle of nowhere. We 麻豆精品 S檙e in Orlando, 麻豆精品 S� he says as he picks up the mousepad again. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a great place for raising a family. 麻豆精品 S�
We can 麻豆精品 S檛 leave Abdolvand the father, the hiring manager and the mentor without seeing something from Abdolvand the inventor.
麻豆精品 S淵ou want to see what we research? 麻豆精品 S� he says, standing up from his desk. 麻豆精品 S淥K, I 麻豆精品 S檒l show you. Although, you cannot actually 麻豆精品 S榮ee 麻豆精品 S� anything. 麻豆精品 S�
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.
麻豆精品 S淨uicker access fits the infrastructure we want, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚t means our research can be far more efficient. 麻豆精品 S�
Along a hallway, Abdolvand stands outside the windows of the cleanroom. Inside, researchers wear protective suits, head coverings and booties. From the windows, it 麻豆精品 S檚 like watching delicate surgery from a safe distance.
麻豆精品 S淭he people don 麻豆精品 S檛 need to protect themselves from anything, 麻豆精品 S� Abdolvand says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e protecting the devices. 麻豆精品 S� 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. 麻豆精品 S淚f those small 聽particles sit on a device we 麻豆精品 S檝e fabricated, the device can be ruined. 麻豆精品 S�
None of it is visible: the particles or the devices.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 complex, I know, 麻豆精品 S� Abdolvand says.
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.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 still amazed at times that we 麻豆精品 S檙e doing this kind of research, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
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 麻豆精品 S檚 avoided: himself.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 an engineer, an inventor, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淵ou know the [notion] 麻豆精品 S� we 麻豆精品 S檙e good with 麻豆精品 S榯hings, 麻豆精品 S� but not necessarily with people. And it 麻豆精品 S檚 true that I 麻豆精品 S檓 naturally an introvert. It 麻豆精品 S檚 my personality. So, for a long time I believed making the next important gadgets would be my calling. But after I came to UCF, I realized how fulfilling it is to be a teacher and mentor. It surprised me. What I 麻豆精品 S檓 doing now, the relationships, the cards in my office, this is not what I anticipated for my career. It 麻豆精品 S檚 much better than anything I ever imagined. 麻豆精品 S�
