91原创

Achieving a doctoral degree is a strenuous and demanding business that can strain every neuron a student can muster.

Having an adviser of the caliber of Joshua Zide, professor of materials science and engineering, who brings a unique blend of service, compassion and research excellence to the task, can make a profound difference for students.

For his commitment to student success professionally and personally, Zide has won the 91原创鈥檚 2022 Outstanding Doctoral Advising and Mentoring Award.

The award is given annually to a faculty member whose dedication and commitment to excellence in graduate training have made 鈥渁 significant contribution to the quality of life and professional development of graduate students鈥� at 91原创.

鈥淛osh鈥檚 style of mentorship is best captured by the concept of servant leadership,鈥� doctoral student James Bork wrote in his letter of nomination, 鈥渨hich constitutes an inversion of the traditional boss/subordinate hierarchy. He believes that his role is to support us and our work, not the inverse. This is well illustrated by his repeated emphasis to us that 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 work for me. Instead, I work with you.鈥欌��

Zide heard something similar when he was a student and realized the impact that approach had on him. He was at a project review meeting and the comment came from his doctoral adviser 鈥� Prof. Art Gossard at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

鈥淗e said, 鈥業鈥檓 Art Gossard and I work with Joshua,鈥欌�� Zide recalled. 鈥淣ot 鈥業 advise Joshua鈥� or 鈥楯oshua works for me.鈥� Art is a famous, well-respected scientist who has had an incredibly distinguished career, and that single comment made me realize that the framing really matters and that I was the owner of my effort. I knew that was the kind of adviser I wanted to be.鈥�

He has achieved that goal, his students say. They have high confidence both in his scholarship and the values he underscores as they work together.

鈥淛osh鈥檚 unique student-oriented approach fosters an almost parental relationship with us students,鈥� Bork wrote, 鈥渙ne where not only is our performance as a researcher important, but also our mental and emotional wellbeing.鈥�

Those qualities were especially welcome as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic bit into everyone鈥檚 lives, exacerbating already difficult conditions, Bork said. Zide offered assistance at every team meeting and kept in touch often by text or other messages to help students stay connected and navigate the changes, he said.

Zide customizes his advising methods to meet student鈥檚 different needs, doctoral student Lauren Nowicki McCabe said in her nomination letter.

鈥淭his could be either weekly or as-needed individual meetings, offering extra practice on presentations, extra attention given to editing student writing, tutoring in concepts from classes he didn鈥檛 even teach, running down to the lab as a sanity check during equipment maintenance, and the list goes on and on,鈥� she wrote.

McCabe also noted Zide鈥檚 鈥渄ad jokes鈥� 鈥� 鈥渨hich always helps everyone roll their eyes and feel at ease鈥� 鈥� and the occasional visits of Zide鈥檚 dogs to help students de-stress.

鈥淗e has cheered with me when my experiments work, knocked on wood for the ones that we鈥檙e excited about and groaned with me when things went disastrously wrong,鈥� McCabe wrote.

A student who was not among his advisees but took Zide鈥檚 course on Epitaxial Growth and Band Engineering in 2019, wrote that the experience was not only outstanding academically but also transformative personally.

Zide鈥檚 鈥渆xpert guidance helped me to navigate through academic struggles and his kindred spirit and kindness helped me to regain my self-esteem and confidence,鈥� wrote Kazy Fayeen Shariar, now an engineer with GlobalFoundries. 鈥淗is mentoring and guidance ultimately helped me reach graduation.鈥�

Zide鈥檚 research in nanoscale engineering, specifically in the use of molecular beam epitaxy for engineering new semiconductors and nanocomposites, has been recognized with awards throughout his career. Last year, for example, he was elected a fellow of , recognizing sustained and outstanding contributions in materials, interfaces and processes.

As he excels in these endeavors, he brings students into that environment of excellence, helping them to hone their research skills, find their footing as scientists in advanced engineering and navigate the many challenges that arise along the way.

鈥淚 think that I excel in my research precisely because I enable my students to bring their best selves to their work,鈥� he said. 鈥淭ime management is, of course, always a struggle, but everyone has to choose what鈥檚 important to them and for me it鈥檚 making sure to look after people. Mostly, I can鈥檛 imagine someone coming to me and saying they鈥檙e in a crisis and saying, 鈥楽orry, not my problem.鈥欌��

Bork said making time to help and care for others is central to Zide鈥檚 approach to research and life.

鈥淗e frequently encourages us to be 鈥榞ood neighbors鈥� to others and insists that time spent helping others is equally as important as time making progress on my research,鈥� Bork said. 鈥淎nd while Josh would be slow to claim credit for the accomplishments of his students, it鈥檚 his example from which I鈥檝e learned how to nurture my professional life without losing sight of the bigger picture and his supportiveness that enables me to do so.鈥�

Zide has chaired seven doctoral thesis committees, two master鈥檚 thesis committees and served as a member of 45 other thesis committees in materials science and engineering and across campus.

His students have earned many significant awards, including competitive doctoral and graduate fellowships and awards for service, research, teaching and professional development.

鈥淭his impressive number of awards for his current and past students clearly is indication of his strong mentorship and energetic support of his students as they work in the classroom and laboratory under his leadership,鈥� wrote Darrin Pochan, chair and professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in his letter of nomination. 鈥淗is students have also been excellent citizens of the department in both explicit service capacity as well as implicit support of the welcoming and vigorous culture.鈥�

In addition to his research, teaching and advising work, Zide directs the Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program, was co-founder of the popular 鈥淲ords for Nerds鈥� program that aims to help students excel in science communication, and is co-director of the Materials Growth Facility. He also serves as associate editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology.

Zide, who joined the 91原创 faculty in 2007, earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree at Stanford University and his doctorate at the University of California, Santa Barbara.