Molecular Podcasting with Darren Lipomi
By Darren Lipomi
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Image by Darren Lipomi
Category: Science
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Subscribers: 2
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Episodes: 99
Description
This podcast lifts the veil on all topics related to STEM in academia: research, teaching, writing, speaking, and other professional topics.
Darren Lipomi is a professor of nanoengineering, chemical engineering, and materials science at UC San Diego. He obtained his PhD in chemistry from Harvard in 2010 (w/ George Whitesides) and was a postdoc at Stanford in chemical engineering from '10-'12 (w/ Zhenan Bao). He is a recipient of the PECASE and became full professor in 2019.
Thanks to NSF CBET-1929748 for support. Views don't necessarily reflect those of NSF or UCSD.
Cover art bkg: Sam Root
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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#99 – BOOK LAUNCH PREVIEW! The time I thought my advisor wanted me to make love to a molecule & other bits
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May 01, 2026 |
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#98 – How to get into grad school: Lessons from a dean, chair, & grad admissions director
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Apr 19, 2026 |
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#97 – How much money do PhD students make? Lifetime earnings vs. pursuing a passion
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Feb 16, 2026 |
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#96 – The $60 Billion System Nobody Understands: University research and the engine of discovery
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Feb 09, 2026 |
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#95 – What no one tells PhD applicants to US universities when they're preparing their applications (interviewed by Andrew Akbashev)
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Oct 24, 2025 |
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#94 – The best SciComm is unfiltered: Darren interviewed by Univ. of Rochester colleague Jeff Koslofsky
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Aug 11, 2025 |
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#93 – Chemical & biological engineering at a National Lab: leadership, communication, & commercialization
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Jul 24, 2025 |
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#92 – What's the REAL purpose of science research? Knowledge? Training opportunity? Intellectual property?
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May 20, 2025 |
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#91 – Health and wellness for grad students (panel discussion)
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May 12, 2025 |
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#90 – When a scientist gets an award from the White House: Personal reflections
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May 08, 2025 |
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#89 – How to get RICH with a PhD
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May 03, 2025 |
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#88 – Cuts to federal grants for science & engineering research in universities: Reactions of 2 professors
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Apr 27, 2025 |
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#87 – Federal research funding: How $10 million becomes $100 million
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Apr 22, 2025 |
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#86 – How professors manage their grant funding
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Nov 11, 2024 |
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#85 – Diet and exercise for grad students, postdocs, & early career researchers--fitness for nerds ;)
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Aug 04, 2024 |
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#84 – Changing your PI / advisor: How you know you may have to do it and how to find a new one
|
Aug 02, 2024 |
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#83 – How all engineering fields converge to "nano" (2 of 2)
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Jul 24, 2024 |
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#82 - Nanoengineering: At the Center of It All (1 of 2)
|
Jul 23, 2024 |
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#81 - What is research and advice to undergraduates
|
Jul 23, 2024 |
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#80 - Why I wrote the book Introduction to Nanoengineering and how to use it - my attempt at narration
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Jul 17, 2024 |
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#79 - What is an R1 university? Mission, revenue sources, personnel
|
Jul 15, 2024 |
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#78 - How a University is Financed: Research, Grants, Endowment, Salary, Tuition, Overhead
|
Jul 12, 2024 |
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#77 - Managing your relationship with your PI / PhD advisor in graduate school
|
Jul 11, 2024 |
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#76 - How to write proposals for fellowships and grants
|
May 25, 2023 |
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#75 – Hip Hop Scientist Maynard Okereke: Engineer to Science Communicator, Musician, & Video Personality
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Nov 09, 2022 |
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#74 – Applying to Grad School: How to write a winning Statement of Purpose & explain a lower GPA
|
Nov 08, 2022 |
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#73 – How do you know when you have enough data to publish? Plus, how to manage conflict with co-authors
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Nov 05, 2022 |
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#72 - Should humans be modified? How about plants or animals? The Environment? Q&A on bioethics
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Nov 04, 2022 |
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#71 - Ask a professor: how to vet applicants, deal w/ criticism, strategy in academia, & research funding
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Oct 18, 2022 |
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#70 – What I wish I knew before becoming a professor: How to combine research, teaching, and service
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Oct 17, 2022 |
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#69 - How I run my lab: check ins, hiring students, and promoting good culture and climate
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Sep 28, 2022 |
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#68 - Managing Stress, Burnout, Anxiety, & Metal Health Challenges in Grad School in Academic Research
|
Sep 27, 2022 |
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#67 – My appearance on the Teach the Geek Podcast: My Academic Path, Postdocs & Public Speaking
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Jul 11, 2022 |
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#66 – Darren discusses Code Breaker (Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR)–What Walter Isaacson gets right/wrong on scientific research
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Jul 05, 2022 |
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#65 – From the Caribbean to Computation: Chemistry, Engineering, & Nanoscience. Prof. Tod Pascal, UCSD
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May 24, 2022 |
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#64 – Is Organic Chem Necessary for Engineering? Chemistry vs. Chemical Eng, Flipped Classrooms & Teaching
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Mar 18, 2022 |
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#63 – Mentoring undergraduate researchers
|
Mar 01, 2022 |
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#62 – Raychelle Burks: Science of crime investigation, consulting for Hollywood, & inclusive teaching
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Jan 18, 2022 |
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#61 – How to ask for letters of recommendation for grad school, research positions, scholarships, & jobs
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Dec 03, 2021 |
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#60 – Harvard Mechanics Prof. Zhigang Suo, master scientific storyteller
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Dec 02, 2021 |
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#59 – Eric Mazur: Flipped Classrooms, Peer & Active Learning, Textbooks vs Videos, & Remote Education
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Nov 11, 2021 |
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#58 – Bonus: Malika Jeffries-EL on being an insider, outsider, and improving access to STEM education
|
Oct 26, 2021 |
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#57 – Bonus episode: Andrea Armani on Role Models, Effective Teaching, Grad Student Recruiting, & Project Selection
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Oct 19, 2021 |
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#56 – Thinking Like a Nobel Prize Winner: Into the Impossible with physicist Brian Keating
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Oct 13, 2021 |
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#55 – Why do professors travel so much? And, why I am trying to give most of it up (hint: baby and Covid).
|
Sep 14, 2021 |
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#54 – Frustrations of scientific publication & peer review & why we do it anyway: 100th paper spectacular
|
Jul 20, 2021 |
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#53 – Choosing a grad school and a lab + Q&A
|
Jul 16, 2021 |
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#52 – My best advice on writing: the "garlic, shallots, and butter" of effective scientific prose
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Jun 22, 2021 |
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#51 – Travel Stories from Hell - "Professor Unscripted" event at UCSD
|
Jun 21, 2021 |
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#50 – Primer on science startups, patents, and financing
|
Jun 01, 2021 |
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#49 – Teaching, research, and podcasting – My interview on The Soft Matter Show with Amal Narayanan
|
May 31, 2021 |
|
#48 – Do I regret going into academia? Financing a lab, and can a lab go bankrupt?
|
May 27, 2021 |
|
#47 – What does a professor do? What is nanoscience? Introduction for high-schoolers
|
May 13, 2021 |
|
#46 – Ask a Prof. Anything 5: Public speaking, giving talks, Zoom vs live, and fidget items
|
May 10, 2021 |
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#45 – Ask a Prof Anything 4: Thoughts on Writing and coming up with new ideas in research
|
May 07, 2021 |
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#44 – Conversation about stretchable polymer electronics and scientific legacies
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May 04, 2021 |
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#43 – Ask a Professor Anything III: Research values, advice from George Whitesides & Zhenan Bao, & Should you follow your passion?
|
Apr 30, 2021 |
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#42 – Ask a Professor Anything II – Getting letters of rec, choosing a lab, dealing with frustration
|
Apr 29, 2021 |
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#41 – Ching W. Tang, inventor of the first efficient OLED and OPV; reflections on industrial and academic innovation & advice for young researchers
|
Apr 06, 2021 |
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#40 – Why I started Molecular Podcasting, its effects on my research, & advice for would-be science podcasters
|
Apr 03, 2021 |
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#39 – JAWS: Providing a platform for the researchers who actually did the work
|
Mar 28, 2021 |
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#38 – Ask a professor anything: Virtual coffee hour with students
|
Feb 11, 2021 |
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#37 – Brandon Marin (II): What do Chemical Engineers and NanoEngineers do at Intel / semiconductor R&D
|
Jan 31, 2021 |
|
#36 – Alex Zaretski: co-founder & CTO of GrollTex on starting a company & quest for a real-life tricorder
|
Jan 25, 2021 |
|
#35 – Materials Science in Haptics (part 2): Panel discussion, Darren Lipomi, Moderator
|
Jan 22, 2021 |
|
#34 – My experience as a volunteer in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial – Darren Lipomi, PhD
|
Jan 18, 2021 |
|
#33 – Materials Science in Haptics: Panel discussion part 1 of 2, Darren Lipomi, Moderator
|
Jan 15, 2021 |
|
#32 – Victoria Fu: Nanoengineer, Chemical Engineer, Entrepreneur, and co-founder of Chemist Confessions
|
Jan 08, 2021 |
|
#31 – Olivia Graeve & Carlos Coimbra: Inclusion, Diversity, Excellence, & Achievement (IDEA Center) at UC San Diego
|
Jan 01, 2021 |
|
#30 – How to get a paper accepted & some comments on peer review
|
Dec 22, 2020 |
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#29 – Chemjobber: The chemical job market, effects of COVID, chemistry blogging, & connecting with an audience
|
Dec 08, 2020 |
|
#28 - Tyler Cowen and I discuss innovation, directionality in history, art, music, touch & textiles, interviewing, and Star Trek
|
Nov 30, 2020 |
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#27 – Jillian Buriak: Inside scientific editing, publishing, impact factors, data reporting, inclusion, & work-life integration
|
Nov 20, 2020 |
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#26 – Marwa ElDiwiny: Creating an international community in robotics & engineering, and the Soft Robotics Podcast
|
Nov 13, 2020 |
|
#25 – Brian Keating: The guts of science podcasting & getting a pop science book published
|
Nov 06, 2020 |
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#24 - Laure Kayser: Starting as a new PI, being an outsider, creating an inclusive culture, & the two-body problem
|
Oct 30, 2020 |
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#23 - Undergraduate Research: Finding a lab & succeeding while you're there
|
Oct 22, 2020 |
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#22 - How to not write bad: Practical tips for scientific writing
|
Oct 16, 2020 |
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#21 – Mental health, anxiety, & impostor syndrome as a student in STEM
|
Oct 09, 2020 |
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#20 - Graham Sazama: Getting a job & professing at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI)
|
Oct 02, 2020 |
|
#19 - Making the most of remote learning during Covid-19
|
Sep 25, 2020 |
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#18 - Brandon Marin: From addiction, jail, & street living to PhD in chemical engineering
|
Sep 18, 2020 |
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#17 - ChemBark's Paul Bracher on blogging, teaching, advisor-advisee relationships, and the chemical origin of life
|
Sep 11, 2020 |
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#16 - Applying & interviewing for faculty positions
|
Sep 04, 2020 |
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#15 - Tips for first-time TAs & Assistant Professors
|
Aug 28, 2020 |
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#14 - Getting into grad school
|
Aug 24, 2020 |
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#13 - Time management as a grad student, postdoc, or researcher
|
Aug 14, 2020 |
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#12 - Promoting your work and working with journalists
|
Aug 06, 2020 |
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#11 - How to Talk Smart...or, how to give effective presentations
|
Jul 31, 2020 |
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#10 - My scientific influences & soft skills in research - Conversation with Brian Keating
|
Jul 24, 2020 |
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#9 - Soft robotics & interdisciplinary research: Conversation with Marwa ElDiwiny
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Jul 17, 2020 |
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#8 - Soft skills in research, or "How to win friends and influence people"
|
Jul 14, 2020 |
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#7 - "Unconventional" careers for PhDs in STEM
|
Jul 05, 2020 |
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#6 - Writing competitive grant proposals
|
Jul 02, 2020 |
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#5 - Running a research group: Mission, values, and strategy
|
Jun 29, 2020 |
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#4 - Generating ideas in science & engineering
|
Jun 26, 2020 |
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#3 - Use of video for remote & active learning and flipped classrooms
|
Jun 23, 2020 |
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#2 - Choosing an Advisor / lab in Grad School
|
Jun 22, 2020 |
|
#1 - Dealing with Rejection in Academia
|
Jun 22, 2020 |