50/50 Lecture: Prominent Faculty Speak About Their Research and Career Path

Photophysics of Organic Materials

50/50 Mentoring Series
When: Thursday, November 28, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.
Where: Saab ETIC Atrium
Refreshments served at 3 p.m.

Organic (opto) electronic materials offer several advantages over traditional silicon technology, including low-cost processing, fabrication of large-area flexible devices, and widely tunable properties through functionalization of the molecules. In this presentation, I will briefly review the field and give examples of our efforts aiming to understand exciton and charge carrier dynamics in high-performance organic materials and to develop novel, sustainable organic materials. I will also talk about personal experiences throughout my career driven by an ever-evolving balance between passion for the interdisciplinary science, exciting opportunities, and challenges involved.

Oksana Ostroverkhova, Ph.D., is a full professor in the Physics Department at Oregon State University and her current research interests are in the optoelectronic and photonic properties of organic materials. She was recognized as an American Physical Society Woman of the Month (2017) and is a recipient of several awards including the NSF CAREER award (2008), OSU Milton Harris Award for Basic Research (2016), and OSU Loyd Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching (2016).

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view any pdf files. It can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website.

The NSF ADVANCE award allows researchers at UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School to advance the study of gender bias in the workplace. The team focuses on creating new metrics and tools for the assessment and quantification of subtle gender biases and other causes of micro-inequities—the accumulation of subtle biases over a long period of time.

50/50 Mentoring Series Overview

In the 50/50 Mentoring Series, notable scientists discuss both their research work and their unique career path in STEM. Half of the speaker’s time will be allotted to her technical, educational, and research interests and the other half will be devoted to her career path. The 50/50 lectures are designed to inspire established and emerging STEM professionals to persevere not only by considering the example set by leaders in STEM but by looking at their own career holistically.

UMass Lowell Faculty Host: Viktor Podolskiy, Ph.D.