Professional Development

An important goal of IDEALS II is to enrich the educational experience of the students.

To this end IDEALS provides participants with the following opportunities:

Research and Leadership training for Graduate Students and Postdocs
1. Mentoring for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), led by Co-PI Kretzschmar
2. Research presentations in professional conferences and publications in high profile journals.
Co-mentoring of Graduate Students.
1. Each student is assigned two mentors that enhance opportunities and develop career objectives.
2. Criteria are established for selection of mentors based on the research plans of the students.
Graduate Student Success Network (GSSN). A student led forum established in IDEALS-I that allows graduate students to play a more active role in developing career goals and paths.
IDEALS Student Led Newsletter. A student led newsletter that:
1. Highlights achievements of IDEALS students and faculty
2. Promotes the dissemination of information. IDEALS II co-PI Gayen and IDEALS faculty Tu will guide this effort.
Student involvement in outreach activities. Examples include:
1. Participation in the ASRC high school Field Trip Program.
2. Create opportunities for doctoral students to tutor middle and high school students from NYC schools in math and science courses.
Mini-Workshops. A series of mini-workshops for professional development are offered. All students will take W1 and a second workshop of their choice:
1. Development of e-Portfolios. Students and postdocs will: a) establish a career plan that is revised at least twice during the student's tenure; b) respond to a series of prompts (career objectives, program goals, etc.) and c) write a resume or CV.
2. Effective Communication. Provide training about three levels of learning and communication relevant to scientists. Level 1 addresses communication within the field of specialty of the student; Level 2 includes communication to a professional community but not one trained in the specifics of the student's research project. Level 3 involves communication to the public at large, regardless of education level. We collaborate with Dr. Pamela Mills of Lehman College who leads these activities at the CUNY Graduate Center. IDEALS faculty McGregor leads the effort
3. Career Planning. Conscious career planning, including knowledge of the work environment and one's own strengths and weakness, to increase resilience and success in the professional environment.
4. Modern Teaching Pedagogy. IDEALS faculty McGregor will adapt her existing professional development program for teachers and instructors of chemistry into a two-day workshop for the IDEALS students.
Student Placement after Graduation
1. Internships and Industry Job Placement. Partnerships with industry and National Labs provide opportunities for the placement of students as interns during part of their graduate study, sometimes providing a pipeline for permanent employment. Industry affiliates of the New York State funded ASRC Sensor Center for Advanced Technology (CAT), led by IDEALS faculty Ulijn, provides industry experience opportunities for interested students.
2. Innovation, entrepreneurship and intellectual property. The CUNY Sensor CAT provides entrepreneurship training opportunities. The CAT trains students in these areas.
3. Exploring career opportunities. A series of professional development seminars are provided that present the students with career paths and directions that may be available to them. Among these, we will emphasize a better awareness and preparation for academic careers.
4. Students are encouraged to pursue postdoctoral opportunities including the NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (PRF) or postdoctoral programs of the NRC that position graduates favorably for competing for academic posts.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACTIVITIES

Homeostasis is a start-up company co-founded by IDEALS Affiliated Researcher Julien Lombardi.
The advanced battery materials market faces a critical graphite supply crisis that threatens America's energy security and clean energy transition. Current graphite production methods are fundamentally flawed: natural graphite mining involves environmentally destructive practices, while synthetic graphite production requires energy-intensive heating to 3000C using petroleum-derived feedstocks.
Homeostasis has developed a revolutionary solution: converting CO₂ emissions directly into high-quality graphite through our proprietary molten carbonate electrolysis technology. Our process creates a domestic, sustainable graphite supply with faster production times, lower costs, and dramatically reduced environmental impact. By operating at temperatures below 800C with waster CO₂ as feedstock, we are positioned to deliver advanced graphite at meaningfully lower prices while strengthening domestic supply chains and turning industrial emissions into valuable products.
Homeostasis website: https://www.homeostasis.earth/

LeLantos is a company co-founded by Stylianos Siontas, collaborating with IDEALS Faculty Stephen O'Brien, that entered a sponsored research agreement with CCNY/CUNY CAT. It sometimes takes interns or works with graduate students.
Lelantos develops miniaturized, ultra-low power, high performance gas sensors. Applications of the technology include environmental and air quality monitoring, threat detection, as well as medical diagnosis. The size and power efficiency of our technology allows for the creation of systems with portability and price point unmatched by competing systems.
Lelantostech website: https://www.lelantostech.com/

BeamFeed is a start-up company co-founded by Doctoral Student Erina Vela and Prof. Mohammad-Ali Miri. It is developing a laser power beaming solution that eliminates traditional wiring needed to charge and power modern-day electronics. The technology uses high-power lasers to beam electromagnetic energy across long distances, while optical power converters capture that light and convert it into usable electricity. BeamFeed's current Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I award ($305,000) issued by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in collaboration with the Tamargo Lab, centers on optimizing and building a photovoltaic converter that efficiently absorbs light from broad incident angles through the concept of coherent perfect absorption, boosting the power conversion efficiency of long-range wireless power transfer. This receiver unit is grown through a sophisticated molecular beam epitaxial technique at the City College of New York for precise material layer achievement. The company has recently completed the All SBIR NSF I-Corps Fall 2025 National program hosted by the New York I-Corps Hub. It is also a CUNY CAT project and plans on commercializing the technology within the drone inspection industry, which has demonstrated a significant demand for alternative energy solutions.
BeamFeed Website: www.beamfeed.co

Turnover Labs is a New York based startup developing a novel platform to decarbonize the chemical-manufacturing sector by converting waste CO into valuable chemical building blocks. The technology spun out of research from Columbia University, where founder and CEO Dr. Marissa Beatty then went on to secure a prestigious Activate Fellowship to advance her work. Through the CUNY ASRC's Industry CAT program, Turnover Labs was introduced to City College faculty Dr. Elizabeth Biddinger, kicking off a multi-year project. With matching funds from the CUNY CAT program, the company and Dr. Biddinger's lab have been conducting characterization studies of Turnover's electrocatalysts while also providing opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in industry research projects.
Turnover Labs website: https://www.turnoverlabs.com/

Provizigen is an early-stage biotherapeutics startup developing a first-of-its-kind injectable biomaterial designed to prevent and potentially reverse osteoarthritis following joint injury. A spin-out from New York University, the company is advancing a novel hydrogel-based platform and collaborates closely with City College Professor Raymond Tu. The CUNY CAT program helped facilitate this multiyear collaboration with CCNY, which has since grown into a highly productive partnership involving joint proposal development and ongoing grant submissions between Provizigen and Professor Tu's team. The project has also enabled the company to bring on multiple CUNY interns across scientific and business roles, giving students hands-on experience in translational biomedical innovation while supporting Provizigen's early R&D and commercialization efforts.
Provizigen website: https://www.provizigen.com/