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