Robert E. Blankenship,
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

I am honored to be nominated for the ASU mentoring award, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to reflect on the mentoring process. The transformation of a new B.S. graduate into a self-motivated research scientist capable of defining and solving problems independently is a remarkable event. Initially, one thinks of the metaphor of the caterpillar turning into the graceful and elegant butterfly by way of a complex developmental program that is somehow mysteriously programmed into its DNA. The metamorphosis process with students is perhaps even more amazing. The transformation never follows the same pathway twice, yet the result is almost always the same.

I don't pretend to have any magical formulas for success with students. In this essay, I will set out some of my philosophies and a few of the techniques I have learned over the years. While my experiences are with mentoring students in the sciences, hopefully some of the ideas will have applications to other disciplines.

Perhaps the biggest influence on me in my mentoring of students has come from my own mentors. My Ph.D. advisor, Kenneth Sauer, and postdoctoral advisor, William Parson, are both model examples of mentors, yet are very different from each other. They both provided that remarkable mixture of freedom and guidance that characterizes the successful mentoring process.

Mentoring
The student-professor mentoring experience is a process that often starts before the student arrives at the university and in many cases continues for years after graduation. The goal is to transform students into independent researchers, giving them not just the factual knowledge of their discipline, but more importantly, the skills and resources they need to approach and solve a variety of problems. Very few students actually continue their career in the same specialized area that they chose for their graduate research. Many of these areas either don't yet exist or are changing so rapidly that they will be unrecognizable in just a few years. Therefore, the most useful skill we can teach our students is the ability to assimilate new information independently and change with the times. Paradoxically, the way we do this is to focus our attention on a very specific area of knowledge. Students become quite literally the world expert on their chosen topic. This complete mastery of a well-defined subject gives students the confidence to move on to conquer new areas with remarkable speed and efficiency.

Students who join my research group do so only after we have discussed possible research projects in some detail, so that there is a considerable narrowing of focus and objectives from the very beginning. In experimental science, this is the usual process as the equipment needed to carry out the research and the financial resources required to purchase supplies usually come through the advisor by way of a research grant. The entire process starts well before students join the group in the writing of grant proposals so that we will have the resources needed to carry out the work.

Initially, I give new students a variety of articles and books that provide background in the general area of the work and also give some specific information on the proposed project. However, I try not to overload students with every paper ever written on the subject. This can be overwhelming and sometimes leads to paralysis. While some background information is essential, just reading is never enough to have students truly connect with their projects. I strongly encourage students to jump in and to try experiments right away because there is no better way to get inside a subject than by trying things out. Sometimes the first steps are unsteady, but the earlier they are taken the faster is the transition to independence.

My goal is that after a relatively short time students will "own" their projects. It becomes their project — not mine. They can then assume primary responsibility for plotting the future course of the research, keeping track of the various threads that unravel and deciding which to pursue. The transfer of ownership is the single most important event in the entire process of becoming an independent researcher. This empowering transformation can either take place slowly or sometimes remarkably suddenly. I still vividly remember the exact moment when I felt that I owned my project as a graduate student. Things were never the same after that.

One of the most difficult challenges in mentoring students is how to walk the tightrope between the proper amounts of guidance and freedom. On the one hand, supervision that is too detailed discourages students from thinking for themselves and delays or prevents the transition to truly independent work. On the other hand, too much independence can be just as destructive. Floundering for a while can bring on self-reliance, but sometimes a life preserver is needed to prevent a drowning. What I find most challenging is that the balance between guidance and freedom is not the same for every student. What works well with one student may be a dismal failure with another equally bright and equally hardworking student. Finding the correct balance is perhaps the single most challenging aspect of my job.

I try to create a variety of opportunities to interact with my students, including formal, weekly group meetings, regularly scheduled individual conferences, chatting in the lab during lunch, Friday afternoon happy hours, and occasional group parties for students and their families. It is important for me to have a friendly and easy feeling in the air when interacting with students. However, I also think it is important not to be best friends with my students. There is a difference in our roles in the process, and it is a mistake to pretend that we are peers.

One of the most important skills that I work hard to instill in my students is the ability to speak and write clearly. Here, in particular, I am indebted to my former mentors, both of whom are legendary for their communication skills. Our weekly group meetings are the place where students get the most practice in verbal communication. We alternate between presentations and critical discussions of new research results generated in our group and analysis of recently published papers from other research groups around the world. These discussions are usually quite lively with no-holds-barred. Often the most important contributors to the group discussion of a new student's results are the more advanced students. This format allows the student to have numerous opportunities to develop their analytical and presentation skills before a knowledgeable and supportive audience.

Preparing results for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals is an essential part of the educational process for graduate students. I strongly encourage them to do this before they write their dissertation. The audience for published papers is much wider than for dissertations and a respectable number of publications in good journals is an essential prerequisite for many fellowships and other desirable future positions.

Becoming a clear and graceful scientific writer is a skill that takes conscious effort and much practice to develop. Good writing skills are possibly the single most important factor that determines future success. Whether it is fellowship applications, research proposals, manuscripts for publication, or internal company reports, most scientists spend much more time writing than doing experiments. As one moves up the ladder to positions of increased responsibility, writing skills only increase in importance. I insist that students write manuscripts for publication themselves and carry through the revisions until the paper has been accepted for publication.

I would love to find the first draft of my first scientific research paper. It came back from my advisor almost covered in red ink. Now I return the favor for my own students. It is gratifying to see that the amount of red ink usually lessens in the succession of later papers by the same student.

Socializing Students in the Profession
Attending courses and seminars, along with conducting and publishing original research are major parts of the learning process in graduate education. However, these activities are not all that is required to become a productive scientist. In addition to theoretical and practical knowledge and the technical research skills that students acquire during graduate education, they must be prepared to enter the professional world, whether it be industry, academia, or government. In this regard, I try to provide opportunities for students to participate actively in the world that will be their future. This gives them a more accurate vision of the world they will enter and makes their goals much more concrete.

Often, students first encounter the outside professional world when they go to a scientific conference. I think it is essential that students go to meetings and present their work before a knowledgeable audience. This serves several purposes.

First, the impending deadline for submission of abstracts or the actual presentation helps students focus on producing and understanding as many new results as possible before the meeting. This is often the time when the bigger picture suddenly comes into focus.

Second, the meeting can serve as a reality check. Flaws in experimental design or interpretation can be recognized and corrected, based on feedback from the presentation.

Third, students meet other students and researchers and exchange ideas and results. Learning that someone else is interested in your work and has thought about similar issues is amazingly satisfying.

Finally, students always return from meetings with many new ideas and lots of energy. Scientists at any level can become very insular and focus only on the details of their own specific project. Participating actively in meetings permits students to break out of this shell. Often the new view gained from listening to a presentation of someone else's work and discussing results with them can be just the stimulus needed to see one's own work in a new and often more productive light.

Placement
Throughout the graduate education process, both student and mentor must keep the future in mind while staying firmly planted in the present. As the experience nears completion, it is essential for us to have conversations about what comes next. For most of my students, the major question at this time is whether to seek immediate employment in industry or whether to continue with postdoctoral training that might lead in any number of directions, including academia or industry. This can be a difficult decision since both worlds have advantages and disadvantages.

On several occasions I have called on some of my former students who are employed in industry to offer perspectives to a current student considering that as a career choice. The former students have always been extremely willing to contribute in this way, and they can provide a viewpoint that I am unable to do, having never worked in industry. I think they see it as a way they can give something to the current generation of students, much as they were helped by others when they were students.

I have been blessed with some outstanding students and postdoctoral fellows during my thirteen years at ASU. I would like to thank all of them for contributing at least as much to my education as I have to theirs.