Shaping Tomorrow's Professors: EACC's Mentoring Circles Prepare Graduate Students for the Academic Track
The leap from graduate student to professor isn't easy-but Purdue Engineering's Academic Career Club (EACC) is making that journey clearer. Now in its sixth year, the EACC Summer Mentoring Circle Program helps engineering grad students and postdocs explore and prepare for academic careers.
Led by students and supported by faculty, the program brings small groups of mentees together with experienced faculty mentors for eight meetings of focused discussion, goal-setting, and career planning. Many past participants have gone on to faculty roles—and some have even returned as mentors.
Inspired by national models but tailored to engineering future faculty preparation, the program creates a space where future faculty can grow with guidance and community. The Purdue College of Engineering Dean’s Office of Graduate Education and EACC would like to thank the faculty mentors from the 2025 program (* indicates Purdue Engineering alumni):
| Faculty Mentor | School | University |
|---|---|---|
| Neelakshi Majumdar* | Aeronautics and Astronautics | University of Arkansas |
| Karen Marais | Aeronautics and Astronautics | Purdue University, West Lafayette |
| Nicoletta Fala* | Aeronautics and Astronautics, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering | Auburn University |
| Sunjae Kim* | Aeronautics and Astronautics, Mechanical Engineering | University of Florida |
| Leo Green | Biomedical Engineering | Purdue University, West Lafayette |
| Taimoor Qazi | Biomedical Engineering | Purdue University, West Lafayette |
| Tayler Hebner | Chemical Engineering | Purdue University, West Lafayette |
| Ria Corder* | Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering | University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
| Morgan Broberg* | Civil Engineering | University of Arkansas |
| Jose Capa Salinas* | Civil Engineering | University of St. Thomas |
| Nitin Tiwari* | Civil Engineering | Southern Illinois University Carbondale |
| Tridib K. Saha* | Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Education | Purdue University, Indianapolis |
| Michael Titus | Engineering Education | Purdue University, West Lafayette |
| Nik Chawla | Materials Engineering | Purdue University, West Lafayette & Indianapolis |
| Daniel Guildenbecher | Mechanical Engineering | Purdue University, West Lafayette |
| Salvador Rojas* | Mechanical Engineering | California State University, Los Angeles |
|
Cristian Vargas-
Ordonez*
|
Mechanical Engineering | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology |
Applications for Summer 2026 open in the spring. Faculty interested in mentoring can contact Jackie McDermott, Ph.D., at jem@purdue.edu.