2025

I attended Professor Jaime Cardenas’s lab during the summer after my junior year. I have to say, the experience was not easy. Professor Cardenas is not the type of mentor who lets students coast through their research; he cares deeply about students' progress and holds high expectations. He encourages a strong work ethic and expects consistent effort from everyone in the group.

In addition to weekly group meetings, students are required to give regular research progress updates, present papers for journal club, and—if you're a Ph.D. student—give fabrication presentations as well. These expectations help keep your project on schedule and push you to stay engaged and productive. Beyond the group meetings, we also had one-on-one check-ins with Professor Cardenas every one to two weeks to review progress and address any issues.

The people in the group are very friendly. The Ph.D. students and other group members treat each other more like friends than just colleagues. They are approachable and happy to help if they have time. Asking them questions is a great way to stay on track with your project. Professor Cardenas is also very helpful and willing to talk about your project and answer your questions. While he can come off as strict at times—especially if you're not well prepared for presentations—he ultimately wants to help you succeed and grow.

What I enjoyed most was listening to others present during journal club. I found it both enjoyable and informative, as it allowed me to learn efficiently through discussion. What I liked least was having to present during journal club myself. Choosing a high-quality paper, fully understanding it, and presenting it to a room full of people who are more experienced than you can be intimidating. It often felt like giving a lecture to experts.

As an undergraduate, Professor Cardenas is very understanding. He and the group recognize that undergraduates need to focus on coursework first, especially rising seniors who may be balancing senior design and possibly graduate-level courses. In such cases, good communication with the professor is essential, and I found Professor Cardenas to be approachable and supportive.