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Student Mentor Lunch
The Student Mentor Lunch lets students pick the minds of professionals from academia, government and industry. It’s a chance to hear from the experts why they chose their field, what it takes to get there, and what it’s really like once they arrived. The Mentor Lunch also features a speaker who provides an expert “how to” discussion on new topic each year.
2026 Mentor Lunch
J. Alexander Liddle received his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in materials science from the University of Oxford. From there, he moved to Bell Laboratories, where he worked on developing technology for advanced semiconductor lithography and microelectromechanical systems for telecom applications. He then joined the Center for X-ray Optics at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and was later involved in the startup of the Molecular Foundry nanoscience user facility at LBNL. Before joining Canon Nanotechnologies, he spent two decades at NIST, most recently as chief of the Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division. His research has focused on lithography and directed self-assembly for the creation and manufacture of advanced devices. He has over 275 published papers, serves on numerous advisory committees, and is a fellow of the American Physical Society.
Previous Year Mentor Lunches

2025 Speaker
Prof. Gina Adam

2024 Speaker
Prof. Stella W. Pang

2023 Speaker
Prof. R. Fabian Pease

2022 Speaker
Leonidas E. Ocola

2021 Speaker
Henry I. Smith
Watch the 2021 Talk from Henry I. Smith below:

