Daniel Rabinovich’s joy for science is contagious.
This associate dean and professor at UNC Greensboro’s Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) calls upon his lifelong interest in stamp collecting and his curated chemical element collection to inspire both scientists and nonscientists alike.
“If only one child at UNCG’s Science Everywhere event becomes fascinated with the chemical elements on display and ends up pursuing science, I would be happy,” says Rabinovich. “You can never know the outcomes of this outreach.”
This same joy and sense of discovery led Rabinovich to join JSNN in 2021, a career change that ensures he stays busy with many responsibilities and finds him re-energized about science.
Landing in the U.S. + JSNN
Originally from Lima, Peru, Rabinovich pursued his Ph.D. in chemistry in the U.S. as doing so was not available in Peru. He landed at Columbia University, with a strong mentor in inorganic chemistry.
Rabinovich had been conducting research and teaching at UNC Charlotte when ongoing activities at JSNN caught his attention, specifically a search for a new associate dean.
“I spent 25 years doing research and teaching, mentoring 200 undergrads, 33 grads and 50 high school students,” says Rabinovich, “but I wanted to do something more, something different.”
Rabinovich was working on new research but using the same techniques and methodology to do so. Plus, due to the pandemic, teaching had significantly changed.
Due to this confluence of factors, he felt he was “ripe” for change and made JSNN his new professional home.
No Two Days the Same
At JSNN, Rabinovich engages in administration, mentoring, recruiting faculty and students, strategic thinking, and writing.
Specific examples of his job include mentoring faculty on funding opportunities and reviewing their proposal drafts. He also oversees JSNN outreach events, meeting visitors, hosting tours, and conducting lab safety training.
“Every day is different,” says Rabinovich. “I can be found helping develop the weekly JSNN Newsletter, organizing NanoImpacts, our annual 3-day conference, mentoring Draelos Science Scholars, or coordinating JSNN’s Friday Seminars schedule.”
He is thriving within the variety of scientists who comprise JSNN, which include chemists, engineers, biologists, and physicists.
“The future of science is more interdisciplinary, and JSNN is the ideal place to drive innovation because of the variety of scientists and engineers who work in the same place and share research lab space,” Rabinovich says.
The Friday Seminars, whose line-up Rabinovich helps develop, reflect these varied scientific topics and include 8 to 12 seminar speakers per semester, with a focus on research or technology transfer.
For the Love of Science
If you really want to see Rabinovich’s face light up, just ask him about science outreach.
At age 10, he started a stamp collection that focuses mainly on chemistry and now occupies four entire bookcases. He has 3,000 to 4,000 stamps scanned, which is only about 10% of his actual collection.
“My agenda is not to increase the number of stamp collectors,” he says in response to why he collects. “I use the stamps as a tool to teach science – to help people understand and respect it.”
The purpose for his collection of about 55 different chemical elements is the same.
Some elements, like palladium and platinum, are rare or expensive while others, like mercury and cadmium, are toxic and dangerous, Rabinovich explains. He uses the entirety of the collection to connect with the community, particularly nonscientists and children, as well as visitors to JSNN and prospective graduate students.
“Every year, I present ‘Building Blocks of Nature’ with my graduate student Moisés Zelada-Bazán at Science Everywhere,” Rabinovich says. “We offer hands-on demonstrations with select chemical elements.”
With a kind smile and quiet giggle, he shares that both the stamps and chemical elements are a lot of fun. “I will never stop,” he says.
Written by Amy Burtch, AMBCopy
Photography by Sean Norona, University Communications
