As long-time collaborators, Lehigh University and Corning Incorporated are continuing their commitment to innovation and educating future generations of STEM talent through Lehigh’s Pasteur PhD Partners (P3) Program. Corning will sponsor one student (Anthony Tsekrekas ’25G, pictured) with a competitive stipend and tuition support for the duration of his doctoral studies to work on industry-related research projects as part of his doctoral thesis.
Lehigh’s P3 Program is a student-centered STEM doctoral training program that was developed with support from the National Science Foundation. Via the P3 Program, Lehigh partners with leading companies, such as Corning, to create opportunities for students to gain experience in industrial research and translate theory into practice. P3 students participating in industry internships receive mentorship, gain real-world experience, and create tangible impact through STEM research.
Himanshu Jain, T.L. Diamond Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Applied Science, began thinking about the P3 program with Anand Jagota, vice provost for research and founding chair of the bioengineering department, and Volkmar Dierolf, AGF University Distinguished Professor of Physics, when he realized that universities across the United States are training Ph.D. scholars in STEM fields without giving them industry experience.
According to Jain (pictured, at right, with Tsekrekas), most Ph.D. students do not go on to pursue careers in academia. “Since Ph.D.'s lead innovation in industry and solve complex, real-life problems, this leads to misplaced workforce training,” he says, adding that leveraging industry partners is a significant key to filling that gap. Corning’s stewardship of P3 highlights the value of corporate partnerships in education, facilitating industry experience that will allow Ph.D. students to make a quicker, stronger impact in their fields with more application-based goals earlier in their learning journey.
Corning has supported and advised Lehigh on the development of the P3 Program since its inception in 2017. Tsekrekas will be mentored by a 26-year Corning veteran and Principal Research Scientist, Dr. Sean Garner. Tsekrekas will benefit from the unique exposure to Corning’s industry opportunities and challenges, and he will conduct research onsite at Corning. Corning will benefit as well, gaining groundbreaking research that will advance its commitment to life-changing innovation.
In addition to grants from the National Science Foundation, the P3 Program gained traction with support from Corning scientists and Lehigh alum Dr. Gary Calabrese ’79, who served as Corning's senior vice president of global research from 2012 until his retirement in 2022. Dr. Claudio Mazzali, Corning’s current vice president of global research, has continued this commitment to the P3 program. “This program is a great way to enhance use-inspired research as Anthony’s work will link academics and industrial scientists and leverage state-of-the-art capabilities from both Lehigh and Corning laboratories,” Mazzali said. “Having a student’s fresh perspective from the most recent studies and techniques within the industry combined with Corning’s industry expertise and core skills is really a great match. This is important work and we’re looking forward to seeing the results of this program at the end of the year.”
Providing students with hands-on industry experience will continue to be a priority for Lehigh. “As we look toward the future of higher education, it is clear that more careers than ever are requiring graduate education,” said Nathan Urban, Lehigh’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Lehigh’s P3 Program not only reflects the interests of students and needs of employers, but also fosters tangible collaboration though valuable industry-education partnerships. Through the support of industry pioneers such as Corning, Lehigh will continue to graduate doctoral students who not only understand guiding theoretical frameworks, but their practical applications as well.”
Photo credit: ShotByAsgar