Active 1987 - 2018; Emeritus 2018; Recalled 2018 - 2024
Dr. Xanthippi Markenscoff was an Associate and Full Professor in Mechanical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara before coming to Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences (AMES) at the University of California San Diego. Coming to AMES, she didn't feel she had to justify why she was in more theoretical aspects of mechanics; she adds, "...and of course, UCSD was an excellent department of mechanics."
Dr. Markenscoff taught both graduate and undergraduate courses at UCSD but particularly enjoyed teaching the graduate and advanced undergraduate courses. She feels her most important contribution during her time at UCSD was sustaining a high level of research and teaching in her area of solid mechanics. Her career at UCSD was marked by professional growth but also challenging, personally. She was a single mother, so it was difficult but she shared it had positive aspects. Her daughter was 4 years old at the time Dr. Markenscoff joined as a faculty member at UCSD. At one point in her career, Dr. Markenscoff taught the advanced series of mathematics in the graduate program for the first time, which required ample time for the preparation of materials. She barely had time to prepare for classes during business hours. During a two-year period, she was going to bed around 9:30 pm and waking up at 2:00 am. Between 2:00 am - 6:30 am she would prepare for the advanced mathematics course before getting her daughter ready for school and head to work for a full day. She recalls those as the most difficult years. The advantage was she was able to take her daughter to many scientific meetings and conferences, some also abroad, so she traveled with her daughter to many countries. She is proud that she educated her daughter well. Her daughter went to Harvard as an undergraduate and obtained a PhD in Biological Sciences. Now she is an assistant professor at Cornell University. Dr. Markenscoff feels she has done well as a mother and her happiest years were when she was raising her because she felt she had another very specific purpose in life, different from the type of purpose as a professor at the university. She adds, "I want everyone to do the best that they can. As I have done in my life, the best I could. Otherwise you are going to have regrets about what you did or didn't do. What you didn't take advantage of. I don't want people to feel that they wasted their time. If you can't do very well that's fine, but you have to do your best."
When Dr. Markenscoff came to the university, Dr. Y.C. Fung and Dr. Shu Chien were very influential and she learned from their example. During her time at UCSD the colleague with whom she collaborated (most?) is Dr. Vlado Lubarda in the Nanoengineering department whom she brought to the university. In fact, she added that " together we created an environment."
After retirement, Dr. Markenscoff returned to the university on Recall and after 5 years continues to conduct research. She initially retired to concentrate on research that was opening a new area and needed her full focus. She is currently applying solid mechanics to geophysics and thinks she has solved the very big open problem of the deep earthquakes. She writes her research on legal pads and keeps them in case she needs them at a later time. Dr. Markenscoff has a collection of scientific books specific to her field. She loves books and collects old books, even some from the 1550's - these are her most prized collections.
Her most memorable experience while teaching at UCSD is her students. Reflecting back at many of her teaching experiences, she had very good students and believes many of them liked her classes. One year before the last graduate course she taught, she took some of her students to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate the end of the class. Several students brought their friends from other classes and it was a sweet experience for her to know the students enjoyed learning from her. In fact, she has heard from other professors that students from other departments would take her class in MAE/AMES rather than taking the equivalent class in a different department. Apparently, her students referred their peers to take Dr. Markenscoff's class. Another time after the academic quarter, her students had a party for her and it was completely unexpected; it was very rewarding for her to feel that she made a difference in their education. She kept in touch with some of the students in that class. She misses these experiences. Oftentimes she laments how great it would be to be recalled to teach, but on the same hand wishes to prioritize her research.
Dr. Markenscoff enjoys being on campus part time and attends seminars now held in-person, as well as organizes some of them, especially the Penner Distinguished Lecture. She aims to continue as emeritus and conduct research on Recall, and wants to continue engagement with her department. From her experience, she can still offer something to the department and to the younger faculty. With a lot of younger colleagues, she has encouraged those who have joined the department in the last three years by making them feel more engaged in activities within the department. She does this because she wants to and because it comes naturally to her. As Dr. Markenscoff reflected back, UCSD was a great place to develop a career and grow because it gave her freedom, which created an excellent environment to develop fundamental research. The opportunity for many sabbaticals which she took advantage of enabled her to pursue the research she was interested in. Her advice to current faculty is just to be happy and enjoy what is offered here at UCSD.
In regards to current students, she thinks UCSD provides a lot of opportunities in cutting edge research. She encourages students to take advantage of being at a top research university - it is a great place for students. Undergraduates can engage in research with faculty and publish papers as undergraduates and move on to graduate school. Don't just sit and take classes.