Professor Pawan Tyagi is enjoying his academic career as a leader, mentor, and innovator in the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC. Dr. Tyagi is helping in UDC's transformation from teaching focus institution to a PhD granting STEM-oriented HBCU of the 21st century by leading the Center for Nanotechnology Research and Education (CNRE), and Workforce development consortiums in the cutting-edge areas of semiconductor technology, renewable energy, and manufacturing. Dr. Tyagi earned 25 years of experience in diverse areas of nanotechnology and materials science, resulting in >70 peer-reviewed publications, 10 patents, and successful collaborations in academia and industry. Dr. Tyagi pioneered the technology for harnessing nanoscale molecules in futuristic computer devices, biosensors, and renewable energy. Recently, from UDC, he filed several patents with his graduate and undergraduate students. In the education field, Dr. Tyagi invented student presentation-based effective teaching (SPET) for busy faculty to engage diverse students in STEM and conducted workshops on SPET for >200 faculty. Prof. Tyagi pioneered the application of positive intelligence (PI) training for the self-transformation of students and innovators to set the foundation for joyful personnel and professional life. He initiated a course focusing on the innovation potential enhancement for the school of engineering at UDC. Dr. Tyagi's mentored postdoc and students under NSF-CREST CNRE have joined highly competitive careers in industries and government organizations.