Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering professor and interim chair Jalal Torabzadeh was awarded the prestigious Nicholas Perkins Hardeman Academic Leadership Award at the 2013 CSULB University Achievement Award Ceremony. Last awarded in 2008, the Hardeman award acknowledges significant contributions by faculty members to the principle and practice of shared governance at CSULB.
“Since joining the Mechanical and Aerospace Department in 1986, Dr. Torabzadeh has worked tirelessly on behalf of the university,” says interim university president Don Para. “His professionalism, integrity, ethical values, kindness, willingness to hear the viewpoints of others, and exceptional analytical skills have earned him the respect of his colleagues university-wide.”
Torabzadeh has served on numerous university committees, councils and taskforces during his 27-year career, and has had an impact on a wide variety of issues from enrollment management to grade appeals and advising. He is also active in such professional organizations as the American Society for Engineering Education, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Los Angeles Council of Engineers and Scientists and the Orange County Engineering Council, and is the recipient of many academic and professional honors including Distinguished Engineering Educator, TRW Excellence in Teaching, SPEI Fellow, SPEI Distinguished Member, SPEI Outstanding Service, PTS Outstanding Service, and CSULB CFA Outstanding Service awards.
The College of Engineering welcomed seven new faculty and administrators during the Fall 2013/Spring 2014 academic year.
Burkhard Englert
Burkhard Englert
CECS Chair
Dr. Englert has been at CSULB since August 2003, and served as the COE’s graduate program coordinator from 2011-2013. He received his PhD from the University of Connecticut in 2000, and his areas of interest include distributed computing, computer security and transportation system simulation and modeling.
Anastassios G. Chassiakos
Anastassios G. Chassiakos
EE Chair
Dr. Chassiakos holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and been with the College of Engineering since 1992. He served as the director of the California Pre-Doctoral Program for the Office of the CSU Chancellor from 2009-2012, and has extensive experience as a consultant for aerospace manufacturers including Rockwell International and Northrop Corporation.
Nicole Forrest Boggs
Nicole Forrest Boggs
Director of Development
Ms. Boggs comes to CSULB with over a decade of development experience. Most recently she served as Director of Development at Cal Poly Pomona where she was responsible for frontline fundraising in the College of Education and Integrative Studies, Student Affairs, University Library and Presidential Priorities. Prior to her work at Cal Poly Pomona, she was Director of Annual Giving at the University of La Verne. Nicole holds an MBA with a marketing emphasis and Bachelors in Economics.
Ted Yu
Ted Yu
Assistant Professor
Chemical Engineering
Dr. Yu holds a PhD in Materials Science from Caltech and has had many years of experience conducting experimental research at Lawrence Berkeley Labs. His area of interest include alternative energy applications of fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and artificial photosynthesis.
Mehrdad Aliasgari
Mehrdad Aliasgari
Assistant Professor
Computer Science
Dr. Aliasgari holds a PhD in computer science and engineering from the University of Notre Dame, where he completed a dissertation in “Secure Computation and Outsourcing of Biometric Data.” He also received his masters degree in Computer Science and Engineering Notre Dame, and holds a bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. His research interests include computer security and applied cryptography.
Bob Minaie
Bob Minaie
Boeing Endowed Professor of Manufacturing
MAE Department
Dr. Minaie holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. His research areas include manufacturing, materials, and mechanics including the use of advanced composites, thin films, and multifunctional nanostructured materials for aerospace, energy, green manufacturing, structural health monitoring, fuel cell, and transportation applications. His research has been supported at a significant level by NASA, ONR, AFOSR, DOE, NSF, and industry. Close collaboration with industry and providing leadership for university-industry-government teams in conducting interdisciplinary and multi-investigator research have been integral parts of his activities. Prior to joining CSULB, he served on the faculty of Wichita State University.
Mahdi Yoozbashizadeh
Mahdi Yoozbashizadeh
Assistant Professor
MAE Department
Dr. Mahdi Yoozbashizadeh holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering with a focus in Manufacturing Engineering from USC and has had six years of experience both as a postdoctoral fellow and research assistant conducting experimental research in the Additive Fabrication and Manufacturing Labs at USC. His research interests include powder metallurgy, 3D printing, metallic part fabrication, rapid prototyping, CAD/CAM and design of experiments.
The College of Engineering has been selected to be one of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Core University Partners. Northrop Grumman’s Core University Partners are selected for their ability to play a key role in generating the knowledge, innovation and talent required to maintain and increase the corporation’s global competitiveness.
The College of Engineering has a longstanding relationship with Northrop Grumman’s Southern California divisions, and has long provided them with engineers who go on to play vital roles in the company’s development of some of the nation’s most advanced systems. This relationship between Northrop Grumman and the College of Engineering has recently grown to include joint research endeavors—which is an honor generally reserved for prominent research-oriented institutions—and now the company’s corporate group is recognizing the COE as a Core University Partner.
CSULB’s College of Engineering recognized one of its longtime champions on Dec. 3, 2013, when it renamed ECS 312 as the Michael and Barbara Niggli Conference Room. Niggli, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from CSULB in 1971, recently retired as president and chief operating officer of San Diego Gas and Electric and Electric and Southern California Gas Co., Sempra Energy’s California regulated utilities.
“This conference room is a central hub for much of the business that we conduct in the College of Engineering,” says Forouzan Golshani, dean of the College of Engineering. “Renaming it in this way seemed like a fitting way to acknowledge the enormous and enduring impact that Mr. Niggli has had on the College, and to salute his unparalleled achievements as an industry leader.” Niggli has made personal donations in excess of $200,000 to the College and has advocated for similar levels of financial support from various corporations. Additionally, as a past chair and current member of the dean’s advisory council, he has helped the College to establish such vital programs as the Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings experts to campus to discuss issues of global importance, and the CSULB Innovation Challenge, which offers students the chance to receive up to $50,000 in funding and services to make their business ideas become a reality. He also played a key role in the development of the College’s current strategic plan.
Michael Niggli
“I wanted to help allow those to enroll who, like me, did not have significant monetary resources to participate in college,” says Niggli. “I was the first in my entire family to graduate from college. I’m proud of that. I saw there were many others out there in similar situations who wanted access to a great, reasonably priced education. That was what CSULB was all about.”
From 2000 to 2006, Niggli was president of Sempra Generation, where he was responsible for the development, construction, operation and maintenance of merchant power plants and energy infrastructure throughout North America. During his tenure, Sempra Generation operated power plant assets in Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas and Mexico.
“I’ve always seen engineering as a discipline that helps society,” says Niggli. “When I think of engineers, I think of problem solvers. They innovate. That is why I saw it as a great opportunity to get more people into the engineering pipeline through CSULB’s College of Engineering.”
The Department of Chemical Engineering has substantially expanded its laboratory capabilities with the launch of a cutting-edge remote-control system that enables students and faculty to run laboratory experiments remotely via the Internet. Over the past three years, Department Chair Larry Jang designed and constructed this system, which consists of an extensive plumbing and wiring network that is integrated with the lab’s LabVIEW software infrastructure.
Jang designed the control algorithms for the lab’s nine major unit operations using LabVIEW software. “The system is comprised of four data acquisition chassis, each of which has modules for temperature measurement, analog input, and other essential control functions,” says Jang. The system also enables laboratory managers to remotely monitor experiments being conducted on the system, making it a highly valuable management-training tool as well. Professor Roger Lo and lab technician Minh Tran assisted with the construction of the new system.
With the completion of this infrastructure, students can run entire experiments from remote computers that don’t have the control algorithm loaded. “Our students are already using this system extensively in conjunction with their chemical engineering and chemical process control lab work, and they’re obtaining essential hands-on experience with a cutting-edge automated measurement and control system,” says Hamid Rahai, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering.
The mission of the Career Development Center (CDC) is to guide students through the process of educational, career and personal discovery in preparing them for success in the global workforce.
The CSULB-based California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative (CALVEIN) integrates engineering hands-on education with technology development for tomorrow’s low cost launch vehicles and small spacecraft and provides payload developers with flight opportunities.
The Engineering Summer program is designed to engage middle and high school students in a wide range of engineering projects that are educational and enjoyable at the same time. Student will participate in interactive and hands-on learning experience through field trips, field observations, interactive computer labs and activities, as well as, discussions and presentations. In addition, the program aims at providing the participants an understanding of the preparations needed for successful entry to higher education and exposure to campus life.
NCWIT’s Student Seed Fund Supports Student-led Recruitment Programs
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) announced today the seventh round of winners of the NCWIT Student Seed Fund, sponsored by Symantec Corporation. Each winner will receive $1,000 for projects that recruit, retain, and encourage girls and women to participate in technology and computing career fields.
The NCWIT Student Seed Fund has provided $53,250 in seed funding for 80 student-run projects at universities and colleges nationwide since 2010. NCWIT Student Seed Fund projects include programming workshops, after-school programs, student mentoring, peer support, professional training, and other opportunities serving thousands of elementary, middle-school, high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students. With Symantec’s support, NCWIT was able to increase the grant awarded to recipients of the seventh round of the NCWIT Student Seed Fund awards.
