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Engineering Panel Explores Future of Southern California Aerospace

Virgin Orbit's Launcher One

Speakers at the CSULB College of Engineering lecture Thursday voiced optimism that the region’s skilled workforce, livability, manufacturing facilities, and efforts to draw new companies will help Southern California remain a vibrant location for aerospace.

P2S Engineering Vice President Kent Peterson, who moderated the spring Engineering Distinguished Lecture, said his father transferred from Pratt & Whitney to take a job at Douglas Aircraft in Southern California. “I don’t work in aerospace, but I can tell you my life has been affected by it,” he said. “The aerospace industry was a giant in Southern California. We did most of the country’s manufacturing.” Continue reading “Engineering Panel Explores Future of Southern California Aerospace”

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Dean Golshani Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow

Dean Forouzan Golshani at NAI chapter meeting

CSULB College of Engineering Dean Forouzan Golshani, holder of nearly a dozen patents, is among 175 distinguished academic inventors named as Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.

Election as an NAI Fellow is an honor bestowed upon academic innovators and inventors who have demonstrated “a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions and innovations that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.”

The 2016 Fellows are named inventors on 5,437 issued U.S. patents. Included among NAI’s 757 Fellows—who together hold over 26,000 patents—are more than 94 presidents and senior leaders of research universities and institutes; 376 members of the National Academy of Sciences; 28 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame; 45 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science; 28 Nobel Laureates, 215 AAAS Fellows; 132 IEEE Fellows; and 116 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, among other awards and distinctions. Continue reading “Dean Golshani Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow”

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Fall Engineering Distinguished Lecture Tackles Energy Storage

Fall Lecture graphicsThe Fall Engineering Distinguished Lecture will tackle a topic very much in the news: energy storage. While the overheating of lithium-ion battery in smartphones is currently receiving much attention, energy storage on a large scale is equally important.

The amount of electrical energy derived from photovoltaic and wind sources varies with time, day of the week, season, weather, and other factors. Electrical energy must be stored during times when production exceeds consumption, and returned to the grid when production falls below consumption. Large-scale electrical energy storage is the single most challenging issues that California faces as it moves toward more dependence on renewable sources. Continue reading “Fall Engineering Distinguished Lecture Tackles Energy Storage”

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Engineering Food Drive Underway

food for ASI pantry pictureThroughout October, faculty, students, and staff can donate nonperishable food items to the recently opened ASI Beach Pantry at bins set up in College of Engineering department offices and in the Dean’s Suite.

The ASI Beach Pantry opened in August to provide food to students in need. To receive food from the pantry, students must be enrolled and present their student ID card. They can visit the pantry once a week. Continue reading “Engineering Food Drive Underway”

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How to Be Successful at Career Fairs

western digital picture
Western Digital’s Sara Reindl, left, and Chou Her shared their perspectives on being successful at career fairs.

When you attend a career fair, what steps can you take to stand out from the crowd?

Choua Her, university recruitment recruiter with Western Digital, shared her experiences Tuesday so attendees could be prepared for this Thursday’s CSULB STEM Job and Internship Fair.

First off, it’s important to identify which companies will attend the event, said Her. It’s easy to find the list of participating companies on the Career Center, then spend a few minutes visiting company websites and conducting online searches to decide which companies could be worthwhile to meet. Continue reading “How to Be Successful at Career Fairs”

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Innovation Challenge Kicks Off 7th Season

Innovation Challenge snapshotStartups are an important vehicle for U.S. economic growth, accounting for half of all new jobs created. At CSULB, students have a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience in starting a business through the Innovation Challenge, an annual contest that provides the winning entrepreneurial team with $50,000 in cash and services to get started.

Now in its seventh year, the Innovation Challenge is supported by the CSULB Colleges of the Arts, Business Administration, and Engineering, along with industry leaders with varied high-level business experience. The contest is open to all students. Continue reading “Innovation Challenge Kicks Off 7th Season”

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Entrepreneurs Get Lesson on Business Plans

busplan
Writing a business plan is critical to understanding all facets of the business, says Bruce Sparks, a senior business advisor for the Long Beach Small Business Development Center.

Innovation Challenge Advisory Committee member Larry Pate compared starting a business without a business plan to taking a cross-country trip without knowing how you’ll reach your destination. “The odds of success of just getting in the car and driving are slim. You might have a fun time, but it will take you a long time to get there.”

Students interested in entering the 2015 Innovation Challenge got a lesson Tuesday in a key part of the competition: creating the business plan. The contest offers $50,000 in seed funding and business services to the winning business idea.

“It’s one thing to have an idea—it’s another to say how you’re going to make money,” said Pate, chief learning officer at Decision Systems International. Continue reading “Entrepreneurs Get Lesson on Business Plans”