Computer science professor Alvaro Monge introduces Future Girls @ the Beach to programming on Shadow Day.
When Future Girls @ the Beach launched two years ago, only a handful of girls would raise their hands when asked if they wanted to pursue engineering. But now that the CSULB high school outreach program is in its second year, the number of future engineers is growing.
“A lot more girls raise their hands now,” says Saba Yohannes-Reda, CSULB College of Engineering Director of K-12 Outreach and Recruitment. “It seems that we are winning.”
Girls participating in the program visit CSULB once a month for a scheduled activity. On Monday, several dozen took advantage of the President’s Day holiday to shadow their mentors, tour CSULB engineering labs and facilities, and hear a presentation on cognitive radio from electrical engineering Assistant Professor Shabnam Sodagari, who recently joined the program. Continue reading “Encouraging More Girls to Study Engineering”
Nearly 200 students and faculty turned out this week for a special screening of “Code: Debugging the Gender Gap,” a documentary that examines the reasons more women aren’t pursuing careers in computing.
The screening–sponsored by the Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department—was followed by a panel discussion with Wonder Women Tech Founder Lisa Mae Brunson and Director of Global Partnerships Simmone Park; WE Labs and Innovatory Managing Partner Lincoln Bauer; and three female CSULB computer science alumni; Bonnie Hoang, Eileen McCremens, and Siori Hojo. Continue reading “Code Documentary Opens Gender Dialogue”
Not only does the U.S. Department of Energy support 17 research labs, but also many internship and fellowship programs for students. U.S. DOE representative Sandra Cortez was at CSULB Wednesday to find candidates for the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship and other programs.
The Mickey Leland fellowship, named after the late Texas congressman and anti-poverty activist, was created in 1995 to improve opportunities for underrepresented STEM students. It provides college students with a chance to develop research skills with the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy.
For 10 weeks during the summer, participants train under program officials and scientists, then present their research findings at a technical forum. The deadline to apply is December 21.
“Fossil energy isn’t the most popular area among students, but it still needs a lot of attention,” said Cortez.
The DOE’s Fossil Energy work includes research and development into clean coal, maintaining the nation’s emergency petroleum reserves, ensuring environmentally sustainable domestic and global supplies of oil and natural gas, and regulating natural gas imports and exports.
The 50 students selected for the fellowship each receive a weekly stipend, housing subsidy, and round-trip airfare from home to the national lab where they are assigned. The fellowship runs from June 6-August 12 and begins with a trip to the DOE’s Washington, DC-area office.
Besides the Mickey Leland fellowship, the DOE offers a number of other programs, including the Science Undergraduate Lab Internship (SULI), the Office of Science Graduate Fellowship, the Minority Educational Institution Student Partnership Program (MEISPP), and the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship. The department also offers year-round research opportunities for scholars and faculty.
In the 1990s, the U.S. built out the broadband networks that laid the foundation for today’s high-speed Internet and resulting technologies. And now, the nation needs to put that same kind of attention into upgrading its power grid.
Keyue Smedley, an IEEE Fellow and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at University of California Irvine, said the current grid was designed for predictable loads and centralized control. That means when there’s system instability or a blackout, it cascades to other parts of the power grid. And new types of uses—such as electric-vehicle charging stations—are intermittent and difficult to prepare for, as are renewable sources of energy, such as solar or wind. Continue reading “Modern Power Grid Needs Advanced Controls”
Nearly 200 middle and high school students on Friday got to make slime monsters, Styrofoam gliders, spaghetti marshmallow bridges and balloon rocket cars—as well as hear advice from successful engineers. Dean Forouzan Golshani welcomed students to the College of Engineering’s third annual Engineering@theBeach STEM Day, saying becoming an engineer will let them “contribute in many ways to improving the quality of life.”
Speaking at STEM Day, Robin Thorne, a chemical engineer and CEO of Long Beach-based CTI Environmental Inc., told students that things can seem difficult, but bad situations can be overcome. “I want to share some of the things I’ve learned along the way,” said Thorne, adding that “My path to engineering wasn’t always a bed of roses.” Among the tips Thorne shared: Always encourage someone else and celebrate your success. Continue reading “STEM Day Speaker: ‘No Limit to What You Can Accomplish’”
Speakers at the CSULB College of Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series Thursday agreed that a strong El Nino is brewing, and Southern California should be braced for higher-than-average rainfall this winter and spring. Although engineers and planners have learned much from past El Nino events, large-scale infrastructure improvements are still needed to prevent severe damage from future storms.
El Nino events are classified as weak, moderate, or strong, and usually peak in February. This year’s is strong, said Mark Jackson, meteorologist in charge of the Oxnard National Weather Service office, although it remains to be seen how many inches of rain it will deliver. “I’m not going to give my exact forecast for how many inches of rain we’re going to get. There are too many microphones and cameras here,” he said. Continue reading “Is Southern California Ready for El Nino?”
Before you even send out your first resume, be sure you understand your values and interests. That was the advice of Emmit Clark, College of Engineering director of professional development and internships, during Tuesday’s workshop on the job-search process.
For engineering students trying to land their first career opportunity, the Sept. 17 STEM Job Fair was the place to be. The annual fair attracted hundreds of job-seeking students, as well as nearly 100 hiring companies ranging from large corporations to government agencies to up-and-coming startups and in between.
Students waited patiently in long lines to turn in resumes to recruiters at Boeing, which maintains a strong presence in the region, and Facebook, which was making its first appearance at a Cal State University Long Beach job fair. Continue reading “Looking for a Few Good Candidates”
