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Xerox VP Arnold Hackett Named CECS Distinguished Alumni

Arnold Hackett was one of nine children raised by a single parent. He is now vice president of alliance and partnership management at Xerox.

The 2001 CSULB computer science graduate said he has Xerox to thank—and also CSULB. “They helped me become what I am today,” he told students at the CECS Department Graduation.

Hackett, who earned his master’s in computer science while working at Xerox, on Monday received the CECS Distinguished Alumni Award. He was also named the Alumni Association’s College of Engineering 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Hackett said a degree in computing is very powerful. “You’ve been given the tools to create and innovate and make your dreams a reality,” he said. Continue reading “Xerox VP Arnold Hackett Named CECS Distinguished Alumni”

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CECEM Grads Recognized for their Achievement at Department Event

Students graduating from the Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management Department were recognized for their achievement Monday at the CECEM Department Graduation.

“Today’s event is organized for you to have another chance to meet with your faculty,” said Dean Forouzan Golshani. “On behalf of the faculty and staff of this university, we salute you as peers.”

David Callis ‘88, a Senior Vice President at Swinerton Builders, and Jeff Goodermote ‘10, director of Parking Structures at Swinerton, received CECEM Distinguished Alumni Awards. Callis and Goodernote both graduated from CSULB with degrees in Construction Engineering Management. Continue reading “CECEM Grads Recognized for their Achievement at Department Event”

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MAE’s Rodolfo Amezcua 2017 Outstanding Graduate

2017 Outstanding Grtaduate
Rodolfo Amezcua, left, with MAE Assistant Professor David Stout.

Rodolfo Amezcua didn’t set out to major in engineering. It became an obvious option, however, when he realized he was good at math and not at all interested in writing.

He also didn’t expect to pursue a PhD right after undergraduate studies. But now the mechanical engineering major will begin graduate studies in control systems at University of Southern California in the fall. USC will fully fund his first two years of study, and a Ford Graduate Fellowship fill fund three more years of study. Continue reading “MAE’s Rodolfo Amezcua 2017 Outstanding Graduate”

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CECEM Project Management Team Takes First Place in Reno Competition

CSULB Construction Engineering Management students came away with a first-place win for Project Management at this year’s Reno Competition, thanks, in part, to support from a dedicated alumni.

Kris Nordbak, a 2005 CEM graduate who now works as Project Director at McCarthy Building Companies, served as an industry coach for the Project Management Team. He also participated in training sessions last summer to help prepare for Reno. Continue reading “CECEM Project Management Team Takes First Place in Reno Competition”

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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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College Pays Tribute to Emeritus Civil Engineering Professor Ali Eshett

College of Engineering faculty and staff gathered Thursday to pay tribute to retired Civil Engineering professor Ali Eshett, who has donated $500,000 to support CSULB business and engineering scholarships and faculty development.

Eshett taught in the Civil Engineering department from 1966 to 1998. His wife, Channa, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public administration from CSULB, while his daughter Sharon earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in business administration from CSULB. Continue reading “College Pays Tribute to Emeritus Civil Engineering Professor Ali Eshett”

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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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DENSO Foundation to Support CSULB Driver Interface Research

DENSO Foundation awards
Richard Shiozaki, Senior Vice President of DENSO Sales California Inc.; Forouzan Golshani, CSULB College of Engineering Dean; and Peter Cavallo, manager of Robot Sales & Planning at Denso Robotics

The DENSO North America Foundation has awarded the CSULB College of Engineering a $50,000 grant to help develop interfaces that will improve driver safety and responsiveness and advance the automotive industry’s understanding.

“This generous donation will go far in advancing what we know about how interfaces can help improve safety and driver responsiveness,” said College of Engineering Development Director Nicole Forrest Boggs. “We really appreciate our longstanding relationship with such a prominent local engineering company such as DENSO.” Continue reading “DENSO Foundation to Support CSULB Driver Interface Research”

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Student Capstone Project Wins National Manufacturing Contest

PlaneKool prototype
The PlaneKool prototype Heinrich Gerhardt designed is half the weight of competitors.

Senior capstone projects are supposed to measure students’ experience and knowledge—and in the case of Heinrich Gerhardt, there’s a lot to measure.

A Northrop Grumman engineering designer for more than a decade, Gerhardt headed back to school part-time in order to get a promotion at work. He’s been attending Cal State Long Beach for five years now, and is enrolled in Manufacturing Engineering Technology, a major that’s no longer offered.

“The joke in my household is, ‘Will I graduate first or retire first?’” said Gerhardt, who designs mechanical systems and wind tunnel test models in Northrop Grumman’s Test and Evaluation Engineering department. Continue reading “Student Capstone Project Wins National Manufacturing Contest”

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EE Major Wins CSULB Essay Contest

alia bonetti-web
EE major Alia Bonetti, center, with EE Chair Anastasios Chassiakos, left, and Tesoro lead electrical engineer Kyle Weeks, right.

Electrical engineering senior Alia Bonetti has gotten a lot out of her internships with Tesoro. Since connecting with the company at a CSULB job fair, she’s worked for two summers, learned about the type of engineering she’d like to pursue–and won the campuswide Internship Essay Contest.

And late last year, she received something even more exciting: a job offer to work as a Tesoro electrical engineer after graduation this spring.

Calling her summer internships “a fantastic learning experience,” Bonetti said she worked on upgrades for protection systems and conducted electrical safety systems studies. “I got to do real engineering work, not busy work. I learned a lot about the type of engineering I want to do and the type of engineer I want to be.”

Continue reading “EE Major Wins CSULB Essay Contest”