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Electrical Engineering Grad Student Wins a Best Paper Award at NAPS

While an undergraduate at UCLA, Edward Sanchez gravitated toward research. His skill recently shone through at the IEEE 2017 North American Power Symposium (NAPS), where he won a Best Paper Award.

The paper, “Model Predictive Energy Scheduling for a Building Microgrid,” details how to design a control system to coordinate the micropower sources and utility grid demand of a proposed building microgrid. The research is part of a $2.5 million California Energy Commission project to turn the Engineering & Computer Science Building into a Smart Building. Continue reading “Electrical Engineering Grad Student Wins a Best Paper Award at NAPS”

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Paid Internships Available through Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship

If you’re pursuing a career in commercial space exploration, you might want to consider the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship program.

The highly selective Fellowship will place students at top companies for paid summer internships for 10-12 weeks in 2018 and provide them an executive mentor to help throughout the year.

The program includes a premier lists of companies and mentors committed to the fellowship, including the Aerospace Corp., Accion Systems, Astrans, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin Ventures, LTA, Millennium Space Systems, Nanoracks, OneWeb Satellites, Planet, Planetary Resources, SpaceX, Stratolaunch Systems, Virgin Orbit, and the XPrize. Continue reading “Paid Internships Available through Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship”

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Engineering Honors Track Celebrates Arrival of New Students

Each year, the CSULB Engineering Honors Track gets a little larger. The 6-year-old program offers students a fast-track plan toward earning an undergraduate degree completion, complete with a thesis and special events.

This fall, the program includes 124 students, including 38 freshmen. Denil Poudel, one of those freshmen, said he’s excited to be participating in the program. A graduate of the California Academy of Math and Science, and the grandson of an industrial engineer, Poudel said he’s always been drawn to engineering. He built things with Legos when he was young, then moved on to autonomous robots. Continue reading “Engineering Honors Track Celebrates Arrival of New Students”

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Student Entrepreneurs Flock to Innovation Challenge Contest

Industrial design junior Ryan Genena already knows how to develop a business plan. That was just one of the things he learned as a participant in last year’s CSULB Innovation Challenge. His team—a startup called 1010 Innovation with an app to help seniors—was one of four finalists in last year’s Challenge.

Genena was one of about 50 students who turned out Thursday to hear more about the contest, which provides $10,000 in seed funding and $40,000 in services to support the lucky winner’s startup.

The students came from many majors—everything from animation, marketing, and political science to industrial design and chemical and electrical engineering. Their interests were equally varied: artificial intelligence, footwear, sustainable design, safe driving, security, robotics, and human-centered design. Continue reading “Student Entrepreneurs Flock to Innovation Challenge Contest”

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Biomedical Engineering Department Takes Interdisciplinary Approach

Biomedical Engineering studentsThe College of Engineering Thursday celebrated the launch of a new department in the fast-growing field of Biomedical Engineering.

With the introduction of the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, CSULB becomes the only CSU in Southern California to offer a standalone degree in this area. Biomedical Engineering graduates will be able to apply their engineering, biology, bioinformatics, and biomechanical knowledge to create artificial organs, prostheses, medical instruments, healthcare management and delivery systems, and more.

“I’m really thankful to the committee that worked tirelessly to develop the curriculum,” said College of Engineering Dean Forouzan Golshani. Continue reading “Biomedical Engineering Department Takes Interdisciplinary Approach”

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Programming Sustainable Growth

Computer science isn’t just about sitting around staring at code. In Birgit Penzenstadler’s Sustainability Lab, a group of computer science seniors are using technology to help grow vegetables.

All summer long, Ruben Marin, Marinela Sanchez, Jason Plojo, and Lam Tran have been tending their tomato, basil, lettuce, and carrot plants in a lab in VEC, using an Arduino and moisture sensors to develop water-saving techniques. Continue reading “Programming Sustainable Growth”

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Southern California Gas Company Teams Show Off Senior Projects

Reducing emissions from gas grills and pasta cookers. Finding a cost-effective method to detect methane leaks in residential walls. Developing a tool that can return compressed pipes to their original shape.

These were some of the technical problems that students tackled as part of the CSULB College of Engineering’s partnership program with the Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas).

“This is a win-win opportunity,” said Hal Snyder, SoCalGas Vice President of Human Resources, Diversity, and Inclusion “Students obtain practical experience, and you’re actually working on things that can help our company.”

The four-year-old CSULB program is led by Rodger R. Schwecke, SoCalGas Senior Vice President of Gas Transmission and Storage. Schwecke, a 1983 B.S. in chemical engineering graduate, said, “It’s great to see these bright engineering students take an idea from concept to physical demonstration, with supporting test data to show results.  Ideas such as addressing the ovality of plastic pipe prior to connections, that can turn into commercially viable applications to help our business.” Continue reading “Southern California Gas Company Teams Show Off Senior Projects”

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EE Remembers Lecturer Boi Tran

At its Department Graduation Monday, the CSULB Electrical Engineering Department commemorated lecturer Boi Tran’s supportive mentoring with an award in his name. Chris Hirunthanakorn (BSEE) received the Boi Tran Award, in memory of the late electrical engineering lecturer, who passed away suddenly late last year.

“It’s my honor that I’ve met and worked with Boi Tran, whose untimely passing has left a hole in our collective soul,” said Professor Anastasios Chassiakos, who described Tran as not only a very talented engineer but a trusted friend and mentor. Tran’s wife, Mindy, was present to accept the award.

Another of the department’s awards is named for the late Gerald Doski, an ever-helpful technician. The Doski Award this year went to Scott Salazar. Continue reading “EE Remembers Lecturer Boi Tran”

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Chemical Engineering Department Celebrates Grads and Alumni

Chemical Engineering celebrated the accomplishments of graduates and alumni at its Department Graduation Monday.

Those who received Distinguished Alumni Awards are: Jamie Bartolome, Tami Lipscomb,

George McDaniel, and Maureen Price. The Graduate Dean’s List recipient for Chemical Engineering was Raja Sekhar Kalavacherla.

Elena Jacobina DeSanto was recognized as the Outstanding BS ChE Student. The Outstanding MS Thesis Award went to Srinivas Gavini, while DeSanto and Rebecca Noel Wyborski received Outstanding Honor’s Thesis Awards. Sreeja Reddy Gouni and Christie Sutanto were recognized with Outstanding Undergrad/Grad Research Awards. Continue reading “Chemical Engineering Department Celebrates Grads and Alumni”

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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”