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Mentors Are Key in Helping Student Entrepreneurs Succeed

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Lux Nova won the 2015 Innovation Challenge with its idea for a 3D bone printer.

Student teams don’t make it to the CSULB Innovation Challenge finals alone. To get through the contest, they’re matched with mentors who help them think through ideas and submit their all-important business plans.

A joint project of the colleges of Engineering, Business Administration, and the Arts, the Innovation Challenge rewards winning teams with $10,000 in cash and $40,000 in financial, marketing, legal, and other services. The Innovation Challenge is designed to inspire entrepreneurship and produce one commercialization success each year.

Students who participate receive instruction on developing a business plan and help in finding fellow team members. But it’s the advice from mentors that’s most valuable. Continue reading “Mentors Are Key in Helping Student Entrepreneurs Succeed”

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CSULB to Host First Hackathon

beachhacks logoWhat could be better than working around the clock guzzling energy drinks while building new apps? For those who haven’t attended a hackathon, you’re in for a treat—CSULB is holding BeachHacks for 24 hours beginning Saturday, April 2. Registration is now open.

Most big engineering schools hold hackathons, where students compete to show off their technical skills—and endurance. Sponsors donate hardware, food, t-shirts, and giveaways to keep programmers pumped. Midnight snacks, raffles, and special challenges are part of the typical hackathon experience. Continue reading “CSULB to Host First Hackathon”

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New Resources for Engineering Students and Faculty

New ResourcesFor most engineering students, math and science is fairly painless. But writing and oral presentations? Not so much. Luckily, there are new resources to help.

On Jan. 28, the College of Engineering celebrated the official opening of the Writing and Communication Resource Center (WCRC) in VEC-128B, and the Dudley Engineering Library in EN2-109—resources designed to help students meet their writing requirements to obtain a degree. Having a library housed in the College of Engineering will make it easier for faculty conducting research too. Continue reading “New Resources for Engineering Students and Faculty”

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Tech on Tour Stopping at CSULB

Tour Stopping at CSULBMany college students can’t wait for their favorite bands to go on tour. But in the CSULB College of Engineering, just as exciting—although maybe in a different kind of way—is when one of your favorite tech companies goes on tour.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, a huge semi-truck will pull up on Beach Circle (near the College of Business Administration Building). But it won’t be full of roadies, amps, and robotic lighting. Instead it will contain Atmel microcontrollers and technical training staff.

Continue reading “Tech on Tour Stopping at CSULB”

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Code Documentary Opens Gender Dialogue

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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”

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Entrepreneurs Get Lesson on Business Plans

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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”

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Modern Power Grid Needs Advanced Controls

Modern Power Grid

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”

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Record Attendance for IGESC 2015

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CSULB electrical engineering professor Henry Yeh,conference chair since 2009, opens IGESC to record attendance Monday.

The IEEE Green Energy and Systems Conference (IGESC) returned to California State University Long Beach for the sixth year on Monday, celebrating record attendance as interest in sustainability increases. This year’s theme was renewable technology for green buildings and energy efficiency.

“I believe there are still a lot of challenges to overcome and many opportunities for research and development projects,” said electrical engineering professor Henry Yeh, who founded the IEEE Systems Council Chapter in 2009 and has served as the conference chair since 2010. Continue reading “Record Attendance for IGESC 2015”

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STEM Day Speaker: ‘No Limit to What You Can Accomplish’

CSULBCOE5 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’”

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CSULB Engineering Team Competing in Rover Contest Again

rover-over2A multidisciplinary team from CSULB’s College of Engineering will be back competing in RASC-AL Robo Ops again this year. The CSULB team was among eight finalists selected to design and build a rover and travel to NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston to test its performance on Mars-like terrain.

Sponsored by NASA and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), RASC-AL—short for Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage—challenges multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate teams to design and build a planetary rover and demonstrate its ability to perform tasks in the Rock Yard, an environment that simulates the rough terrain of the moon and Mars. Continue reading “CSULB Engineering Team Competing in Rover Contest Again”