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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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NSF Grant Will Help Advance Understanding of Human Motion

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Dr. Emel Demircan, an assistant professor in the CSULB Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering departments.

Emel Demircan, an assistant professor in the CSULB Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering departments, has been awarded a $175,000 grant to advance the understanding of human motor performance to help clinicians develop more effective motion-training treatments.

The National Science Foundation award will fund research to create a cyber-human framework that advances robotics and biomechanics, deepening scientific understanding of human motor performance dictated by musculoskeletal physics and neural control.

“The project has great potential to impact our society by creating a wearable cyber-human system to provide immediate feedback to the wearer to make postural corrections – applicable for the reeducation of patients with musculoskeletal disorders and for performance improvement in motion training,” she said. Continue reading “NSF Grant Will Help Advance Understanding of Human Motion”

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Company CEO Touts ‘Limitless Opportunities for Drones’

K2 Unmanned CEO Jason Kamdar envisions explosive growth for the drone industry, as technological hurdles are passed and new applications developed. “It’s the dot-com boom all over again,” he said. “Right now, there are limitless opportunities for drones.”

Unmanned drones have many advantages over aircraft flown by human pilots. They are less expensive, portable, and can fly in all weather conditions. They don’t require human pilots to be put at risk. One thing that currently limits drone range is the 30 minutes of battery life that Kamdar says is standard in the industry. To combat the short battery life, K2 uses a generator with eight charging stations on its missions. Continue reading “Company CEO Touts ‘Limitless Opportunities for Drones’”

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FBI Discusses Insider Threats at CSULB CIO/CEO Cybersecurity Forum

FBI agents offered advice on responding to insider threats and cyber breaches at the monthly meeting of the CIO/CEO Cybersecurity Forum.

The prevalence of insider threats “is definitely growing,” said Gina Osborn, FBI assistant special agent in charge of cyber and computer forensics. However, providing training to combat this type of threat is expensive.

“The federal government is trying very hard to bring the expertise to local police departments so they can work these cases. Lots of police departments are wanting to get on track, but it costs money for training.” Continue reading “FBI Discusses Insider Threats at CSULB CIO/CEO Cybersecurity Forum”

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Spring Engineering Lecture to Address Future of Aerospace in Southern California

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This month’s Engineering Distinguished Lecture will address a topic of concern to many in the region: the future of the aerospace industry in Southern California.

The rate of decline in Southern California’s aerospace manufacturing has been significantly higher than the rest of the nation. With full airplane assembly practically gone from California, there is little incentive for the vast aerospace supplier base to stay in the region. Unless proactive measures are implemented rapidly, there is a strong possibility that the high rate of migration may continue. The region must create an appropriate public-private partnership model as the basis for an ecosystem that will support the revival of this industry in Southern California. Continue reading “Spring Engineering Lecture to Address Future of Aerospace in Southern California”

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Behr Has Summer Internship Openings in Research & Development Division

behrHistory3If you’d like to know more about research and development, Behr Paint has openings for three summer interns.

The 70-year-old company, headquartered in Santa Ana, started off selling stain and varnish and branched into paint when it became a supplier to Home Depot. Behr was one of the first companies to introduce computer matching and combined paint and primer. Continue reading “Behr Has Summer Internship Openings in Research & Development Division”

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Disney Construction Internship: ‘Opportunity to be Part of the Magic’

matterhornIs the Happiest Place on Earth a good place to complete your construction management internship? According to project managers from Walt Disney Co.’s Facility Asset Management division, interns have extensive opportunities to learn, take initiative, and hold responsibility.

A half-dozen project managers from the division were at CSULB Thursday as part of the College of Engineering’s Professional Development workshop series. Students were also given an opportunity to submit their resumes for paid summer internships. Continue reading “Disney Construction Internship: ‘Opportunity to be Part of the Magic’”

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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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CECEM’s Vahid Balali Named One of Industry’s ‘Top Young Professionals’

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Dr. Vahid Balali focuses on visual data sensing and analytics, virtual design and construction, and sustainable infrastructure decision-making.

The Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management Department’s Vahid Balali has been named one of the California construction industry’s top young professionals. Balali, who joined CSULB as an assistant professor last fall, was among 20 engineers, architects, entrepreneurs, academics, contractors, and specialty contractors recognized in ENR California’s annual contest.

ENR California’s Top Young Professionals, previously called the Top 20 under 40, “highlights and profiles individuals who represent the best-of-the-best in their fields by giving back to the construction industry and to their communities.” Those recognized lead large-scale projects, supervise diverse teams, improve their communities, and foster teamwork inside and outside their organizations. Continue reading “CECEM’s Vahid Balali Named One of Industry’s ‘Top Young Professionals’”

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CECEM Research Project Will Help CSULB Cooling Towers Save Water

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CECEM Assistant Professor Jin Gi Hong has won a $75,557 grant to develop a sustainable wastewater treatment system for the CSULB central plant cooling towers.

Despite recent rains, California’s long-term water future remains uncertain. That makes coming up with new ways to reuse water even more critical.

In the CSULB Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management Department, Assistant Professor Jin Gi Hong will be designing a sustainable wastewater treatment system for cooling towers. The system would not only improve the towers’ operational efficiency, but potentially help save the CSU system up to 92,400 gallons of water per day.

With a $75,557 grant from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, Hong and his two student researchers will design an advanced Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater treatment system for the cooling tower in CSULB’s Central Heating and Cooling Plant. The team is partnering with ABR Process Development, an Australia-based process and technology development company. Continue reading “CECEM Research Project Will Help CSULB Cooling Towers Save Water”