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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”

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Step 1 to Startup Success: Build a Winning Team

icmeetupThe Innovation Challenge is intended to give students real-world experience in starting a business. And just like in the real world, assembling a diverse team can be a barrier to entry.

Contest rules recommend teams with 3-7 members, since business ideas have a stronger chance of success if teams include people with finance, marketing, design, and technical skills.

“You can’t run a business by yourself,” said Barbara Barcon, an Innovation Challenge organizer and retired vice president and CFO with Pacific Gas and Electric. “You may like your idea, but will others like it? You’ll also need some market research.” Continue reading “Step 1 to Startup Success: Build a Winning Team”

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Hands-on Engineering Experience for High School Girls at SWE Event

Nearly 200 girls from a half-dozen local high schools launched rockets, made batteries from lemons, concocted goo from cornstarch, and learned how to create DC motors from paperclips during the 10th annual Women Engineers @ the Beach Friday.

Sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the event was intended to spark girls’ interest in engineering with presentations and eight workshops offering a little theory and a lot of opportunities for creativity and problem-solving. Nationally, only 14 percent of engineers are women. Continue reading “Hands-on Engineering Experience for High School Girls at SWE Event”

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Best Place to Start Your Job Search: Figuring Out Your Interests

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.

A successful strategy calls for creation of a plan, conducting research, and taking action. Identify the type of job you’ll be looking for, along with tools and resources that you can use. Continue reading “Best Place to Start Your Job Search: Figuring Out Your Interests”

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CECS Delegates Heading to Grace Hopper Celebration

gracehopperThere will be hundreds of women in computing at the annual Grace Hopper Celebration this month in Houston. And two will be from the CSULB College of Engineering’s Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department.

Assistant Professor Birgit Penzenstadler is delivering a lightning talk on “Designing Future Software for Sustainability: The Karlskrona Manifesto.” Her Thelma Estrin Award from the Anita Borg Institute is funding her conference participation. Penzenstadler, the only faculty to receive a full scholarship for interdisciplinary research, will be accompanied by computer science senior Elena Caceres, whose participation is being sponsored by Palantir Technologies. Continue reading “CECS Delegates Heading to Grace Hopper Celebration”

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Are You Ready to Dream Big?

If the enthusiastic crowd at the Innovation Challenge’s second information meeting is any indication, a lot of Cal State University Long Beach students have startup dreams.

startup dreamsThe annual entrepreneurial Challenge, where student teams compete to win $50,000 in funding and services for the best business idea, was started six years ago by the colleges of Engineering, Business, and the Arts. Students at Thursday’s meeting appeared equally divided between the three colleges. Continue reading “Are You Ready to Dream Big?”

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2015 Innovation Challenge Kicks Off

2015 Innovation Challenge
About 75 students turned out for the Sept. 21 kickoff of the 2015 Innovation Challenge.

ABC has “Shark Tank.” Google has Angelpad. And Cal State Long Beach has the Innovation Challenge.

The annual entrepreneurial event, where student teams compete to win $50,000 in funding and services for the best business idea, was started six years ago by the colleges of Engineering, Business, and the Arts.

The challenge’s goal is to produce one new business for the university each year. And judging from the 75 students who attended the Sept. 21 kickoff meeting, interest is on the rise. Continue reading “2015 Innovation Challenge Kicks Off”