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CECS’s Alvaro Monge Completes Google Faculty in Residence Summer Program

Graduating computer science students are all too familiar with the technical interview, where they’re asked to solve a problem on a whiteboard to demonstrate why they might be a useful addition to the team. However, that approach is in sharp contrast to the usual college lectures, where students sit quietly as professors click through their slide decks.

That will now change—at least in some of Professor Alvaro Monge’s computer science classes—thanks to his newfound experience with project-based learning.

Monge was one of 21 faculty from 20 U.S. institutions serving underrepresented students who participated in Google’s Faculty in Residence program this summer. The four-week program in Mountain View, Calif., offered an immersive learning experience to explore hands-on, project-based learning workshops. Continue reading “CECS’s Alvaro Monge Completes Google Faculty in Residence Summer Program”

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CSULB College of Engineering Makes Dramatic Advances in Diversity

Due to its commitment to inclusiveness and student success, the CSULB College of Engineering has made dramatic gains in serving underrepresented students and attracting diverse faculty.

Over the past four years, the College of Engineering has steadily increased in American Society for Engineering Education rankings for attracting female faculty and awarding degrees to Hispanic and Asian-American students.

In the most recent ASEE statistics, the CSULB College of Engineering ranked 6th among U.S. universities in awarding undergraduate engineering degrees to Hispanic students. That compares with its 11th-place ranking in 2014 and an 8th-place ranking in 2016. Continue reading “CSULB College of Engineering Makes Dramatic Advances in Diversity”

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Dean Receives NAACP Higher Ed Award

Long Beach State College of Engineering Dean Forouzan Golshani will receive the NAACP’s Higher Education Award at the Founder’s Celebration Dinner on Nov. 2. Long Beach State University President Jane Close Conoley was the recipient of the Higher Education Award in 2015.

“I am very honored to be recognized with this distinction,” said Golshani, who has served as the college’s dean since 2007. “I am both personally and professionally dedicated to equality. At Long Beach State, we work hard to ensure that each of our students, who come from diverse backgrounds, has an equitable opportunity to excel in their engineering education.”

Carmen Taylor, Long Beach State Vice President of Student Affairs, is also being recognized, with the Zelma Lipscomb Award. Besides honoring area individuals, the Founder’s Celebration Dinner generates funds for programs supported by the NAACP’s Long Beach branch, including the MESA Schools Program. Continue reading “Dean Receives NAACP Higher Ed Award”

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CSULB Computer Engineering & Computer Science Department Joins Diversity Initiative

BRAIDCSULB Computer Engineering and Computer Science Chair Burkhard Englert will participate this summer in an initiative to increase the percentage of women and students of color majoring in computer science.

The Building, Recruiting and Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative was launched three years ago. It is led by the Anita Borg Institute and Harvey Mudd College, in partnership with more than a dozen universities across the nation and the National Center for Women & Information Technology. BRAID is funded by Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, the Computing Research Association, and the National Science Foundation. Continue reading “CSULB Computer Engineering & Computer Science Department Joins Diversity Initiative”

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CSULB College of Engineering Makes Strides in Student Diversity

ASEE_Logo_Stacked_RGBThe CSULB College of Engineering has made gains in awarding degrees to underrepresented minorities in the latest rankings from the American Society for Engineering Education.

CSULB ranked 10th among U.S. and Canadian universities for the number of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanic students in 2015, up from 11th in the previous year. CSULB also ranked 19th for the number of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Asian-American students in 2015, an increase over 2014’s 20th–place ranking. Continue reading “CSULB College of Engineering Makes Strides in Student Diversity”

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Attend Wonder Women Tech for Free

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Wonder Women Tech is offering CSULB engineering students free admission to its conference July 16-17 at the Long Beach Convention Center. A limited number of tickets are available, so use Promo Code CSULB to register at www.wonderwomentech.com before supplies run out.

This year’s conference features three stages, an expo, and many interactive discussions on technology, innovation, STEAM, and diversity and inclusion.

With the theme #WEAREPIONEERS, Wonder Women Tech will explore women and diversity in tech, and the pioneers leading the way for innovation. Thousands of attendees from around the world and over 200 award-winning speakers will engage in conference programming including a Free Career Fair & Exhibition, workshops, and a Learning Center, where hundreds of underrepresented children and adults will learn how to code, build games and much more.

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College Holds Workshop on Meeting Goals of Diverse Groups

The CSULB College of Engineering on Monday held its first workshop on how to meet the needs of diverse types of students considering engineering. Organized by computer science professor Alvaro Monge through a grant from the National Center for Women and Information Technology, the workshop featured CSULB social psychology postdoctoral researchers Matt Jackson and Mia Steinberg.

Steinberg drew on her own experience working as a software developer in the Silicon Valley for a decade. “For the vast majority of the years, I was the only woman in the group,” she said, adding that there were no discriminatory practices, just a lack of women in the pipeline.

Ironically, Steinberg’s high school counselor suggested she become a composer or computer scientist. “I said ‘No, I hate computers.’ But I went into it anyway and it’s become my life’s work.” Continue reading “College Holds Workshop on Meeting Goals of Diverse Groups”

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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”