S.K. Ramesh, the dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been appointed to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology’s (ABET) board of directors beginning in October 2013. ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. The ABET board of directors is the governing body that sets policies and procedures, approves accreditation criteria, and strategically guides the organization.

Currently, ABET has 33 member societies, which are professional and technical organizations that represent applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology fields. These member societies join ABET so they can collaborate to review and accredit degree programs in the fields they represent. In addition, these societies recruit and help to train the 2,000 volunteers who carry out ABET’s accreditation activities.

As one of the research leaders in the field of assistive technologies, California State University, Northridge has become a sought-after partner by institutions of higher learning around the world. A new partnership was recently forged when CSUN and India’s Kumaraguru College of Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to assist each other in the creation of technology for persons with disabilities.

According to Ramalatha Marimuthu, the chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at KCT, CSUN’s master’s program in assistive technology made the collaboration ideal.

The memorandum will establish a research center on the KCT campus and includes an exchange of faculty and students and the development of seminars and workshops on assistive technology. The partnership has already held its first conference, the Intelligent Interactive Systems and Assistive Technologies gathering, which was attended by CSUN’s S.K. Ramesh, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

For more: KCT to have research centre on assistive technologies (The Hindu)

First row, from left: James Flynn, Matthew Keyawa, Kyle Figatner, William Fisher, Aaron Lawson, Edras Lepe-Zapata and Kevork Sepetci. Second row, from left: William Cannon, Paul Jessen, Sharlene Katz, David Castro, Nicholas Keyawa and Warren Kaye. Team members not in photo: Gor Beglaryan, Jack Buffington, Carl Chesko, James Downs, Andy Kurum, Michael Landers, Arnold Martinez, Cameron Mcateer, Roberto Orrostieta, Steven Parks, Gregory Pease, Rufus Simon, Andranik Tonoyan, Joseph Zitkus, computer science professor Adam Kaplan and electrical and computer engineering professor David Schwartz. Photo courtesy of Sharlene Katz.

CSUN is home to one of the 13 university teams NASA has selected for collaborative projects to develop and demonstrate new technologies and capabilities, and spur innovation in communication, navigation, propulsion, science instrument and advanced manufacturing for small spacecraft. The goal of these efforts is to transform a small spacecraft, some of which are only a few kilograms in weight, into powerful but affordable tools for science, exploration and space operations.

Electrical and computer engineering professors Sharlene Katz, James Flynn and David Schwartz applied for a NASA SmallSat Technology Partnership Grant. The grants were given to universities working in partnership with a NASA center. CSUN is working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

“The project is to construct a ‘CubeSat,’ called ‘CSUNSat1,’” Katz said. “A 10-centimeter-by-10-centimeter-by-20-centimeter satellite, roughly the size of a shoe box and weighing about five pounds, to carry a J.P.L. energy storage experiment into low Earth orbit, or about 500 miles above the Earth’s surface. Over the course of several months, the satellite will downlink data from the experiment to a ground station on the roof of Jacaranda Hall. The CSUN team is responsible for the mechanical construction of the satellite, the design of the radio, sensor electronics and power system, along with all the satellite’s main computer programming.”

Testing of the completed satellite will be carried out by the CSUN unit.

“The team is also responsible for the design, construction and operation of the ground station,” Katz said. “The J.P.L. is responsible for the design and construction of the experimental payload. NASA will launch the satellite as part of their CubeSat Launch Initiative, which piggybacks small satellites from educational institutions onto commercial and government satellite launches around the world – at no cost to the educational institution.”

The CSUN team includes 20 students from the electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science departments.

“Senior and graduate students were selected based on their interests, course performance and an interview with the faculty,” Flynn said. “Their work on the project will fulfill their senior or graduate project requirement. Sophomore and junior students are beginning to take part by volunteering to help with the project on a regular basis. That gives the faculty a chance to see how they work and determine if they can assume a major role in the project during their senior year.”

The experiment involves a new development in power storage for spacecraft. Current systems consist of solar cells and batteries, or some other power source and batteries.

“Unfortunately, the batteries do not work well at the extremely low temperatures found in space far away from the sun or when the spacecraft is the earth’s shadow,” said Flynn. “Up to now, the batteries were equipped with heaters, but these consume precious energy and add weight to the vehicle. In addition, current battery systems involve rapid discharging and recharging of the batteries. This can wear out batteries very quickly and shorten the life of a mission. The new JPL technology eliminates the need for heaters and protects the batteries from the rapid discharge/charge cycles. Both aspects will allow longer missions farther from the sun.”

Katz looked to the future. “The flight of the CSUN/J.P.L. satellite “will verify and validate this new system, making it available for use on future missions,” she said. “In addition, the mission will validate the CSUN satellite design and allow for future missions using this spacecraft.”

Steven Stepanek

California State University, Northridge computer science professor Steven Stepanek has been appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Stepanek, currently chair of CSUN’s Department of Computer Science and faculty president, was appointed Oct. 25 by the governor to represent faculty interests on the 25-member board responsible for the oversight of the 23-campus CSU system. Stepanek’s appointment was effective immediately.

Stepanek is the first CSUN faculty member to be appointed to the board. He will be joining CSUN senior Talar Alexanian, vice president of Northridge’s Associated Students and the first Cal State Northridge student appointed to the CSU Board of Trustees. This is only the second time in CSU history that the faculty and student trustees have come from the same campus. The first time was in 1989, when the two trustees came from Fresno State.

“I think it’s a wonderful reflection on CSUN and on our faculty and students,” Stepanek said.

CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison lauded Stepanek’s appointment in an announcement to the university campus.

“The CSU Faculty Trustee fills a crucial role on the CSU Board because that person represents a vital constituency of the CSU — the faculty who are directly responsible for the scholarship, research and teaching that advances the central mission of the university,” Harrison wrote. “Yet the formal responsibility of this appointment also requires an ability to consider what is best for all constituencies in the CSU. Professor Stepanek’s record demonstrates that he can achieve this vital balance.”

Stepanek, 62, of Canoga Park, has spent more than 40 years as a member of the California State University community, specifically CSUN. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Northridge in 1974 and his master’s degree in computer science in 1980.

Stepanek has been working in Cal State Northridge’s Department of Computer Science since 1976, first as a lecturer and then as a full-time professor, having earned tenure in 1984. He has spent the past 14 years as chair of the department. He has been a member of the CSUN Faculty Senate since 1994 and was elected to its executive committee for most of those years. He has also spent the past eight years as a member of the CSU statewide Academic Senate and has served on several statewide committees.

Stepanek said he was surprised when Gov. Brown personally called him last week to interview him prior to the appointment.

“We discussed issues involving higher education in the state of California,” he said. “We also discussed to some extent what the proper role technology should play in higher education.”

As an active faculty member on the CSUN campus, Stepanek has played a key role in incorporating the use of technology, including online classes, into the university’s curriculum. He said that experience will come in handy as the CSU board tackles the governor’s desire to increase the use of technology within the system.

“Technology in higher education is clearly one of the governor’s priorities and will be something that will come before the board,” he said.

Stepanek’s appointment to the CSU Board of Trustees is for two years and is a full-time position. In addition to attending CSU trustee meetings, Stepanek will also be traveling to CSU campuses across the state to meet with faculty about issues important to them.

Given the demands of his new post, Stepanek said he will be stepping down as chair of Department of Computer Science and as CSUN faculty president at the end of the current semester.

“But CSUN will always be my home base,” he said. “When I am not traveling, I will be here. I want to stay connected with the campus. It’ll help me keep grounded and I the knowledge I gain at CSUN and from my visits to other CSU campuses will assist me in carrying out my responsibilities on the board.”

One of the bridges in the 2013 competition. Photo courtesy of Bolynet Sieng.

Just how strong is a bridge built out of popsicle sticks?

Approximately 250 high school students from throughout Southern California will find out Saturday, Feb. 15, when they take part in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 20th Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition at California State University, Northridge.

Seventy teams will face off during the daylong event designed to expose high school students to the civil engineering profession, and introduce them to some of the challenges and triumphs that civil engineers face in their careers.

“Our goal is to get the kids interested in structural and civil engineering,” said CSUN civil engineering senior Bolynet Sieng, a member of CSUN’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and one of the event’s coordinators. “The day is going to be a lot of fun as the kids discover how the bridges they built function during the competition and get to make presentations on their work.”

The teams of two to four students and one sponsoring teacher were tasked with designing and constructing a model bridge made solely from common wooden craft sticks and all-purpose white school glue. The objective: build the strongest bridge — one that will hold the largest applied load before failure.

Judges will score the teams on the strength of their structure, its workmanship, presentation and a technical report that describes the design and construction phases of their project. The students also will take part in an impromptu design competition that will test their ability to perform an assigned task on the day of event without any prior knowledge of the materials to be used or the objective.

Sieng said the annual competition is a fun way for high school students to develop engineering skills through critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and creativity.

The day is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. with registration, followed by a welcome from university officials in the University Student Union on the west side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge. The first round of the bridge competition begins at 10 a.m. and will continue throughout the day until 5 p.m. Bridge testing and the impromptu contest will take place in Jacaranda Hall, near the center of the campus.

The event’s organizers hope the competition sparks students’ interest in civil engineering and opens the doors for their pursuit of math, science and engineering-related careers, Sieng said.

For more information about the Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, visit the American Society of Civil Engineers’ website http://mlab-ymf.org/events/popsicle-stick-bridge-competition.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science

Three faculty members in California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science are being recognized this month by the Engineers Council for their contributions to the fields of engineering and computer science.

The faculty members, professors Nagi El Naga, George Youssef and Shahnam Mirzaei–will be honored at the 59th annual Engineers Council Awards banquet on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Sheraton Universal in Universal City.

“I am delighted that the Engineers Council is recognizing the outstanding contributions of our faculty with these awards during National Engineers Week 2014,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Our hearty congratulations to all of them on these well-deserved recognitions.”

Both Naga, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Youssef, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, will be receiving the Distinguished Engineering Educator Awards. Recipients of this award are being honored for their outstanding professional qualities and have a top reputation for engineering education and leadership that spans a career.

Mirzaei, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will receive the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award. Mirzaei is being honored because of his work in electrical engineering during this past year.

Cal State Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is home to several nationally recognized programs through which students work alongside faculty members and industry professionals on cutting edge research. The college offers a variety of ABET accredited undergraduate degree programs and contemporary graduate degree programs in engineering and computer science. The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) also recognized it for having the nation’s fastest growing undergraduate engineering program in 2010.

Scene from 2013 commencement at CSUN. Photo by Lee Choo.

Nearly 10,000 students are expected to walk across a California State University, Northridge stage and receive the congratulations of their faculty and university officials, including CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison, as the university celebrates its 2014 commencement ceremonies.

An estimated 9,999 students — 7,647 bachelor’s, 2,325 master’s and 27 doctoral degree candidates — are eligible to take part in the ceremonies scheduled to begin the evening of Friday, May 16, with the university’s Honors Convocation.

“Commencement is a special time at a university,” Harrison said. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to join with the students and their families and friends in celebration of what is always a momentous and joyous occasion. Throughout the year, I have enjoyed interacting with many students and learning about their outstanding work in the classroom and in the community. Honors Convocation and the commencement ceremonies give me a formal setting in which to celebrate our students’ accomplishments.”

There will be seven graduation exercises over the course of four days. CSUN’s commencement celebration begins at 6 p.m. on May 16 with the Honors Convocation on the lawn in front of the Delmar T. Oviatt Library. This year’s speaker will be alumnus Keith Weaver, executive vice president of worldwide government affairs for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Weaver, who earned a bachelor’s in journalism in 1996 and a master’s in public administration in 2007 from CSUN, oversees all aspects of Sony’s government relations and public policy activities, as well as community affairs. He has been with the company since June 2002, when he joined as vice president of government affairs, and served as senior vice president from October 2005 until being named executive vice president in September 2011.

Last year, Weaver was elected chair of the California State Film Commission and has served as vice chair of the Board of Neighborhood Commissions for the City of Los Angeles. Additionally, he serves on the boards of the Exceptional Children’s Foundation; Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation; Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs; Providence Health and Services Community Ministry Board; and Slavery No More.

The commencement ceremony for the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication will take place at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 19, on the Oviatt Library lawn. The College of Health and Human Development’s ceremony will be take place at 6 p.m. that day on the lawn.

The graduation ceremony for undergraduates from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will take place at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21, on the Oviatt Library lawn. The ceremony for the master’s candidates from that college has been combined with the graduation ceremonies for the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Science and Mathematics, which will take place at 6 p.m. on May 21 on the Oviatt Library lawn.

The university’s commencement exercises will culminate on Thursday, May 22, with the ceremony for the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics at 8 a.m. on the Oviatt Library lawn, as well as the ceremonies for the College of Humanities and Michael D. Eisner College of Education at 6 p.m. in the same location.

An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters will be bestowed on William C. “Bill” Allen, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, during the ceremony for the Nazarian College.

In addition to his work with the development corporation, Allen is the 2012 board chair of Film L.A., vice chair of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and board secretary for the Valley Presbyterian Hospital. He also is a member of the board of directors of the Weingart Foundation, International Economic Development Council, California Stewardship Network, Regional Economic Association Leaders of California Coalition, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy and Jobs, Unite L.A. and the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.

Active in regional economic development for more than a decade, Allen was the first CEO of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, from 1996-2000, and, in 2000, was named California’s Civic Entrepreneur of the Year by the California Center for Regional Leadership. While at the Economic Alliance, Allen raised more than $5 million and assembled an unprecedented public-private partnership involving all of the leading cities, colleges and business organizations in the San Fernando Valley. Under his guidance, the alliance launched programs to expand international trade, improve local education and workforce development and developed viable solutions to regional transportation challenges.

From left, Javier Pimentel, Noah Anderson, Doris Chaney, Stefan Eng and Leonard Tatum. Missing, Kristoffer Larson.

Five California State University, Northridge  students took first place at the 2014 SS12 Code for a Cause national competition.

The computer science majors — freshman Noah J. Anderson, senior Leonard Tatum, junior Stefan King, junior Kristoffer Larson and junior Javier Pimental — created CamAcc, the first Android camera application for the blind and visually impaired, which made it’s debut at CSUN’s 29^th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference held in San Diego in March.

The specific purpose of the application is designed to make taking pictures a breeze through voice recognition while giving user feedback through accessible features similar to Google talkback. Users can take a picture, apply a filter and share it on Facebook, all by voice commands. CamAcc takes care of the technical stuff like auto-focusing, face detection, centering portraits and light detection including auto flash.

The students tested their design with many of the visually impaired conference attendees.

“Before nationals began, the app was being talked about by many national conference participants who filled the room with interest to learn more about it,” said Doris Chaney, coordinator for the CSUN 2014 SS12 competition.

“Developing for the SS12 Code for a Cause was a blast,” Anderson said “I felt an intense feeling of joy when a blind person used our app at the competition and said, ‘this is awesome; how can I get it?’

“Some of us came into the competition with a wealth of knowledge and on the job experience,” Anderson continued.  “And many, like myself, have very little —if any— industry experience.”

Students were given business cards at the end of their presentation by technology professionals who thought they already had their college degrees.  One of the judges was so impressed by the students he offered them jobs. Having a few years to graduate, the students were able to accept internships.

CSUN students have won the event three times in the past four years since they began participating. Chaney and her students also presented their project at the seventh Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Southwestern Regional Conference hosted by CSUN’s computer science department in Los Angeles.

“I learned skills in Android, but most importantly worked with an awesome team who I maintain contact with today as we continue our work. ” Anderson said. “Of course winning was also a big plus.”

For more information, email csun.camacc@gmail.com. To see the code that won the competition ,visit https://github.com/ProjPossibility/2014-CSUN-Cam4Blind.

Aerospace and engineering industry giant Northrop Grumman has partnered with California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science to boost career opportunities for students, collaborate with faculty and enhance the school’s curriculum.

The company selected CSUN as one of just 53 universities nationwide for its “Core University Partners” program starting with the 2013-14 school year. The program adds CSUN to an exclusive group of universities across the country known for producing top-notch engineering graduates, according to Charles Volk, vice president and chief technologist for Northrop Grumman Navigation Systems and a member of the college’s industry advisory board.

“Some universities are very strong in research, and that’s what they do. At our university, our partnership [with Northrop Grumman] covers every aspect — students, faculty, outreach, equipment,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Working with industry is critical. Engineering is really vital to economic development in the state of California, and partnerships like these are key to ensuring our future.”

The company, which has electronic systems right in CSUN’s backyard in Woodland Hills and aerospace systems in Redondo Beach, interacts with the university in several ways, including hiring scores of Matador engineering graduates, and sending many employees with bachelor’s degrees to earn their master’s degrees at CSUN.

Alumni such as Peggy Nelson, M.S. ’91 (Electrical Engineering, Teaching Credential), vice president of engineering and global product development in the company’s aerospace systems sector, were instrumental in lobbying for CSUN’s inclusion as a Core University Partner. Nelson also sits on the college’s industry advisory board.

“[Nelson] is an alumna from our electrical engineering program, and she’s the head of aerospace engineering for the whole company,” Ramesh said. “She has about 10,000 people reporting to her.

“Over time there’s been a great relationship with Northrop Grumman in Woodland Hills, sponsoring research projects and things like that,” the dean said. “They segment the 53 [Core University Partners] based on their business sectors, and we’re targeted for aerospace and electronics. It’s based on the expertise of our faculty and our academic programs. About a month ago, Peggy contacted me about funding available through Northrop Grumman. We share a mutual interest in increasing the diversity of our workforce, and in particular the number of women in aerospace engineering.

“With Peggy’s support, we have submitted a proposal to address the challenge and expect to receive funding for that effort in the coming year of about $50,000,” Ramesh said. “It’s a great, great opportunity for the university. It’s a win-win. It’s something we want every employer to be doing.”

In addition to project-directed grants and helping secure federal grants, the company is helping mentor students and lending invaluable expertise in engineering students’ design competitions.

Northrop Grumman participates in the college’s biannual Tech Fest event, as well as the annual engineering Senior Design Project Showcase. The showcase, which is open to the public, spotlights senior capstone design projects — judged entirely by a panel of industry experts, several of whom are from Northrop Grumman.

Through the college’s Design Clinic Program, teams of students and faculty work with the company and others to help solve contemporary design problems with clear deliverables.

“They put together a proposal to solve a problem — and off they go,” Ramesh said. “Several companies have told us how CSUN’s Design Clinic Program always produces something tangible — a product or an improvement to a process that helps them, unlike some of the other schools where they sponsor research projects that result in a report but not much more.”

“We talked about [the Design Clinic] with Northrop Grumman and they loved it, because it enhances research opportunities for our faculty and students — allowing them to make tangible contributions on cutting-edge projects,” he said.

On May 13, Ramesh and other CSUN delegates represented the college at the state capitol in Sacramento, participating in CSU Engineering Day. The CSU chancellor’s office invited the CSUN delegation to meet with Gov. Jerry Brown’s staff, and they praised the group for its diversity and strong student representation. The group held up CSUN’s recent Hispanic-Serving Institutions STEM grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, as a prime example.

Entitled AIMS² (Attract, Inspire, Mentor, and Support Students) is a collaborative five-year, $5.5 million grant with Glendale Community College and College of the Canyons that supports transfer students and includes 200 Matador engineering and computer science students, Ramesh said.

“This works really well with companies like Northrop Grumman because they are working hard to build a diverse workforce. … to hire more women in engineering, more under-represented minorities,” the dean said. “Melissa Flores, who is in the first cohort for this grant, joined us at the Capitol. She’s graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, and she’s the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers student chapter. She’s going to work for Northrop Grumman — she’s already an intern. They’re going to pay for her to go to grad school. It’s that type of interaction that I’m talking about.”

On the college’s website, Ramesh wrote recently about this grant and industry partnerships, and their impact on students such as Flores:

“As we look to the future, we can think of no greater investment than the education of our future engineers and computer scientists. … As these talented students, who represent both minorities and females, matriculate to the university, they will, in turn, serve as role models for others in their communities.”

CSUN College of Engineering and Computer Science delegation visits the State Capitol rotunda in Sacramento, for CSU Engineering Day. L-R: Chris Erickson, senior manager and chief engineer at Aerojet-Rocketdyne; S.K. Ramesh, college dean; graduating mechanical engineering senior Melissa Flores; engineering management professor Jimmy Gandhi, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Designs for flight vehicles were showcased at the 2013 Art of Innovation Conference. Photo by Armando Tellez.

For the second year in a row, California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science will host the Art of Innovation (AOI) Conference for students, educators and professionals in the community.

Taking place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 20, the event will focus on the latest accomplishments in all areas of innovation, including quality management, manufacturing processes, supply chain management, product design, assistive technology, university-industry collaboration, engineering education and entrepreneurship. Attendees will meet and network with other industry professionals and educators to discuss challenges related to innovation and entrepreneurship in the 21st century.

“This event is crucial to CSUN and the engineering communities in the San Fernando Valley, as this is a one-of-a-kind conference on innovation in the [region],” said Shereazad “Jimmy” Gandhi, a co-chair of the conference. “Considering the competitive advantage that innovation can give local industry, it is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to come together and learn from — as well as discuss with — others in the innovation domain.”

The conference is organized by Gandhi, director of the Ernie Schaeffer Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Ileana Costea, chair of the Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management. The event will be co-hosted with Aerojet Rocketdyne’s In2:InThinking Network 2014 Forum and is set to feature keynote speakers Ed Tackett of RapidTech and Michael Scully of BMW.

Tackett is the director of RapidTech with the National Science Foundation Center for Additive Manufacturing at University of California, Irvine. Beyond his 16 years of experience with additive manufacturing and product development, he has worked with more than 700 start-up companies, some of which have become Fortune 500 members.

Scully, the creative director of global design for BMW Group DesignworksUSA, was the lead designer on the Team USA bobsleds that took three medals at the Winter Olympics in Sochi earlier this year. He has led the design and development of a series of innovative carbon fiber BMW bobsleds, leading to 23 medals for the U.S. in the 2014 World Cup.

Two panels will be held at the conference. The first, “Innovation and Manufacturing,” will feature Jane A. Skeeter, CEO of UltraGlas; Peter Athanas, senior consultant for California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC); Daniel Feiman of Build it Backwards; and Charles Chase, senior program manager of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. Topics will include the alignment of market needs with manufacturing capabilities, the negative impacts of not innovating and “game-changing innovation transition.”

The second panel, “Growth through Innovation,” will feature speakers from CMTC. Moderated by Virginia Green, a specialist in innovation and growth management, the speakers will be Dennis Grogan, a senior consultant on enterprise transformation, and Elizabeth Glynn, a senior consultant experienced in exporting and global business. A Q&A session will follow the panel discussion.
The conference also will include an educator’s competition and poster display. Selected educators who have been working on innovative projects in their respective fields will present their work at the AOI conference during the “Innovation Paper Winners of Educator’s Competition” session.

The poster display portion of the event will be open throughout the day. Accepted work will be displayed in the main conference room.

For those in the area the day before the main AOI conference, a pre-conference workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 19 in the Northridge Center of the University Student Union. Reservations are required. The pre-conference workshop will feature Dale S. Deardorff, director of innovation and strategic thinking for the Rocky Peak Leadership Center, on the topic of “The Course in Creativity.”

Registration will be available to participants the day of the conference. Faculty registration is $125, and student registration is $40. Payment may be made with credit card or check only.

“Bringing experts from industry and academia to the AOI 2014 Conference offers the needed cross-pollination of experience and know-how from both sides,” Costea said. “Sharing lessons learned and networking will enhance the engineering community knowledge on applying innovative ideas with an entrepreneurship spirit. Another hidden agenda is to excite young people into STEM so that they can have rewarding engineering careers, and employers can get a more creative and qualified work force.”

Parking on the CSUN campus in student lots is $6 per day. For more visitor information, please visit the Department of Police Services.

Dean Ramesh (left) talking with attendees at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s 2013 Senior Design Showcase. Photo by Lee Choo.

Responding to President Obama’s call to empower America’s students and entrepreneurs to invent the future, California State University, Northridge officials today affirmed the university’s commitment to doing what it can to foster entrepreneurship and innovation on campus and in the community.

CSUN was one of more than 150 universities across the country to participate in a joint letter to the White House pledging to help fuel a renaissance in American manufacturing.

“Engineering is about building something that never existed before until you envisioned it,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. “That is, fundamentally, what the White House Maker Faire initiative is about — getting people to make things. The only way to do that is to get people to use the incredible tools and technologies that we have today to actually build something.”

Ramesh said CSUN is doing its part by remodeling its engineering manufacturing shop and setting aside space so that members of the business community can come in, build and test their ideas for a new product.

“CSUN has a very long tradition of hands-on learning,” Ramesh said. “We are working to develop a program where, if you are a member of the community and have an idea, you can come into our shop, get trained on the equipment, and then work with our students and faculty to see that idea become a reality. We can work together — the university and the entrepreneur — to model the idea on a computer, devise the best way to optimize the design and use 3-D printers, for instance, to make a product and test it.

“It brings to life the best of what engineering is about — service to the community.”

CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is home to more than 3,900 students and graduates approximately 500 students annually with undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and computer science. It has an international reputation for its “hands-on” approach to learning that provides students with opportunities for undergraduate research and laboratory work, as well as internships and industry experience.

Ramesh said the university’s commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship and technological and engineering innovation is as old as the university itself. He noted that CSUN offers one of only three Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited bachelor’s degree programs in manufacturing systems engineering in the state of California.

The college’s 5,000-square-foot Haas Automation Lab features rapid prototypers, 3-D printers and the latest CNC machines. The lab is divided into two: One half is devoted to fabrication, is where students make parts. The other half is where students work on their senior design projects, including a human-powered vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a Formula SAE car and an intelligent ground vehicle.

The college’s Ernie Schaeffer Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation develops programs to engage students in advanced manufacturing and entrepreneurship utilizing the latest technologies. On June 19 and 20, the center will host its second annual conference on the Art of Innovation.

“We also work very closely with local high schools to encourage students to pursue engineering by offering a college-credit eligible ‘Introduction to Engineering’ course,” Ramesh said. “The program is anchored by high school teachers who serve as lab instructors in a dozen area high schools.”

The university, under the leadership of President Dianne F. Harrison, Provost Harry Hellenbrand, Ramesh and Tseng College Dean Joyce Feucht-Havier, recently became part of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership, an initiative launched last month by the U.S. Department of Commerce designed to revolutionize the way federal agencies leverage economic development funds. It encourages communities to develop comprehensive economic development strategies that will strengthen their competitive edge for attracting global manufacturing and supply chain investments.

CSUN is part of the Southern California effort, one of 12 communities selected by an interagency panel for the program out of 70 nationwide. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership of the Southern California Manufacturing Community is focused on aerospace and associated industries in the supply chain. The partnership is lead by the University of Southern California’s Center for Economic Development and includes local governments, businesses and educational institutions, including the five CSU campuses in the area.

“By working together, we can be much more effective and make a difference,” Ramesh said.

He added CSUN is committed to helping advance STEM education, innovation, entrepreneurship and advanced manufacturing.

“The Maker Faire initiative will benefit teams of students working on innovative projects and can make a significant impact on engineering instruction in universities like ours that have a diverse student body with unique educational needs,” he said.

Students at CSUN’s 2013 Senior Design Showcase. Photo by Lee Chool

California State University, Northridge is one of only 20 institutions of higher education across the country selected to take part in a new initiative designed to increase diversity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The initiative, Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM (TIDES), was announced today by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) as a way of developing models for broad institutional change for the advancement of evidence-based and culturally competent teaching in STEM fields, particularly in the computer and information sciences.

Of the 20 institutions, CSUN was one of 14 selected as a “full awardee,” meaning it can receive up to $300,000 for faculty and curriculum development over the next three years. The TIDES initiative is funded with a $4.9 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

“We are very concerned about what we can do to attract students, especially women and individuals from underrepresented communities, excited about STEM, and in particular computer and information sciences,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Our project aims to utilize music as a way to attract students to STEM disciplines and make it more accessible.”

The college is already home to a successful U.S. Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution STEM grant that supports Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students in graduating with degrees in engineering and computer science.

“The AAC&U grant further exemplifies the college’s commitment to diversity and to attract and graduate underrepresented minorities in our programs,” Ramesh said.

CSUN computer science professors Ani Nahapetian and Gloria Melara are working with music professor Ric Alviso to develop courses that use music, particularly world music, as a way of encouraging women and persons from underrepresented communities to consider careers in computer or information sciences. The goal is not only to find ways to attract more people into careers in STEM fields, but also to develop culturally sensitive pedagogies that demonstrate a successful track record.

“By re-imagining the introductory programming course materials and infusing topics from world music, we are striving to communicate to our students the exciting and vibrant nature of our often misunderstood field,” Nahapetian said. “As an applied field, computer programs are developed to address a need in an application area. Typically, the application areas presented in lectures and assigned for homework carried little cultural relevance to students. We, instead, are using musical genres such as salsa, blues and hip-hop to inspire lecture examples, programming projects and lab modules that reference musical topics such as rhythm, scales and tones across cultures.

“By programming instruction to better reflect the array of applications capturing the nation’s imagination, we can attract, retain and support all students, including many from underrepresented groups,” she said.

In addition to CSUN, the other TIDES full awardees include Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, Howard University in Washington, D.C., Lawrence Tech University in Michigan, Montgomery College in Maryland, Morgan State University in Maryland, Salish Kootenai College in Montana, Smith College in Massachusetts, University of Dayton in Ohio, University of Puerto Rico-Humacao, Westminster College in Utah and Wright State University in Ohio.

Receiving honorable mention were Connecticut College, Knox College in Illinois, Ohio Northern University, Pitzer College and Queens College in New York. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater received a noteworthy designation.

The 20 TIDES schools were selected via a two-tier, peer-review process that included reviewers from a range of disciplines, both STEM and non-STEM. The reviewers based their selections on the following criteria: a high level of institutional readiness; a demonstrated commitment to sustaining the project’s activities; a targeted focus on increasing the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the undergraduate computer/information science disciplines; and innovation in linking computer/information sciences with other STEM and non-STEM courses.

“It is critically important for higher education to find ways to increase success in STEM fields for both women and all students from underserved communities,” said AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider. “AAC&U is honored to have this opportunity to build on its history of commitment to equity and excellence through the TIDES initiative.”

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,300 member institutions — including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities and comprehensive universities of every type and size.

California State University, Northridge has more than 38,000 full- and part-time students and offers 63 bachelor’s and 53 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university is home to dozens of nationally recognized programs where students gain valuable hands-on experience working alongside faculty and industry professionals, whether in the sciences, health care and engineering or education, political science, the arts and the social sciences. While regionally focused, the university’s faculty and administrators recognize the important role its students and alumni play in shaping the future of the state and the nation.

Members of the winning team and their robot, Vader. Photo courtesy of C.T. Lin.

California State University, Northridge engineering students took the second-place Grand Award at the International Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC), held in June in Michigan.

CSUN’s team of mechanical, electrical and computer science engineering students came in second behind a group from Oakland University in Michigan and ahead of a team from Hosei University in Japan in the competition that tests the students’ ability to design and assemble a fully autonomous, unmanned ground vehicle — a mobile robot — that can navigate an obstacle course and perform assigned tasks.

Mechanical engineering professor C.T. Lin, who served as the team’s advisor, said the win was well deserved. He noted that in addition to regular team meetings, the students met for at least four hours every Sunday throughout the year to get their vehicle, dubbed “VADER,” ready for the competition.

“After final exams and commencement, in the weeks before the competition, there were team members who devoted themselves to fine-tuning the vision and motion systems of the robot on a daily basis to make sure VADER would perform effectively and smoothly at the competition,” Lin said. “This really showed their commitment to this project.”

The competition includes three major challenges: the true autonomy of the vehicles, the ability to navigate an obstacle course and their design.

The CSUN students’ robot took first in the design challenge and third in the autonomous-navigation challenge and the joint architecture for unmanned systems challenge.

This is the ninth year that CSUN has taken part in the competition sponsored by the military as well as several industry leaders. For the past four years, CSUN’s mobile robots — including Raven in 2011, Raven 2.0 in 2012 and Scorpion in 2013 — have captured either first or second place in the overall Grand Awards.

“We have very talented students, and they are a force to be reckoned with at this competition,” Lin said.

This year’s winning team consisted of mechanical engineering students Daniel Valenzuela, Melissa Flores, Daniel Kim, Richard Gillberg, Margaret Goldman, Wonkyu Whan, Joseph Prince, Jesse Combs, Torrence Pineau, Denny Farias, William Pangestu, Jesse Campos, Chris Smith and Eric Espiritu; and electrical and computer engineering students Abou-Baker Kadmiry, Riel Palis, Qusai Qaneetah, Hassib Abi Rafeh, Ruben Berumen and Amandeep Brar.

Lin said this year’s competition included some unexpected drama when the judges miscalculated the combined scores from all three challenges and presented the first-place Grand Award to the CSUN VADER team. Thirty minutes later, after the team celebrated and posed with the first-place trophy, the head judge informed the team of the mistake.

“The catch was that the IGVC official photos showed that the VADER team was awarded with the overall first-place Grand Award trophy,” Lin said. “In any case, the VADER team, in my mind, is one of the two best CSUN teams in the nine-year history of CSUN’s participation in this international competition.”

The future is now. People may disagree because of the lack of flying cars, but the future promised in so much of popular culture over the past 50 years is here. Mass-produced flat-screen TVs, real-time video conferencing from your hand-held phone, the phone itself that can do everything that used to take up Saturday afternoons — these are all a reality thanks to giant leaps in science and technology.

And while the earth’s population enjoys the iPhones and Priuses of today, there is a question about the way the United States is tracking in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) training for the future. The World Economic Forum ranks the United States 52nd in the quality of mathematics and science education, and 27th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving undergraduate degrees in science or engineering. California State University, Northridge is looking to boost that outlook by teaming up with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to teach future educators the best way to hook young learners into the world of STEM.

For two days in June and five days in July, the three institutions hosted the JPL-NASA CSUN Pre-Service Teacher Institute, or PSTI, an intensive experience where 35 students — future teachers from CSUs across the Los Angeles area, including Northridge, Long Beach, Fullerton and Los Angeles — were exposed to problem-based learning, mathematics, science, technology and engineering-enrichment activities. Along with faculty from CSUN, there were also instructors there from CSULA, CSU Long Beach and CSU Fullerton during the training.

The event had a simple goal, said CSUN education professor and STEM Innovations Team Leader Susan Belgrad: create scientifically literate citizens by preparing more teachers who have deep pedagogical content knowledge in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

“For more than a decade, science has had minimal attention as a subject area in the elementary school years,” Belgrad said. “For many students, science curriculum has not begun in earnest until the fourth grade. Similarly, many of the teachers we prepare do not have ample time to lead well-developed science lessons in which they exercise their own scientific literacy. … The focus needs to be on preparing highly effective, engaged teachers from kindergarten through high school.”

“The PSTI at JPL was so eye opening,” said CSUN senior Holliston Coleman, who’s majoring in Child and Adolescent Development. “I had heard about the Mars Rovers Spirit, Opportunity and now Curiosity but it’s a completely different experience to get to go to building after building and see the process of how rovers are actually put together, where they are put together, from beginning to end by the actual engineers who worked on it! This experience made me fall in love with engineering and our immense universe!”

The urgent need to seed the next generation inspired NASA’s participation, not only with the venue, but with a $100,000 grant to kick off the program. On June 26 and 27, the group of future STEM educators gathered at CSUN for orientation, development of their own websites, an hour-long Bianchi Planetarium presentation from professor Jan Dobias and a project-based learning lesson led by JPL’s Ota Lutz and Belgrad. Along with Lutz and Belgrad, CSUN education professor Norm Herr, education lecturer Steve Holle and JPL Lab Educational Office deputy manager David Seidel helped guide the group.

From July 23-25, the group headed to Pasadena for some onsite learning at JPL on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. There, they focused on cooperative learning strategies, project-based learning frameworks, formative assessment and online data analysis strategies using Google Apps. They also worked to collaboratively design STEM-integrated lessons with peers in their PSTI cohort. The lessons can be used during future student-teaching assignments, including working with Lego MindStorms Robots purchased with the grants to help them appeal to K-8 students.

“These students will essentially become trailblazers,” Belgrad said. “They will understand how robotics activities and the engineering design process on which this is based requires the exercise of mental math strategies, collaboration, communication and problem solving. … This will inspire and energize faculty in the K-12 schools to which they are assigned to see the promise of such activities.”

Civic and business leaders joined California State University, Northridge officials last night as the university celebrated the launch of the LACI@CSUN Business Incubator.

CSUN and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) have joined together to create a venue to help startups from CSUN and throughout the San Fernando Valley discover opportunities, create enterprises and connect with a global network of businesses and investors.

CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison hailed the partnership as the “next phase of engagement with businesses and industries to make a positive impact on the economic growth of our region through invention, experimentation and creativity.”

“LACI@CSUN will also help students, faculty and alumni understand how ideas can become a reality in the arena of new enterprise,” she said. “It will provide another link between the innovative minds among alumni, students and faculty and the larger region and the ongoing work in teaching and research at CSUN.”

Among those who joined Harrison and other university officials to celebrate the partnership Sept. 16 were Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation President Bill Allen, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Kelli Bernard and many other Los Angeles area business leaders.

LACI’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters provides young companies with flexible office space, CEO coaching, strategy sessions and workshops, as well as access to investors and prospective customers. The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator has just been ranked the sixth best university-associated business incubator in the world by the University Business Incubator Index. In addition to working with CSUN, LACI also currently partners with UCLA and USC. LACI is one of only four U.S. business incubators on the global list.

CSUN and LACI officials are hoping LACI@CSUN will help launch new San Fernando Valley businesses and generate sustained job growth for the region.

“LACI@CSUN will be a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization at CSUN and across the San Fernando Valley business ecosystem,” said Erik Steeb, executive director of LACI@CSUN. “The incubator will attract the region’s top entrepreneurs and leverage CSUN assets to help mold these startups into game-changing businesses with global impact.”

The incubator gives the university “an important additional dimension to the array of ways in which CSUN and its students and faculty contribute to the future of California and beyond,” said Joyce Feucht-Haviar, dean of CSUN’s Tseng College of Extended Learning, which is supporting the first phase of the partnership.

Steeb said the partnership between LACI and CSUN was a natural evolution.

“CSUN recognizes that the economy and business environment have shifted in the last decade,” he said. “Universities can play a central role in driving the economic success of their communities and, by bringing LACI to campus, CSUN accelerates the establishment and success of new business.”

While LACI’s downtown location is focused on clean tech, Steeb emphasized that the CSUN incubator will concentrate on more than developing renewable energy innovation.

“When we engaged CSUN, our goal was to marry our strengths,” he said. “CSUN’s tech strength is well respected in the Colleges of Engineering and Computer Science and Science and Mathematics. But there are also great strengths in education, health and human development, arts, media, communications and more. The same can be said for the CSUN alumni.”

Among the startups LACI has helped get off the ground is Pick My Solar, a website created by CSUN alumnus Max Aram that allows homeowners interested in solar power to receive bids from companies with transparency. Aram’s business already has seen significant signs of success, winning a $100,000 SoCal Innovation Fund award that is helping to grow the business.

“Joining LACI was a major milestone for our company, said Aram, who graduated from CSUN in 2013 with a master’s degree in manufacturing systems engineering. “It is like the extension of your team. Having constant access to smart and experienced advisers is an invaluable asset for first-time entrepreneurs like myself.”

The kickoff event highlighted CSUN’s long history of entrepreneurialism and alumni and former students who have gone on to launch successful businesses. These include Irv Zakheim, founder of Zak Designs; Phillip and Gayle Tauber, founders of Kashi; Harvey Bookstein, co-founder and partner of RBZ; Mike Curb, founder of Curb Records; James Berk, founder and CEO of Participant Productions; and David Nazarian, founder and CEO of Nimes Capital.

For more information about LACI@CSUN, visit http://csun.laci.org/.

Students in the CSUN program. Photo courtesy of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science has been selected by Excelencia in Education, as one of this year’s honorable mentions for Examples of Excelencia in the Baccalaureate category. The recognition was received due to the college’s effort to support and mentor students studying engineering and computer science.

Excelencia in Education is a program that accelerates Latino student success in higher education by providing data-driven analysis of the educational status of Latinos and by promoting education policies and institutional practices that support their academic achievement

A committee of national experts and Excelencia in Education officials selected the college’s Attract, Inspire, Mentor and Support Students (AIMS2) program for special recognition. A celebration at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. was held on Sept. 30. The Celebración de Excelencia is the capstone of the year’s Examples of Excelencia initiative. This event is held in partnership with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

“It is a great honor for our AIMS2 program to be recognized by Excelencia in Education,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of CSUN’s College Engineering and Computer Science and principal investigator of the five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education that supports the program.

CECS student Stephanie Medina was thrilled to hear about the honor.

“The award by Excelencia validates the worth of my school and its organizations, especially those serving the Hispanic/Latino community,” Medina said. “It gives me great pride to know that CSUN is one of the top schools in the nation for supporting higher education to Hispanic communities, and also opens many doors to future opportunities.”

The AIMS2 collaborative grant was selected for funding through a competitive program under the auspices of the HSI-STEM (Hispanic-Serving Institution division) initiative of the U.S. Department of Education in October 2011. The grant is led by the CECS at CSUN and is in partnership with Glendale Community College and the College of the Canyons.

“The cohort is already making a significant difference to enhance the successful transfer and graduation of underrepresented minorities, including Latinos, and other economically disadvantaged students in all disciplines in engineering and computer science,” Ramesh said.

Students, who are the principal stakeholders, are “very proud of being in the program and they strive to give their best, while at the same time helping each other,” said CSUN computer science professor Gloria Melara, one of the faculty members in the program.

“The students commented that the main difference between working on course work and the research task is that they share their knowledge more freely in this setting and are inspired to be better without any competing motives among each other,” she said.

To date, the program has supported more than 180 students in cohorts that work closely with a team of 25 faculty and staff members across the three partner institutions who are actively engaged in a variety of programs, designed to break down barriers and enhance academic success.

Ramesh noted that cohort participants have demonstrated greater persistence and higher GPA’s while successfully completing a higher academic course load compared to other full-time students. Quantitative measures include successful transfer, degree completion, articulation, participation in advising sessions, tutoring, mentoring, supplemental labs, student-faculty interaction, peer-peer interaction, research participation and cohort participation.

Students in the cohort have reported meaningful, fulfilling interactions with supportive CSUN faculty that enhanced student learning. Several students in the cohort have been recognized with national awards from organizations such as The Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators The Hispanic Associations of Colleges and Universities, and Great Minds in STEM.

“I hope this award encourages the university to create more programs for future engineering students, to support not only their academic goals but also their professional development,” said engineering student Felix Villa.

For more information about the program and the College of Engineering and Computer Science, please visit the program website at www.ecs.csun.edu/aims2

Excelencia is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2004 in Washington, D.C., Excelencia in Education has become a trusted information source on the status of Latino educational achievement, a major resource for influencing policy at the institutional, state and national levels, and a widely recognized advocate for expanding evidence-based practices to accelerate Latino student success in higher education. Excelencia is also building a network of results-oriented educators and policymakers to address the U.S. economy’s need for a highly educated work force and for civic leadership.

California State University, Northridge hosted on Oct. 30 an informational hearing chaired by state Sen. Fran Pavley that featured a discussion between government and business leaders on how the San Fernando Valley can develop a workforce that is tech-ready and attractive to clean technology investment.

Among the participants were Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra, California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister, Doug Ito of the California Air Resources Board, LACI@CSUN Executive Director Erik Steeb, Pick My Solar CEO Max Aram ’13 (M.S., Manufacturing Systems Engineering), CSUN engineering professor Bruno Osorno, Chatsworth Products Plant Manager Jose Blanco and Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation Co-Chair Jeff Joyner.

This gathering came on the heels of the September announcement of the launch of LACI@CSUN, the developing partnership between CSUN and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). The partnership is opening up new channels for startups from CSUN and throughout the San Fernando Valley to discover opportunities, create enterprises and connect with a global network of businesses and investors. This investment in young companies is important to this region, because of the vast resources available in California, Pavley said.

“We’re the state where we have the best and brightest people working for us,” she said. “With 38 million people in California, we can take the lead.”

McAllister came to Southern California from Sacramento to speak at this event. He emphasized the importance of having the state partner with local government on initiatives such as clean tech. While he focused on working to decrease carbon emissions, McAllister also echoed Pavley’s statement about California standing at the forefront of environmental issues and how they affect business.

“There’s a huge opportunity in California, particularly in sustainability,” McAllister said. “In clean energy, this is the place to be. There’s so much innovative spirit here, experience, knowledge, skills across the state. We have what it takes to make it bigger and better.”

Steeb and Aram spoke about clean tech’s power to make an impact locally. Steeb noted the importance of investing in start-up businesses and young companies, and his excitement in having LACI do so in conjunction with CSUN. He mentioned a White House study that found that during the past three decades, companies younger than 5 years old have created more than 44 million new jobs.

“We really want to change the focus of California State University, Northridge, and not just create a great workforce coming out of the university, but also help the students and faculty here craft their own destiny if they believe that’s an opportunity for them,” Steeb said. “We joke that the Cleantech Incubator downtown is equally inconvenient for all, so we’re really excited to bring the best practices of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator here to Cal State Northridge.”

Aram spoke of his own experiences with technology making a difference. While a graduate student at CSUN, he sought to help solve the parking issue on a campus with 40,000 students and 10,000 parking spaces. Aram developed a smartphone app to help students find available parking spaces.

Later, Aram launched Pick My Solar, which helps homeowners research and find solar solutions for their homes. Aram joined LACI, and Pick My Solar has thrived. When customers seek out the company’s services, the project goes up on the website and network installers place their bids. Pick My Solar analyzes the bids and puts them through 20 different factors — ultimately showing the homeowner the top three bids. If the client decides to go solar, Aram’s company helps them complete the project.

It’s partnerships like this that will serve as good examples for future clean tech initiatives coming through LACI@CSUN, which could mean a brighter future for the university — and the entire region.

“We are part of the CSUN family, and it’s exciting,” Aram said.

Faculty at California State University, Northridge are breaking down silos within the university and across the academic divide as they work with Glendale Community College and K-12 educators on a project to train tomorrow’s workforce.

The consortium, which includes Glendale Community College and the Glendale and Burbank school districts, is one of only 39 entities selected for funding out of approximately150 proposals submitted to address the existing skills gap in California.

“Industry leaders have told us that they need employees who have hands-on experiences so that when they are hired, they can immediately begin to work with little or no additional training,” said S. Jimmy Gandhi, a manufacturing systems engineering and management professor at CSUN. “Students are graduating knowing the basic theories. They need to know the practical aspects as well to make them more marketable and employable.”

Gandhi said the consortium’s proposal has a three-pronged approach to helping the students access more career options.

Gandhi and CSUN mechanical engineering professor George Youssef and art professors Dave Moon and Mark Farquhar are working with their counterparts at Glendale Community College to ensure that students in their programs are getting valuable hands-on experiences in addition to a theoretical understanding of their chosen fields. At CSUN, students will have the option of getting certificates in innovation and entrepreneurship, digital manufacturing, web design and gaming that attest to the practical training.

Additionally, special education professor Wendy Murawski, elementary education professor Stephen Holle and staff member Kathy James in the Center for Teaching and Learning in the Eisner College are working with teachers in the Burbank and Glendale school districts to ensure that educators there have the knowledge and skills they need to inspire young people to pursue high-skilled careers.

“We can’t continue looking to solve the workforce problem just from our departments or institutions,” Gandhi said. “To succeed, we have to reach across divisional as well as institutional boundaries and work together with our partners. We have to think outside our own boxes to come up with solutions that will inspire students from the K-12 environment on up, and ensure that as they start heading down their chosen career paths, the students have the tools to succeed.”

Gandhi noted that members of the consortium will meet regularly with industry leaders to make sure their concerns about a trained workforce are heard. The kickoff meeting for this grant, which included all partners, took place on Oct. 29.

Gandhi said consortium members recognize that their approach — which crosses educational and institutional boundaries — could serve as a model for others, and they plan to publish several papers on their progress.

“If this can be replicated in other fields and we can have higher impact, so much greater are our returns,” he said. “We can’t keep doing things the way we have always done. We need to think creatively and work together to come up with solutions. This project will be an exemplification of how that can be done.”

Serving more than 40,000 students each year, CSUN is one of the largest universities in the United States. CSUN ranks 10th in the country in awarding bachelor’s degrees to underrepresented minority students, fifth nationally in awarding master’s degrees to Hispanic students and enrolls the largest number of deaf and hard-of-hearing students of any U.S. state university. CSUN’s 171 academic programs and engaged centers enjoy international recognition for excellence. CSUN currently partners with more than 100 institutions of higher education in 22 countries around the globe and attracts the largest international student population of any U.S. master’s level institution. Situated on a 356-acre park-like setting in the heart of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, the campus features modern educational buildings and world-class LEED Gold-certified performing arts and recreational facilities recognized as among the best in the country. CSUN is a welcoming university that champions accessibility, academic excellence and student success.

In a small, multipurpose electrical engineering lab located at the heart of campus, a team of 27 California State University, Northridge students, four professors and a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist eagerly gathered around a table covered with circuit boards. They were witnessing a historic first rehearsal between the custom-made CSUNSat1 cube satellite and a JPL energy storage system that will help explore deep space in extremely cold temperatures.

The project is led by CSUN electrical and computer engineering professors Sharlene Katz and James Flynn, in partnership with JPL. The CSUNSat1 CubeSat — a miniature satellite that will ride on board a rocket also launching a larger satellite — could be launched as soon as next year to test the effectiveness of JPL’s energy storage system.

“CubeSats are like hitchhikers,” Katz explained. “In a sense, the ride is free if you are selected [for the expedition].”

Standing at 10 centimeters deep, 10 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters tall, CSUNSat1 will house custom-made circuit boards created by the CSUN students; JPL’s storage system; a unique, infrared ‘flashlight’ to shine waste energy into space to keep the satellite cold and a nameplate with the names of the CSUNSat1 team. The home base for CubeSat communications will be at CSUN.

After applying for a “ride” on a larger satellite, CSUN was one of 14 universities selected out of more than 100 applicants for the orbital journey, by the NASA Cube Sat Launch Initiative. Prior to being picked, Katz and Flynn received a $200,000 grant from NASA to fund the project.

“We don’t have a lot of money or space to work with,” Katz said. “This room we are in is a laboratory that classes are taught in. We don’t really have a lab that is exclusively for the cube sat development. Fortunately, not many classes are taught in here. It’s one of the biggest challenges. We have to put everything in a screen room and lock it up each night with a padlock.”

The most challenging aspect of the project, for the students, was creating a method of switching power from the main source in the cube satellite to the energy storage system, Katz and Flynn noted.

“We have to be able to change power supplies mid-mission,” Flynn said. “That’s like driving on the 405 and changing engines in the middle of your commute.”

JPL scientist Gary Bolotin said he plans to conduct multiple launch rehearsals with the CSUNSat1 team. For the project to be a true success, he said, practice makes perfect.

“This is a lot of fun! I’ve been pushing for many rehearsals before the launch,” Bolotin said. “It’s also scary. One of JPL’s CubeSats was destroyed when the Russian rocket carrying it blew up. JPL’s secret to success is to test, test, test and test until the execution is flawless.”

Computer science and mathematics major Jonathan Castello said he is ecstatic to get an opportunity to work on CSUNSat1.

“I got interviewed to be a part of the CubeSat team last summer,” he said. “I’ve heard about hard-level software, but I never had the opportunity to put it into practice before. The CubeSat drives it home with how interconnected software and hardware really are.”

Flynn explained that the project provides CSUN students an advantage when entering the computer engineering job market.

“This [project] is something JPL does with its first-year hires. And these guys and girls aren’t even out of [college], and they are working on a satellite,” he said.

Bolotin usually works on Mars expeditions, such as the upcoming Mars 2020 mission, but the CSUNSat1 project is important because it gives undergraduate students an opportunity to work on a real space mission, the scientist said.

“We’re really jazzed about it,” Bolotin said. “I love it. These are our future engineers for the country.”