S.K. Ramesh, dean of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. Photo by Lee Choo.

A collaborative effort by California State University, Northridge and local community colleges to increase the number of underrepresented students who study computer science and engineering has received the support of the U.S. Department of Education, awarding the program nearly $6 million over five years to expand its reach.

The project, AIMS² — Attract, Inspire, Mentor and Support Students — has faculty at CSUN and the community colleges working together to ensure students, and now including incoming freshmen, have the support they need to graduate in a timely fashion.

“The program, which we started five years ago, was such a success that we now have a new grant to help us build on what we’ve done and expand our reach and the students we serve,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, who is leading the project as principal investigator of the grant.

The new grant is funded through a competitive program under the auspices of the HSI-STEM (Hispanic-Serving Institutions division) initiative of the U.S. Department of Education. CSUN will receive nearly $1.2 million in the first year, starting this year.

AIMS² debuted in 2011 with the help of a similar grant from the department. At that time, it targeted Hispanic and low-income transfer students. The participating community colleges were Glendale Community College and College of the Canyons.

The goal was to increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students who graduated with degrees in computer science or engineering. Project leaders hoped to develop a model that could be replicated elsewhere. In its initial five years, about 240 students successfully completed the program and are now working in their chosen fields or pursuing graduate degrees.

“This new grant will enable us to double that number,” Ramesh said, noting that three additional community colleges joined the project — Los Angeles Pierce College, Moorpark College and Los Angeles Mission College — and that participation in AIMS² has been extended to incoming freshmen.

Ramesh said a total of 12 campuses in the California State University system received similar grants. The campuses have agreed to share the best practices of their projects with colleagues in all campuses throughout the CSU system.

“We purposely designed AIMS² so that it can be replicated,” Ramesh said. “If something works, it’s in all our best interests to share the model.”

The AIMS2 Logic Model

AIMS² takes an interdisciplinary approach to ensure student success. Faculty and administrators from the participating community colleges and from CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Mathematics and Science, and Michael D. Eisner College of Education are on the project team that meets monthly and monitors the needs of the students and how the project is responding to those needs. CSUN and community college faculty work together to ensure that students’ transition to the Northridge campus is as seamless as possible, including implementing summer bridge programs.

Students must apply to the program. The application process includes an essay about what they aspire to be, the challenges they face and how they see themselves succeeding.

Ramesh noted that in the past, nearly every applicant was accepted, “and even those who were not selected, we made sure that some of the services, such as tutoring, were available to them.”

Once accepted, students are placed in a cohort based on their discipline. Each cohort includes proactive academic advising and tracking, organized tutoring, peer and faculty mentoring, hands-on research opportunities and project-based learning, career advising, and support with the transition to the workforce or advanced studies.

The program was singled out in 2015 by the White House Initiative on Excellence for Hispanics in its “Bright Spot in Hispanic Education National Online Catalog.” In 2014, it received an honorable mention from Excelencia in Education as an example of excellence in the baccalaureate category.

“AIMS² has the potential to significantly improve graduation rates and close the achievement gaps for Hispanic and low-income students, expand undergraduate research projects to mentor students, and enhance faculty collaboration between two-year and four-year institutions to improve student success,” Ramesh said. “We are humbled and thrilled to be selected, and look forward to serving larger numbers of students with the new grant award.”

CSUN held its fourth annual Art of Innovation Conference at California State University, Northridge’s Grand Salon in the University Student Union on Oct. 14. The College of Engineering and Computer Science and the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics sponsored the event and invited CSUN students, faculty, staff and other members of the local community to learn about current technology trends, 21st century entrepreneurship and the future of innovative thinking.

The conference was a featured event of InnovateLA, a two-week celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology in Los Angeles.

The keynote speaker was Adad M. Madni, former president, chief operating officer and chief technology officer of BEI Technologies Inc. As a major player in the development of multiple aerospace, military, commercial and transportation advancements, Madni talked about the technologies needed to address today’s challenges.

“These are not going to be solved by classical disciplines,” he said, emphasizing that true innovative approaches require diversity, collaboration and effective communication. “Challenges are not solved by individuals anymore, but by teams.”

Madni shared his predictions on the progression of wireless sensor networks, intelligent cars, telehealth, nanotechnology, clean technology and artificial intelligence. He referred to computer scientist Alan Kay, quoting his words, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Following the keynote speech, experts in the fields of technology, entrepreneurship and startups explored various trends and innovation opportunities with three panel discussions: Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship: Balancing Purpose with Profit, and The Future of Technology.

The panelists repeatedly stressed the importance of passion, ambition, curiosity and communication for entrepreneurs to be successful.

“No matter how well a product is built, without drive and passion, there is no development,” said panelist Doug Parker, a startup expert and engineer at Aerojet Rocketdyne.

“I’d rather [work] with an OK engineer but great communicator than with a great engineer with poor communication skills,” added creative and innovation consultant Tim Leaker.

More than half of the attendees were CSUN students seeking professional advice for their careers. Juan Xing, an international student from China, said she was able to connect her chemistry background with her current studies as a graduate student in engineering management.

“It was great to see the opportunities out there and how to approach them,” she said. “I really learned a lot through the keynote speaker and the panelists.”

“You don’t meet these kinds of people everywhere,” added engineering management graduate student Aniket Kelwadkar. “I’m thankful that CSUN exposes students to those people — they’re a good benchmark. When [Madni] gave the speech, introducing all these technologies, I actually thought — ‘I can do that, too.’ It was a good feeling.”

Hundreds of California State University, Northridge students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science filled the University Student Union, Northridge Center on Feb. 21 in hopes of getting valuable career advice and potential employment at the bi-annual TechFest event.

When the event kicked off, students were able to talk to representatives from more than 40 different technology and engineering companies about their job experience, transitioning from college to the professional world and tips for success.

Some students, such as recent CSUN graduate Mahyar Shavirian ’14 (Engineering Management), were even given interviews for potential employment during the event.

“It’s a great thing having all of these vendors and recruiters here at the same time because I was able to get two interviews within a few hours,” Shavirian said. “These fairs are perfect for engineering and computer people.”

Because CSUN’s alumni network is rapidly growing, the majority of company representatives at TechFest were CSUN graduates looking to bring in the next wave of Matadors.

“What I’ve found from the CSUN students we’ve hired is that they are able to interact and intermingle with everyone,” said Navy Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) engineer Fernando Mendoza ’90 M.A. (Electrical Engineering). “TechFest gives students the opportunity to know what kind of jobs are out there for their majors. Everyone comes to school with a preconceived idea on where they want to apply their degree, but when students come talk to these companies they realize there’s a lot more options.”

The second half of TechFest consisted of informational sessions held by j2 Cloud Services, XyPro, LA Sanitation and Blue Shield California. The companies talked with students about internships, the overview of their companies and much more.

“Our goal for having this event is to bring internships, jobs and networking opportunities to students,” said Sarah Le Long, employment services and event coordinator at the CSUN Career Center. “It adds to the students’ application process and gives them exposure to a lot of different companies.”

TechFest has been held since 2008. For more information, visit the TechFest website.

California State University, Northridge civil engineering students are inviting students at local elementary, middle and high schools to join them on Saturday, March 18, as they celebrate the life-changing structures created by engineers.

CSUN Dreams Big event — which includes hands-on activities that offer insight into what engineers do and a special screening of the film “Dream Big: Engineering Wonders of the World” — was created to break through the hesitancy many people have about delving into the world of engineering, and invites young people, particularly women and people of color, to consider an engineering career. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Valley Performing Arts Center, located at the southern end of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

“CSUN Dreams Big is designed to show the public what engineers do and how we have the ability to shape the future,” said CSUN civil engineering senior and event organizer Joseph Hicks. “The event is meant to showcase CSUN engineering and will feature more than a dozen student projects and displays.”

S.K. Ramesh, dean of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, called the event “a wonderful opportunity to get young people excited about engineering.”

“To screen ‘Dream Big’ here — at the university campus that offers high-quality accredited programs in engineering and computer science, and truly serves the community that surrounds it — is a great opportunity to show young people that they, too, can make a difference through exciting careers in engineering,” Ramesh said. “It happens every day right here at CSUN.

“The screening is especially meaningful for me since I represented IEEE — the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, one of the largest professional technical societies, with more than 400,000 members worldwide — along with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and other societies in November 2015 at the National Academy of Engineering to create the hands-on activities to accompany the screening of the film,” he added.

Created for the big screen, “Dream Big” explores the world’s greatest modern engineering marvels, from the Shanghai Tower in China to the world’s tallest suspension bridge in France. Viewers will have an opportunity to learn about basic engineering principles, the role of engineers in the overall design and build process, and how engineering is an interactive process of identifying problems and creating sustainable solutions.

CSUN engineering students will be hosting a series of interactive activities beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the Valley Performing Arts Center’s lobby to underscore the film’s message about the value and accessibility of engineering.

Among the activities is the construction of a 3-D model of a watershed and experiments to see how human and natural activities affect it, offering insight into water-resource engineering.  Participants will get the chance to be structural engineers when they build a large-scale model of a cable-stayed bridge that is assembled like a real one, with bridge segments hanging from two towers.

Those interested in environmental engineering can help design a process to treat water contaminated with acid and oil.  To get a taste of geotechnical engineering, participants can build a mechanically stabilized earth wall out of construction paper to retain 500 pounds of earth.

CSUN engineering students, who organized the event, also are taking part in a panel to talk about the film. The screening is expected to take place at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the screening are available through Ticketmaster and at the Valley Performing Arts Center Box Office. Use the coupon code “DREAMBIG2” on the Ticketmaster website to purchase tickets for $2 each.

Don Bostrom, at the time a recent graduate of California State University, Northridge — then known as San Fernando Valley State College — sat in a control center at Edwards Air Force Base northeast of Lancaster. The year was 1964, and Rocketdyne — a major supplier of U.S. rocket engines — was testing F-1 engines for NASA. The engineers launched the engines from test platforms on a ridge, about 800 feet from the control centers where Bostrom ’64 (Electrical Engineering) and his team monitored the test runs. The thick glass windows of the control center shielded the engineers from the fireball erupting from the test stand that mounted the 16-foot-tall test engines.

Bostrom was used to tests and pioneering programs. He was one of 89 students in Valley State’s very first engineering program, developed by dean George Harness in 1959 at Northridge. Shortly after Bostrom’s graduation in 1964, he scored a job at Rocketdyne, based in Canoga Park.

“Only a few of us made it to [graduation], and jobs were scarce in 1964,” Bostrom said. “But I went to work at Rocketdyne on the F-1 rocket engine testing. For a 22-year-old engineer, this turned out to be a very exciting first job.”

Bostrom said he was always passionate about technology and engineering. His father was an amateur radio operator, and Bostrom spent many hours learning from him about electronics at the family’s home — just one block from Northridge. He graduated from Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa (now Birmingham Community Charter High School) and decided to enter the new Valley State engineering program, which was unaccredited at the time.

“We had to work hard because in applying for accreditation, you have to have proof of certain standards and achievements that would qualify the school for being a valid engineering school,” Bostrom said.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) granted the fledgling engineering program accreditation in 1966, two years after Bostrom’s graduation.

“My second job with Hughes Aircraft Company was as an associate engineer because I didn’t graduate from an accredited school,” he said. “But I happened to go to UCLA to get a master’s degree in electromagnetics and that cured the problem.”

When Bostrom went to work for Rocketdyne — at the height of the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union — the company had committed to supply NASA with engines for its Saturn V rockets, which were later adopted by the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon.

“After all that exciting testing and work, the idea of having helped put men on the moon (in 1969) is really what sticks with me,” Bostrom said.

As a test engineer, Bostrom was responsible for placing sensors on the engines that recorded various parameters, such as temperature and pressure. Each engine clocked 250 seconds of test time to be delivered to NASA.

After working to deliver 175 engines to NASA, Bostrom worked at Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana facility for a few months — but he was laid off in 1967 when the company merged with the Rockwell Corporation. Shortly after, the Hughes Aircraft Company hired Bostrom to design radar systems. He spent the duration of his career with Hughes — 32 years — until retirement in 1998.

Bostrom said the engineering program at his alma mater prepared him well for the rigorous responsibilities at Rocketdyne and in the aerospace industry.

“[CSUN] gave me the incentive to be interested in different aspects of engineering,” he said.

In retirement, Bostrom maintains close ties to the university, as it occupies a special place in his heart. A passionate singer during his time at CSUN, he met his wife of 53 years while enrolled in music classes. His wife, Sandra J. Bostrom Aguado ’65 (Music), retired from teaching at CSUN, now composes music for the industry.

“I enjoyed [CSUN] tremendously,” he said. “If you’re interested in science and technology, then be an engineer. There is nothing nicer than saying, ‘I built something’ or, ‘I made it work’ or, ‘I found a problem and solved it.’ These are all parts of being an engineer.”

California State University, Northridge will honor three globally impactful alumni whose influential work has left an indelible footprint on their respective fields on April 29.

Financial industry giant Milton Berlinski, reality TV trailblazer Mike Darnell and science and technology leader Patricia Maloney are the recipients of CSUN’s 2017 Distinguished Alumni Awards and will be honored at the 19th annual gala event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village.

Berlinski, who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Northridge in 1978, came to CSUN as an international student from Aruba and is now one of Wall Street’s most accomplished figures. In 2013, he co-founded the private investment firm Reverence Capital Partners LLC. Today, he is the company’s managing partner.

Berlinski was the architect behind Goldman Sachs’ Private Equity advisory business and ran its corporate strategy group, becoming one of the most important dealmakers in the country. Berlinski worked for Goldman for 26 years, rising to the ranks of its top executives. It was national news when, in late 2011, Berlinski retired from the firm.

“CSUN has a lot of people to honor, so the fact that they chose me as a recipient … I was very touched,” Berlinski said. “[CSUN] allowed me to mature and become self confident in my ability to get things done and learn, in a positive sense, how to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad.”

Darnell, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from CSUN in 1987, took advantage of an internship he had while an undergraduate and made reality TV history. He is the president of alternative television at Warner Bros. and is in charge of three of its companies — Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, Telepictures Productions and Shed Media. Darnell oversees 35 series, including “Little Big Shots,” “The Bachelor,” “The Voice” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Prior to joining Warner Bros., he was the president of alternative television at FOX, where he oversaw and developed such shows as “Joe Millionaire,” “Family Guy,” “The Simple Life,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and the mega-hit “American Idol.” While other networks passed on “American Idol,” Darnell was the executive who said “yes.” “American Idol” became the top-rated show on TV for eight consecutive seasons.

“Honestly, I was flattered,” Darnell said of the alumni honor. “What CSUN did for me was a couple of things — the quality of education was great, and I was able to stretch it out at the time, still get my degree and be able to work jobs to support myself and get my foot in the door.”

Maloney, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from CSUN in 1980, is the principal director for joint operational programs in the NASA Programs Division at The Aerospace Corporation, and she was named the company’s 2005 Woman of the Year.

Maloney manages relationships and oversees a team working with some of the most prestigious partners in The Aerospace Corporation’s portfolio — including NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

She previously worked in numerous leadership capacities for Mobil Oil Corporation. One of her most influential roles was as worldwide trading coordinator and crude oil operations manager during the first Gulf War.

“CSUN, my chemistry degree, taught me how to attack a problem,” Maloney said. “And if it was which crude to send to Mobil’s Singapore refinery, or how to find the root cause of a satellite anomaly, it is the process that matters.  And that is what I have taken with me the last 37 years.”

The 2017 CSUN Distinguished Alumni Awards gala event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-event reception. The dinner and program are expected to start at 7:30 p.m.

For tickets, sponsorship information and details on placing a tribute ad in the event’s program, visit www.csun.edu/daa2017.

The California State University, Northridge VEX Robotics Club, also known as the Matabots, competed in and won every round of a recent four-round VEX Robotics regional tournament.

VEX Robotics is an international education initiative encouraging students of all ages to discover science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields related to robotics design. VEX’s goal is to provide students with opportunities for leadership, teamwork and problem-solving skills.

The CSUN VEX Robotics Club built two robots and divided the participants into two teams for this competition — CSUN R and CSUN B. Adrian Castellon, CSUN VEX Robotics Club president and a mechanical engineering major, said they chose these names to show Matador spirit.

“The teams are CSUN Red and CSUN Black — based on our school colors,” Castellon said. “We wanted to show our school pride.”

Castellon also emphasized that winning the regional tournament, held at the University of Southern California, was a great achievement for the Matabots.

“There were 321 schools registered as a university team, and only 60 of those teams got invited to the World VEX Robotics competition,” he said.

CSUN R and CSUN B went undefeated throughout the tournament and advanced to the finals — setting the teams up for a Matabots showdown in the final event.

The Matabots also won the Excellence Award, earning CSUN B a spot in the VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Ky., from April 19-25. In 2016, the Matabots placed in the top 10 robotics teams in the world.

This year’s competition is themed Starstruck, which Castellon explained will be a mixture of volleyball and “hot potato.”

“There are pre-located [items] on the field,” Castellon said. “Your robot is set on the field in a certain location. The game has two phases: The first is called the autonomous phase [in which the robot is programmed to move on its own].

“You then go on to phase two, which is driver controlled,” he said. “This is where the competitive side comes out because you are competing against other drivers.”

One of the best things about the VEX team doing well is that it’s helping attract students to CSUN, Castellon said. A lot of the high school students who attend the competitions make their college decisions based on a university VEX Robotics team’s performance, he said.

“When they see CSUN placing top five in their division, they’re like, ‘OK, you know what? CSUN has a really good robotics program. I want to go see what their engineering program is like,'” Castellon said.

The California State University, Northridge College of Engineering and Computer Science hosted the eighth annual Senior Design Project Showcase on April 14. The showcase, which filled the Grand Salon and Northridge Center of the University Student Union, featured an automatic wheelchair, a concrete canoe and an electric bicycle, among many other student projects.

Gilberto Rosales, a mechanical engineering major, is the project manager for engineering design of the CSUN wheelchair that will assist and give independence to people who have a disability or are recovering.

Rosales said that CSUN’s Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty and staff have been a huge help with the group’s project.

“Through the mechanical engineering department, CSUN has provided us with the resources we need to complete this project,” Rosales said. “We are paired up with a great faculty advisor, [Vidya] Nandikolla. The department has also given us the funds and resources to actually manufacture the wheelchair.”

Motaz Ajeeb, a senior majoring in manufacturing systems engineering, was one of six students who worked on a pedal-less, electric, foldable bicycle for his senior design project. According to Ajeeb, the project took about a year to complete.

“The first semester, we focused on planning and drawing the three-dimensional model for it,” Ajeeb said. “This semester, we built it.”

“The Senior Design Project Showcase is truly a signature event,” S.K. Ramesh, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, told the audience before awarding honors to showcase participants. “And it is you folks — students, faculty and staff — who make that so.”

For the first time in California State University, Northridge history, eight mechanical systems engineering students and several computer science students were assigned a year-long, seminal senior design project to create CSUN’s first robotic arm to compete at the 2017 Small Manufacturers’ Institute Manufacturing Challenge and Exposition.

Their year of hard work was rewarded with the grand prize at the prestigious competition at the Goodwill Industries in Los Angeles in April.

In the fall 2016 academic semester, Bingbing Li, a professor in CSUN’s Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management, encouraged his students to engage in robotics-related research to build their department’s first robotic arm for the competition. He challenged his students to come up with one of the hardest senior design projects.

CSUN manufacturing systems engineering recent graduate and project team leader, Anna Chilingarian, and her classmates — Attallah Alamri, who graduated last month; Ahmed Alotaibi, who graduated last month; Aida Andreasyan, who graduated last month; Johnny Flores, who graduated last month; Sara Varta, who graduated last month; Lucas Kellner who graduated last month; and graduating senior Brendan Leddy — spent hours coming up with different project ideas to which they could dedicate a year. After many iterations, the team decided to design and manufacture a vision-assisted robotic arm that would allow the robot to use cameras to process videos and images to track its motion and identify objects.

“The real inspiration for the project was that we wanted to do something in robotics,” said Chilingarian. “We wanted to do something related to our field [so] our team could get experience in technical skills.”

Once their idea was approved by Li, the team collaborated with CSUN’s Matador Emerging Technology and Arts Lab, the Department of Computer Science and professor Jeff Wiegley’s computer science senior design class to add vision capabilities to the robotic arm. The computer science students who worked on the project included, project team leader Garret Richardson, who graduated last month; Manvel Mkhitaryan, who graduated last month; Christopher Bass, who graduated last month; graduating senior Maroof Haque, and senior Daniel Schetritt.

Since the students did not have any background in developing robotic vision, they did extensive research to teach themselves.

“Being an engineer is about challenging yourself,” said Flores. “The more challenges you have and the more tasks they assign to you makes it more exciting.”

The students manufactured the robotic arm in the College of Engineering and Computer Science‘s engineering shop and designed an interchangeable hand on the robot. This feature allows future programmers and designers to change the hand to make the robot do various tasks. With the team’s current design, the robot tightens and untightens bolts, and lifts up to 35 pounds.

When the group finished their designs for the robot and began ordering parts from vendors, they faced their first real-world engineering problem: The costly prices and the time to obtain the parts dragged on, putting the student team in a bind. With time running out, the students were forced to change the internal motors of their design and order new parts from a different manufacturer just two months before CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Senior Design Project Showcase on April 14. The college’s eighth annual senior showcase, displayed more than 36 student teams and individual projects.

Changing their project so close to the showcase, a warmup for the contest the following week, prompted some people to questioned the team’s ability to finish the project on time or even compete.

The team ignored their critics. Instead, the encouragement from their professor and classmates, the high expectations set for them and CSUN’s department of mechanical systems engineering and management’s financial support provided them with motivation to finish and succeed.

“In February and March, a lot of students in our class didn’t believe we could finish our design [project],” said Alamri. “We changed it so many times, and we heard a lot of tough comments from the professor during the semester.”

Just hours before the competition, the team finished the robot and quickly worked out the complications with only minutes to spare. Despite being exhausted from working through the night, the team was more than ready to present their work.

CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science has a history of success at the Manufacturing Challenge and Exposition contests. For the past three years, Li’s senior design students have taken home the grand prize — in 2015 with a Hybrid Layer Manufacturing 3-D printer, and in 2016 with the Cloudponics System, a cloud-controlled system that grows plants in water from the waste of farmed fish and aquatic animals which in turn purifies the water.

This year, the vision-assisted robotic arm continued the matador legacy, winning the $1,000 grand prize and the contest’s “Ray W. Rummell Leadership in Manufacturing” was awarded to Chilingarian. Shouts and cheers echoed throughout Goodwill Industries when the judges revealed the winner.

“Our team was astounded by the win,” said Chilingarian. “We were all so happy and proud of our work. It was a humbling experience.”

The competition is over, but the project’s objective is not. The project was designed to be improved upon over the next five academic years. Future engineering students will continue to develop the robotic arm and program it with new features.

“It’s humbling to work with such a great team and create something that can do a lot for the future of CSUN students,” said Schetritt. “It’s not just our project. It’ll become something greater than that.”

In 2007, women in the United States earned 17 percent of bachelor’s degrees in engineering and 79 percent of bachelor’s degrees in education. Through programs such as Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), California State University, Northridge faculty and staff hope to encourage more girls in middle and high school to pursue majors and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Research shows that young women begin to lose interest in science and mathematics around age 15, unless their interest in these fields is nurtured. CSUN computer science professor Ani Nahapetian is just one of the many professors who have pledged to support young women interested in STEM.

“If we can change the perception of computer science as a male-only field and open it up to women, it’s good for the field,” said Nahapetian. “The more diversity in [computer science], the more our field can grow and become better.”

As an undergraduate, Nahapetian double majored in computer science and engineering, and she earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science.

“When I was a student, there [were few] women in my engineering and computer science classes,” Nahapetian said. “Now, women are still a minority in computer science at CSUN and nationwide. There’s a lot of room to grow.”

Vidya Nandikolla, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering — who was the only female faculty member when she was hired in 2014 — shared that most semesters there are few women in her classes, and some semesters there are none.

“It’s a unique perspective being [one of two] female faculty members,” Nandikolla said. “You walk in and you see one or two — and sometimes zero — females in a class of 25 to 30 [students]. It’s like, ‘Okay, something has to be changed here.’”

Female STEM professionals speaking to girls and young women is the key to that change, Nandikolla said.

“Whenever I get the chance to go to [middle and high] schools, I don’t let that go,” Nandikolla said. “Increasing the number of girls coming into engineering — that is my goal. And when young women and girls see [women STEM professionals], they think, ‘I can do it, too.’”

Alexandria Chavez, a manufacturing systems engineering major and intern for WISE, said that women in programs such as SWE and WISE have been instrumental in her success as a female engineering student.

“WISE has given me [the opportunity to be] around amazing women with such great educational backgrounds,” Chavez said. “Being around them showed me I could get my master’s too.”

Of all the lessons she has learned from the groups, one that impacted her most was about progress, Chavez said.

“Any direction you want to go in is fine,” she said. “Just don’t go backwards. Always keep moving forward.”

A brief resource guide for young women in STEM at CSUN can be found here.

A new chapter began in one professional volleyball athlete’s life when he retired from his athletic career to return to California State University, Northridge to get a master’s degree in computer science with an emphasis in computer security.

Eric Vance’s team photo from the time he played for CSUN. Photo courtesy of Matador Athletics.

Eric Vance, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from CSUN in 2009, came back to the university in 2014 with the intention of getting a second bachelor’s degree in computer science, but last year he decided to go the extra mile and earn his master’s degree in the same subject instead.

“Throughout my life I’ve loved computers,” he said. “You learn about things you never knew.”

When Vance first came to CSUN in 2004, he was a freshman and a new recruit to the university’s Men’s Volleyball team. Like many students, he was unsure of what he wanted to study. By his second semester, Vance found his major in an introductory microeconomics course.

“I fell in love with economics and the reasoning behind it,” he said. “It’s a wonderful social science. I love the logical problem solving and critical reasoning that I was able to develop throughout my bachelor’s degree in economics.”

After graduating in 2009, Vance launched his professional sports career, playing volleyball in Puerto Rico before playing for the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.

“The Pan American Games in Guadalajara, and receiving a USA jersey with my name on the back, was the highlight of my career,” said Vance. Before playing for Team USA, Vance played in Doha, Qatar in the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, then in the south and northeast of France for three years and finished his professional volleyball career in Greece.

Though Vance was playing around the world, he still had a yearning to learn more about computers. When he retired, Vance returned to CSUN to study computer science.

“You can learn many of the concepts [of computer science] on your own, but there is a benefit to having a structured path and learning the correct way from the different professors and experts in the field,” said Vance. “I think that is invaluable as opposed to learning by yourself.”

Eric Vance while playing volleyball for CSUN. Photo courtesy of Matador Athletics.

Vance once considered becoming a firefighter, and even earned an associate’s degree in fire science from Oxnard College in 2010, but he knew his real passion was somewhere in the world of computers.

“I’ve always loved computers and always loved technology, and that’s why I came back,” he said.

Traveling around the world for his athletic career didn’t leave much time for Vance to socialize with his friends back home. During his spare time, he sometimes played video games online with his friends. He soon realized that he did not want to just play the virtual games, he wanted to learn how to create the magic for the game players behind the scenes.

“You don’t know things that you don’t know,” Vance said. “You don’t know about things that don’t exist if you don’t learn about them and I think that’s a great way of going to university and being around other students and different classes. You learn.”

Today, Vance is two electives and a thesis paper away from receiving his master’s degree. During the course of his studies, Vance discovered a passion for computer security ​— an algorithm-based system that protects people’s computers from being attacked by theft or damage to their hardware, software or information.

In 2015, during his second semester of graduate coursework, Vance was introduced to the world of computer security when he joined the CSUN student club Layer 8. The club educates students about computer security and tests their skills at national computer security competitions, such as Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, National Cyber League, and United States Cyber Challenge capture the flag competition. He soon became the vice president of the club for the spring and fall of that same year.

“That’s where I was really exposed to the computer security world, and it was just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “I was able to dig deeper into it [computer science knowledge] and learn different things on my own from the classroom.” ​

Vance is currently interested in studying software and programming by finding ways to make it safe from attacks. In the future, he also would like to study malware analysis.

CSUN computer science graduate coordinator and professor Ani Nahapetian currently is working with Vance on a research paper for publication on mobile security. Vance’s mobile security project examines ways to make smart devices like phones and watches more secure by leveraging the connectivity.

“As a student at CSUN, he is very passionate and interested in computer science,” said Nahapetian. “The hard work and effort he shows in the volleyball courts is what he brings to his schoolwork and is what’s made him successful.”

When Milton Berlinski retired from Goldman Sachs in December 2011, it made The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Bloomberg Television. The media coverage was just one indicator of Berlinski’s imprint on Wall Street.

For 26 years, Berlinski ’78 (Computer Science) was critical to the private equity business of Goldman Sachs. In fact, he was the architect behind Goldman Sachs’ private equity advisory business, ran its corporate strategy group and became one of the most important dealmakers in the country.

His retirement was brief. Berlinski co-founded the private-investment firm Reverence Capital Partners LLC in 2013, and today he is the company’s managing partner and still a major player in the business world. In April, he was one of three Matadors honored at California State University, Northridge’s 2017 Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Berlinski, whose father was born in Poland and mother was born in Brazil, was raised on the island of Aruba. He has lived the American dream, and the dream began at CSUN.

“CSUN allowed me to dream big,” Berlinski said. “I always knew being successful in Aruba would be nice, but my real ambition was to be successful in America.”

Berlinski chose CSUN because of the strong reputation of its College of Engineering and Computer Science. He came from an island country, which at the time had a population of approximately 60,000, and entered a university with nearly half that many students. He wasn’t intimidated by this new environment, though. Instead, Berlinski said, he decided to dive right in and get involved with numerous organizations on campus.

He was a founding member of the Sigma Pi fraternity. He served in student government with Associated Students. He was also a leader in Student Productions and Campus Entertainment (SPACE) — a group that started a jazz festival on campus (Stevie Wonder showed up in 1979 as a guest artist) and a World Hunger Conference.

Berlinski said he developed leadership, teamwork and project management skills that he would often use later in life. But he also developed a better perspective on diversity and culture.

“CSUN embodied so much more than just an excellent education,” Berlinski said. “The university, even at that time, enjoyed a significant international student body, which helped contribute to a rich and global perspective in the classroom — but also allowed me to continue to learn more about customs and values, which would be invaluable in my life and career.”

“What I think CSUN did for Milton was challenge him because he was part of so many circles … he was able to see the diversity in people,” said Carlos Fuentes, his fraternity brother and CSUN Alumni Association President from 2015-17. “He’s very much a people person.”

After graduating from CSUN, Berlinski earned his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and was recruited to work at Goldman Sachs in 1986. He was a star for the company for 26 years.

By 1996, he had become a partner. He was one of the founders of Goldman’s Financial Institutions Group and served as its vice chairman until 2002. From 1999 to 2004, he was head of the firm’s Strategy and Corporate Development Group. In 2001, he assumed additional responsibility as head of firmwide strategy. Eventually he took leadership responsibilities for the Financial Sponsors Group and rose to global head.

“I was well aware of Milton because he had a distinguished record of accomplishments at Goldman Sachs, where he was a major partner and [was] very successful,” said Kenneth Langone, co-founder of The Home Depot. “He is certainly one of the most accomplished dealmakers there is in his chosen field.”

After leaving Goldman, Berlinski focused on building his own firm. He leveraged the relationships he made from more than 30 years on Wall Street and used his own funds to jumpstart Reverence Capital Partners.

Quickly, Reverence has developed into a winner. Examples of the company’s rapid ascent are investments made in global asset management firms Victory Capital and Russell Investments. In 28 months, Victory has experienced exponential growth, including going from $17 billion to $56 billion in assets under management and increasing the company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from $25 million to $155 million. In nine months, Russell’s EBITDA increased from $145 to $220 million. In addition, Reverence Capital has been able to return 37 percent of invested capital to its investors in 28 months, the speed of which is unique in the private equity industry.

Beyond his success in the financial industry, Berlinski’s legacy will include what he has done for sick children and their families. He is the Vice Chairman of the Ronald McDonald House New York.

“Our hope here at the Ronald McDonald House and as a board, is that one day when Milton looks back on his life and his successes, that he considers his time spent with the kids and with the board to help out children with cancer as truly one of the greatest successes of his life,” said Tina Lundgren, chairman of the board of the Ronald McDonald House New York.

Berlinski also has given back to CSUN through the President’s 21st Century Fund and he and his wife, Jena, are trustees for the Milton and Jena Berlinski Foundation.

“I believe CSUN was the springboard that led me to realize the importance of being involved and giving back,” he said.

It’s Monday morning. Students are hustling to get to their classes, chatting quietly, dark circles under their eyes and coffee cups in hand, trying to make it to an 8 a.m. class. They hear the majestic notes of the carillon ring out across campus, and poof! The students disappear into campus buildings, trailing the aroma of coffee behind them.

For more than 50 years, the California State University, Northridge carillon has played several important roles in supporting the campus community and setting the academic mood at the university. But these beloved “bells” hold a secret: They’re not hanging in a campanile, or bell tower. They’re electronic rods.

A gift from the San Fernando Valley State College Class of 1966, the carillon is a Matador landmark of sorts that produces beautiful melodies to serenade the CSUN campus every day, year round. The original 1960s 54-“bell” system was housed in the former Administration Building, now called Bayramian Hall.

“The entire [carillon] system is a product of Maas-Rowe Carillons, and the ‘bells’ are actually tuned rods that, when struck, produce sound equivalent to cast bronze bell [chimes],” said alumnus Jeff Craig ’70 (Chemistry), Physical Plant Management (PPM) network analyst and carillon caretaker. “The depressions in the rods are how each rod is tuned to the correct sound.”

Designed for CSUN’s park-like campus, the chimes produced by the rods are amplified through funnel-shaped speakers above Monterey Hall, Redwood Hall, Student Housing dorms, Bayramian Hall and the PPM Administration building.

In 1988, 98 more rods were added to the carillon to produce better music. 

“The 98 rods were divided into ‘major’ and ‘minor’ rods and housed in oak cases,” said Craig. “[As time went on], the carillon was expanded by the addition of 49 Flemish rods and a Harp-Celeste with 61 rods.”

Music Therapy

The carillon continued to grace the campus with its sound until the university’s greatest crisis: The 1994 Northridge earthquake left the campus with massive rebuilding challenges that disrupted the pace, look and sound of the university. After some minor repairs, it was the soothing sounds of the carillon that helped restore tranquility to those who endured the difficulties of the earthquake.

Following its reconstruction, the carillon was transferred to a new home in Cypress Hall and equipped with 222 rods, two keyboards to permit the carillon to be played live as an organ and a microphone enabling it to serve as the university’s emergency broadcast system.

Today, the restored carillon keeps the time for students and faculty rushing to classes, exams, important events — even graduation ceremonies. The reverberating chimes bolster Matador spirit, playing the CSUN fight song, Hail to the Matadors.

“[When students and faculty] hear the music, it gives [them] a reference to know the time, especially if there’s some kind of important event,” said Craig.

The heart of the system is the Chronobell controller, which contains the amplifiers, digital song library and the GPS clock interface. The GPS system syncs the electronic rods to chime at 8 a.m., and every half hour and on the hour.

A Labor of Love

Maintaining and preserving the carillon helps connect alumni from past generations to CSUN when they visit the campus, at Homecoming and special events, Craig said.

“The carillon as a landmark adds prestige to the university,” he said. “[It’s interesting to hear] parents who are CSUN alumni say, ‘Oh, I used to hear the same music when I was a student here.'”

Craig said he takes pride in his job and maintains the carillon as a way of giving back to his alma mater. Since 1988, he has been the “unofficial official” caretaker of the system.

“Taking care of the carillon is volunteer work, and I volunteered,” he said. “In the 1960s, someone from PPM took care of it. In 1988, I worked with Maas-Rowe, the vendor who made the carillon, and we expanded the [carillon’s] capabilities to play more songs.

“I’m the go-to person if the carillon isn’t playing the right note, or there are problems with the speakers or amplifiers,” added Craig. “[I’m proud of my job] because it feels like I’m giving back to CSUN.” 

Next Generation

Craig has been the catalyst behind the carillon for 29 years, but he plans to retire this year. His successor and protége, PPM info tech consultant Arthur Grutman ’16 (Computer Science), volunteered to take Craig’s place.

Grutman explained how he, too, fell for the carillon. 

“The carillon is one of many CSUN hallmarks that Physical Plant Management maintains, that gives character to the campus and has been a feature since the late 1960s,” Grutman said. “My interest in the carillon first piqued when I learned that the system was a set of [tuned rods].”

Grutman and the PPM administration plan, with assistance from the campus emergency preparedness manager, to enhance the carillon in the coming year by migrating it to a data-network solution using fiber optics, he said. The updates will eliminate interference, sharpen the sound and provide better control of the campus-wide system, Grutman said.

For more information on CSUN’s carillon, please contact jeff.craig@csun.edu.

California State University, Northridge computer science professor Richard Lorentz ​is an Olympian, but not on the track or in the pool. He competes annually at the Computer Olympiad tournament, an international competition for game-playing computer programs, to test the latest programming.

“A human can play games, but how well can a computer play?” Lorentz asked rhetorically. “This is where programming comes in.”

The International Computer Games Association (ICGA) hosts the annual Computer Olympiad and determines its location. This summer’s competition was held in Leiden, Netherlands.

At this year’s tournament, Lorentz won gold medals in a game called Amazons for the sixth consecutive year, and he also captured a gold in a game called Breakthrough — bringing the total number of medals he’s won to 14 since 2001.

The Olympiad consists of 100 to 150 competitors in total, and there are usually 20 to 25 games, with anywhere from two programs competing to a dozen or more programs competing in each game. This year, Breakthrough had five programs competing and Amazons had four programs competing.

Lorentz is among the best competitors around, as there are three medals (gold, silver and bronze) awarded for every game at the Computer Olympiad, and he has won multiple gold medals.

Amazons is played on a board with 10 squares by 10 squares, and the objective of the game is to gain access to more empty squares than the opponent. Breakthrough is played on a checkered eight-by-eight square board, where the objective of the game is to get one of the player’s pieces to the opponent’s side of the board, similar to checkers — where the objective is to be the first to obtain a king.  

One algorithm, or blueprint for writing a program, used in artificial intelligence for game-playing programs is called Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) and is especially effective in games such as Breakthrough and Amazons, Lorentz said. MCTS searches for the best move in a game by examining many possible sequences of moves, and each sequence can be thought of as a branch in a tree. The branch that looks the most effective to the computer is the move the program will choose.

It was 2001 when Lorentz decided to compete in his first Olympiad with his master’s students in Maastricht, Netherlands.

“My affinity for computer game programming especially grew when I came to CSUN, and I wanted to get master’s students interested in AI (artificial intelligence) programming,” he said. “In 2001, students were working in the program with me. We decided to compete to test our programs. It seemed like a really good educational opportunity.”

Today, Lorentz brings master’s students from CSUN to the Olympiad as part of their dissertation.

S.K. Ramesh — who is stepping down as dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and will become the director of AIMS2 (Attract Inspire Mentor and Support Students), which aims to increase the number of Latina/o and low-income students who graduate from CSUN with degrees from CECS undergraduate programs  — called Lorentz a brilliant scholar and an incredible faculty member.

“A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of presenting [Lorentz] with a Distinguished Engineering Educator Award from the Engineers Council, for transformative research in MCTS algorithms and seminal contributions in game-playing programming as an internationally acclaimed educator and scholar in computer science,” Ramesh said. “His record in Computer Olympiads is simply unbelievable. CSUN is so lucky to have someone of his caliber in our ranks.”

Lorentz is already preparing for next year’s Computer Olympiad by researching how to modify algorithms and find even better moves.

“The way we prepare for the Olympiad is to find ways to make the programming better, more efficient,” he said.

The location for Lorentz’s 13th tournament is to be announced, but he explained what keeps him coming back.

“There are so many factors why I keep coming back to compete,” Lorentz said. “There’s the thrill of the competition, sense of camaraderie, making friends and being able to represent CSUN worldwide.”

For more information on the Computer Olympiad, please contact richard.lorentz@csun.edu.

California State University (CSU) engineering students are invited to participate annually in the General Electric Digital (GE) Predix Competition, in San Ramon, Calif. In July, eight CSUN engineering and computer science students placed third in the competition, with the guidance of advisor and electrical and computer engineering professor Vijay Bhatt.

CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science was granted $10,000 by GE Predix to fund their project for the competition. Predix is a cloud-based [data analytics] software.

The aim of the competition is to drive innovation, create opportunities for the students to learn about new technologies, and engage engineering and computer science programs across the CSU in the computer engineering industry.  

THE BUSINESS PLAN

Bhatt and the students wanted to create a unique business plan for the campus. The team decided to design a software tool that could help the existing chiller system be more efficient for the air conditioning on campus. A chiller system is a water cooling system used for air conditioning plants, using cold water and air, according to Bhatt.

“The big water chillers are used for the cooling systems on campus,” Bhatt said. “There are six of them, and the electricity bill for that comes in at hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

“The issue aligned with the campus’ sustainability mission and should make a difference,” Bhatt continued. “This project was very interesting [because] we tried to predict the usage of water chillers on campus.”

The team brainstormed about how to make chillers more sustainable by partnering with staff and faculty from the CSUN Institute for Sustainability, to find ways to use data analytics and weather information. The sustainability staff provided historical and current data about use of chillers on campus and other vital parameters. Next, the engineering students created an algorithm, the blueprint for writing a program, which the students applied in Predix.

When the software program regurgitated the data, the CSUN team determined which chillers should be used and how they could be optimized to reduce electricity use, according to Bhatt.

The team discovered that if the university used their model, they could save CSUN approximately $72,000 for excessive usage.

PUSHING THE LIMITS

“Our third-place win shows the strength of our computer science and engineering department,” said computer science major and Predix team member Roberto Gonzalez. “[We] pushed the limits to optimize the chiller system, and that ensured our win for CSUN.”

It was CSUN’s first time reaching the top three — and a $2,500 prize — out of eight CSU campuses.

TEAM BUILDING

Haiping Chen, a CSUN computer science major, noted the challenges of delving into the university’s chiller electricity bill.

“We were looking at … how long [it would have taken] the school to equalize the money they are investing in the system,” he said. “We presented [our research] to a panel of judges, and they were impressed at how well we budgeted. If we invested a certain amount of money, we always asked what the benefits were.”

The team spent three months preparing for the competition, and the students devoted many hours of time outside class learning how to use the Predix software. It paid off with the top-three finish, prize money and a tour of GE Digital’s office. Organizers also gave each student participant a “souvenir” light bulb.

The CSUN students noted that they got a laugh out of TSA security officers when they passed through airport security, each with a lightbulb, on their way back to Los Angeles.

CSUN’s GE Predix project will continue during the 2017-18 academic year, when team members aim to create an app for chiller management and the campus’ Physical Plant Management.

Self-driving cars, clean energy, augmented reality and gaming are just some of the latest technologies that make students and members of the community wonder what the future will hold.

California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, and David Nazarian College of Business and Economics are co-hosting the fifth annual Art of Innovation Conference to give students and members of the community the opportunity to tap the innovative minds of the entrepreneurs who are creating the technology of tomorrow. The free event will take place from 8:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, in the Grand Salon of the University Student Union located on the east side of campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

“One of the primary goals [for the conference] is to expose our attendees to these new technologies and the future of the economy,” said Ryan Holbrook, entrepreneurship program director in the Nazarian College. “And anytime we get individuals from different backgrounds and disciplines together in the same room interacting with one another, there’s a certain kind of magic that happens.”

California State University, Northridge’s next Education on the Edge keynote speaker, Matt Peterson. Photo credit: Hillary Institute

This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Matt Peterson, president and CEO of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. Peterson previously served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles, working with Mayor Eric Garcetti to make LA the most sustainable city in the nation.

The conference will be divided into three focus areas: “Future of Technology,” “Future of Transportation” and “Future of Augmented and Virtual Reality.”

“Part of the reason why we picked these themes is to get attendees talking about technology and entertainment because it’s something that affects us every day and makes our lives better,” said Jimmy Gandhi, associate professor and director of the Ernie Schaeffer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the college of engineering. “We want students to see how innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset can help them do better in their careers.”

The event’s panels will feature professionals from industries including virtual reality, sustainability, new media, industry titans and thought leaders.

Given the focus on sustainability from CSUN and the City of Los Angeles as a whole, as well as a panel on the future of transportation, conference organizers are excited to have Peterson kick off the conference, Holbrook said.

Seating is limited, so those interested in attending should register online at the eventbrite website. For more information, contact Gandhi at sj.gandhi@csun.edu.

The Art of Innovation conference, scheduled to take place on Friday, Oct. 13, at California State University, Northridge has been postponed until the Fall of 2018.

The conference’s keynote speaker was scheduled to be Matt Peterson, president and CEO of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. Peterson previously served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles, working with Mayor Eric Garcetti to make LA the most sustainable city in the notation.

University officials said they are planning to reschedule the conference for next fall.

The Art of Innovation conference was being co-hosted by CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, and David Nazarian College of Business and Economics.

As they reached for the sky, the female technology entrepreneurs shown in the documentary She Started It! fought the gravity of societal norms and pressures.

In the film, which screened Oct. 4 in the Delmar T. Oviatt Library of California State University, Northridge, the protagonists are shown dealing with: the discouragement of girls from pursuing careers in technology and entrepreneurship, a lack of allies in the male-driven world of venture capitalism, and leadership systems that tend to undervalue the traits women can bring.

CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison applauded the film for celebrating creativity and innovation in the field of technology and innovation, and highlighting the important role women have played in spite of significant obstacles.

“CSUN is a catalyst for broadening the pool of talent and changing culture so that everybody has equal opportunity to succeed, and everyone’s contribution to progress is recognized. Sadly, women continue to be hindered and their stories untold, especially in the fields of technology, engineering, and innovation,” Harrison said.  She added that films such as this, and universities such as CSUN, help ensure that the future of innovation is enhanced and expanded by fully utilizing the talents of everyone who is motivated and persistent regardless of their gender, skin color or economic background.

The event was presented by the Oviatt Library and the Bonita J. Campbell Endowment for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). After the film, a panel of women with entrepreneurial and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) successes reacted to the movie’s themes and shared their own experiences of triumph and challenges.

The panelists—entrepreneurial engineer Carolyn Casavan, CSUN biochemistry professors Karin Crowhurst and Paula Fischhaber, and University of Southern California media arts and practice professor Tania Mulry—emphasized that women can bring valuable differences to enhance male-dominated fields, but if they want to lead in the same style as men, that should be OK, too.

“The whole business environment was built by men and it’s designed along their ways of thinking,” said Casavan, who began her career in research and manufacturing with Mobil Oil Corporation and now works as a sustainability and environmental consultant. “And we’re different. We have a lot of value to bring to the table. Instead of trying to fit into their world, we need to add our world to that world. I think that’s where women will succeed. We need to go to the institutions and say, ‘You need to understand the value women are bringing to the table and add them to your value chain.’”

There is also the resiliency factor that cannot be discounted among women breaking into these fields where they have been underrepresented. A key quote from the film came from Thuy Truong, a serial entrepreneur whose ventures included running and selling a frozen yogurt chain in Vietnam: “If plan A, plan B, plan C don’t work, there are 23 other characters in the alphabet.”

In addition to Truong, She Started It! highlighted entrepreneurs such as Stacey Ferreira, who was in high school when she co-founded MySocialCloud, which attracted the attention of Virgin magnate Richard Branson, who helped them secure $1 million in seed money; and Sheena Allen, whose mobile app company Sheena Allen Apps hosts six apps and has millions of downloads.

The film’s protagonists are shown mastering the tightrope walk of acceptable behavior for women pitching ideas to men in the business world: be approachable and likable, hold your own—but don’t be too assertive.

“One of the things that came back again in the movie and probably in all of our lives is the societal norms aspect: ‘This is not the way that a woman or girl acts or operates,’” said Crowhurst, who works with CSUN students on projects to further understanding of protein structure and function. “It did make me think about my own path, maybe I’m not socially in tune with other people, but I basically didn’t care. I’m sure all of us feel like we don’t belong in certain places at certain times, or ‘that these people must know way more than I do,’ but it’s just the idea of ‘this is what I want to do and if people don’t think I should do it, that’s too bad.’”

Truong and Ferreira are shown dealing with high-publicized failures, then deciding to start again.

“What the movie drove home for me is, regardless of what you try to do for a living, bringing that resilience is so important,” said Fischhaber, who conducts research on the biochemistry of DNA repair pathways, which protect organisms from cancer and aging. “The ability to keep going when you really wanted to give up is probably the most important characteristic I have. I saw that in all the women in that movie. If that’s the piece we can give our students here, I think they’re all going to be successful.”

Mulry, a founding member of the MasterCard Worldwide’s Information Products and Services team whose contributions continue to yield the company more than $45 million annually, agreed.

“To make a connection between entrepreneurship and science, one thing that really helps people cope as an entrepreneur when they need that resilience the most is to talk about business as an experiment,” Mulry said. “They really learn the scientific method, they learn they can have a hypothesis, they can test it, and they can see: Were they right, were they wrong? Either outcome is OK; they learn and they can adjust. And that’s exactly the way they can build a business.”

Some of the highest-achieving California State University, Northridge students gathered in the backyard of the University House, home to CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison, to be recognized for their achievements at the Oct. 20 Northridge Scholars Reception. 

The students were part of the Northridge Scholars Program, a merit-based scholarship program that includes the University Scholarship and the Presidential Scholarship.

Of the 218 undergraduate students who applied for the University Scholarship this year, just 22 were selected. Each was awarded $7,500. University Scholars engage in scholarly development activities, such as attending conferences, as they deeply explore their field of interest.

Just 10 of 21 students who applied were awarded a Presidential Scholarship, which includes $10,000 and the opportunity to work on yearlong projects with faculty mentors.

The University Scholarship is funded by the Bayramian Family Scholarship Endowment. The Presidential Scholarship is funded by Associated Students, the Bayramian Family Scholarship Endowment, the Blenda Wilson Scholarship, the Diane Ryan Scholarship Endowment and the Medtronic Minimed Endowment.

The generous scholarships are critical to helping students succeed, Harrison said. She noted that prior scholars have graduated with honors and gone on to earn advanced degrees.

“When you think about what some of our prior scholars have accomplished, you can get inspired,” she told the students. “It sets you forward on a really good path.”

Harrison was joined by administrators, deans and faculty mentors who welcomed the accomplished students. The students represented eight of CSUN’s colleges. Their cohort included ten prior recipients, undocumented students and even a set of twins.

University Scholar Jean Pauline Serrano is a sophomore psychology major who aspires to earn master’s and doctoral degrees and to become a professor who teaches and inspires students. She was raised by a single mother and works three jobs: as a supplemental instructor at CSUN in statistics courses, as a private tutor for special-needs students in her neighborhood and as a sales associate at Adidas.

“The scholarship definitely lightens the load,” Serrano said. “It’s nice to be honored. It’s humbling. It feels like the school cares about the work we’re doing.”

Senior psychology major Natalie Rankin, a Presidential Scholar, is a dual citizen of the United States and Mexico. Her work has concentrated on reducing discrimination toward minority groups, including using a video called Off the Streets for Good to put a personal — and local — face on the issue of homelessness. Rankin said she was honored to be able to continue her research with her mentor, professor Luciana Lagana.

After graduating from CSUN, Rankin said she hopes to one day become a bilingual psychiatrist who can serve the Latino population.

“I’m the first in my family to go to college,” Rankin said. “I hope to lead by example and show other minorities they can do this too. I was fortunate to have professors to show me I can do it. I’m really proud to be here.”

Associate Vice President for Student Access and Support Dwayne Cantrell recognized each of the scholarship recipients and asked them introduce themselves to those in attendance.

“I want to congratulate you on your work that you’ve done and your accomplishments so far,” Cantrell said. “We’re excited about what you are going to produce in the future.”

Harrison thanked the scholarship selection committees and faculty mentors who helped the students. She also encouraged the students to introduce themselves to one another, as they would likely find common ground with respect to the value they place on academic achievement.

“You represent many different disciplines and majors, and it is important to get outside of your scope of thinking and see what others are doing,” Harrison said. “We know that creativity is increased and enhanced when it’s multidisciplinary. Think of what you can do if you have all these great scholars around campus you can come to know, people doing these incredible things — and they’re right here.”