Transforming Dreams Into Reality
College of Engineering, Computer Science & Technology
Fellows
Second class of
IMPACT - LA Fellows
Starring as teaching fellows in
the second season of IM-
PACT LA are nine Cal State
L.A. graduate students work-
ing at area schools. Drawing
upon their research areas for
material, they are introducing
concepts, developing hands-on
activities, enriching curriculum
and inspiring students to see
science as fun and exciting.
Jessica Alvarenga
Electrical Engineering
Major school: Roosevelt High Schl
Research focus: Control algorithms for
a large segmented space telescope
testbed
Sean Caonguyen
Biochemistry
Major school: Roosevelt High Schl
Research focus: Lipid-transfer proteins
in the development and aging of the
flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana;
bioinformatics and plant evolution
Saray Felix
Biology
Major school: Hollenbeck Middle
School Research focus: Sendai virus
Tiffany Kwong
Physics
Major school: Stevenson Middle Schl
Research focus: Photoluminescence of
quantum dots related to biophysics
...continued on page 5
scientific phenomena.
Bioengineering major Mo Zhang
The children demonstrated their
said, “During the summer camp,
creativity and design skills in two
I repeated my activities five times
engineering team challenges—
and by the end my gestures
Mars Rover Egg Drop Contest and became more natural, the activity
the Cardboard Boat Race.
became more fun and interesting,
and I started asking students
more questions.”
Biology major Danielle Trathen
said, “I enjoyed watching the kids
learn and engage excitedly in
Cal State L.A. received a five-
the camps activities. I really liked
year $3 million grant from NSF to
working with kids from different
support the University’s IMPACT
age ranges. It was good practice
LA program. Each fellow has been
for learning how to modify the way awarded a $30,000 stipend, along
I teach for children of differing
with $10,500 for fees, books and
grade levels.”
travel, to conduct research and
develop classroom activities.
Photo by: Bernard Kane. (l-r): Danielle Trathen, Johnson Wang, Tiffany Kwong, Ricardo
Sanchez, Mo Zhang, Saray Felix, Victor Mejia, Sean Caonguyen, and Jessica Alvarenga.
Find out more about IMPACT LA at the following links:
IMPACT LA at Cal State L.A.:
http://impactla.calstatela.edu
IMPACT LA Graduate Teaching Fellows at CSULA:
http://impactla.calstatela.edu/people.shtml?param=Fellow
IMPACT LA Faculty Mentors at CSULA:
http://impactla.calstatela.edu/people.shtml?param=Research_Mentor
IMPACT LA Partner-Teachers:
http://impactla.calstatela.edu/people.shtml?param=Teacher
First trio of IMPACT-LA Fellows:
http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/spotlight/archive/2009/impact_la.php
NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education Program:
http://www.nsfgk12.org
horizonfuelcell.com/video04.htm.
More information is available
on the Horizon Fuel Cell
Technologies website.
Blekhman said, “It’s perhaps the
very first application of fuel cells to
power LEGO® MindStorms—and
successful to boot.”
The CSULA workshop also in-
cluded an introduction to robotics,
lessons on how various sensors
work, principles of programming,
program structure and modern
methods of programming.
Blekhman has been invited by
Horizons to demonstrate the fuel-
cell-powered robot at the Interna-
tional Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas this coming January.
Transforming Dreams Into Reality
College of Engineering, Computer Science & Technology
www.calstatela.edu
PAGE • 5
5151 State University Drive • Los Angeles • CA 90032
Fuel cells power up LEGO® robot
Alt-energy leader invited to unveil retro-Mindstorms
at Las Vegas International show
Photo courtesy CSULA Spotlight: LEGO® -Mindstorm
Fellows
Second class of
IMPACT - LA Fellows
Victor Mejia
Computer Science
Major school: Roosevelt High Schl
Research focus: Development of an
object-tracking algorithm for real-time
automated video analysis
Ricardo Sanchez
Biochemistry
Major School: Stevenson Middle Schl
Research focus: Creation of software
that uses protein structural data to
predict oxidation susceptibility
Danielle Trathen
Biology
Major school: Stern Math &
Science Schl
Research focus: Gene flow and larval
connectivity patterns of sea slug
populations in the Caribbean
Johnson Wang
Electrical / Computer Engineering
Major school: Roosevelt High Schl
Research focus: Implementation of
motion-estimation calculation for the
H.264 video compression standard
on field programmable gated array
(FPGA)
Mo Zhang
Electrical Engineering
Major school: Hollenbeck Middle Schl
Research focus: Design of a tremor
assessment task, including a disease-
analyzing algorithm and a Tablet PC,
to accurately assess Parkinson’s
patients
By: CSULA ‘Spotlight’
A different kind of MindStorms is
about to hit Las Vegas. A robotics
project at Cal State L.A. repre-
sents what is thought to be the
first fuel-cell-powered LEGO®
MindStorms Nxt robot.
It rolled out of an undergradu-
ate alternative energy workshop
taught by CSULA Technology
Associate Professor David
Blekhman last summer. Blekhman
introduced his students to the
principles of fuel cells and hydro-
gen production, with a particular
focus on automotive applications.
A video of the robot, which
runs on a Horizon H-20 fuel-
cell system, is here: http://www.
Strategic Alliance
Initiative & Senior Design
Cal State L.A. - ECST students work on
their capstone projects with industry
Photo courtesy CSULA ECST: Dr. Trinh Pham at the first Senior Design meeting
which included clients, faculty and students
By: CSULA - ECST
Cal State L.A. has begun it’s second year of the
Strategic Alliance Initiative to further establish the
College of Engineering, Computer Science and
Technology (ECST) as a recognized world class
provider of professional practice experiences for its
engineering and computer science students, while
enhancing the recruitment and retention of highest
potential students.
Outcomes achieved during the first year included
a sponsored Professional Practices Program, a
sponsored Corporate Scholars Program and nine
founding Strategic Corporate Partners committed to
the programs.
The Professional Practice Program initially focuses
on corporate sponsored Senior Design projects
while continuing the development of interdisciplinary
team based learning throughout the College. The
purpose of the program is to provide students with a
capstone experience, in which they apply their theo-
retical knowledge to real applications. The current
CS welcomes new
faculty members!
New hires continue Cal State L.A.’s
reputation of quality faculty com-
mited to students and their success
California State University, Los Angeles and
the College of Engineering, Computer Science
and Technology are pleased to welcome our
four new faculty members. With these talented
scholars joining our team, we hope to continue
our tradition of transforming their dreams into
reality.
Dr. Gustavo Menezes
Dr. Deborah Won
Dept. of
Dept. of Electrical
Civil Engineering
Engineering
Dr.Tammy Chan
Dept. of Mechanical
Engineering
Dr. Verica
Radisavljevic-Gajic
Dept. of Mechanical
Engineering
Transforming Dreams Into Reality
College of Engineering, Computer Science & Technology
E T