Professional Activities
Manuel Aguilar-Moreno
Manuel Aguilar-Moreno (Art), center, along with the Cal State LA Art History Society, hosted the 2019 Mesoamerican Symposium, themed "1519, the Arrival of Strangers: Indigenous Art and Voices following the Spanish Conquest of Mesoamerica," in partnership with the Getty Research Institute, Oct. 3-5, 2019. The event was held in honor of renowned Mexican scholar Miguel León-Portilla. Guests included Marcela Celorio, consul general of Mexico in Los Angeles.
William Bollinger
William Bollinger (Latin American Studies), left, was invited to present papers at conferences in South America in July and August, 2019. He presented his paper, “Interpreting the Arrival of North American Ships in Peru and Chile, 1788-1828: Essay in Appreciation of Eugenio Pereira Salas,” at the Sixth Latin American Congress of Economic History held in Santiago, Chile. His second paper, “Trading with the Enemy: U.S. Commerce with Royalists During Peru’s War for Independence, 1818-1824,” was presented in his absence by historian Cristina Ana Mazzeo of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru (PUCP) at the Fourth Congress of the Asociación Peruana de Historia Económica held in the northern city of Piura.
Francisco Balderrama
Francisco Balderrama (Emeritus, Chicano Studies/History) presented a discussion of his book, Decades of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s, at the Washington Irving Branch Library for its Connecting Cultures program, Los Angeles, Oct. 12, 2019.
David Blekhman
David Blekhman (Technology), center, delivered an inaugural lecture as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Alternative Energy Technology in Sweden. Blekhman is teaching specialized courses in alternative energy technology at Chalmers University of Technology through spring 2020. His lecture was part of this year’s Chalmers Sustainability Day on Nov. 8, 2019. As a Fulbright scholar, he was invited as a special guest to attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden on Dec. 10, 2019. Blekhman is also featured in a recently-released documentary, The Hydrogen House, where he breaks down the residential use of hydrogen electrolysers.
James Brady
James Brady (Anthropology) conducted archaeological excavations at Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, Mexico in August 2019 with graduate student Christina Iglesias and former student Humberto Nation, now a doctoral student at Oregon State University. He presented a paper, “Ritual Termination of Balamkú at Chichén Itzá,” co-authored with Cal State LA instructor Melanie Saldaña and Mexican archaeologist Guillermo de Anda, at the 10th Annual South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica held in Baton Rouge, LA, Oct. 18-20, 2019. Brady also presented a paper, “Una nueva interpretación del Osario en Chichén Itzá,” in the Primer Coloquio de Arqueología del Gran Acuífero Maya at the Museo Nacional de Historia in Mexico City on Nov. 20, 2019.
Stanley Burstein
Stanley Burstein (Emeritus, History) delivered a keynote address, “The African Encounter with Greece: The Case of Kush,” at the 33rd Biennial Conference of the Classical Association of South Africa at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) on Nov. 10, 2019.
Alisa Carithers, Gregorio Alcantar, Trisha Brewster, and Joshua Mauldin
Alisa Carithers (Educational Opportunity Program), along with Gregorio Alcantar, Trisha Brewster and Joshua Mauldin, co-presented a session, “You Want To Be An EOP Counselor? Critical Praxis in the Age of Trump,” during the CSU EOP 50th Anniversary Conference, in Long Beach on Sept. 9, 2019.
Danielle Chambers
Danielle Chambers (Educational Opportunity Program), associate director, was the lead presenter for a session, “Foster Youth Students and Community Partnerships,” during the CSU’s 50th Anniversary Conference, in Long Beach, Sept. 8, 2019. She also co-presented two other sessions: “Academic Success Workshop Series: A model for change for students on academic probation” with Meynard Ancheta (Educational Opportunity Program) and “Taking Care of You: Compassion Fatigue & Mindfullness Practices” with other EOP associate directors from CSU San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona.
Ramani Durvasula
Ramani Durvasula (Psychology) discussed and signed her new book, Don’t You Know Who I Am? How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility, at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Jan. 17, 2020.
Margaret Hart
Margaret Hart (English) presented a session, “Educating the Excluded: What Led to the Mandate for Educational Opportunity at California State University” during the CSU EOP 50th Anniversary Conference, in Long Beach, Sept. 9, 2019.
Harkmore Lee
Harkmore Lee (College of Professional and Global Education), dean, was a facilitator for a session, “Imagine How CSU PaCE Programs, Services and Partnerships Might Bring a Forefront (and Increasingly Global) Perspective to the Shaping of the Future California's Economy and to the Education of the University-Prepared Workforce that Will Drive that Economy in the Decade Ahead,” at the CSU Counterparts 2020: Imagine conference in Los Angeles, March 13, 2020.
Nayiri Nahabedian
Nayiri Nahabedian (Social Work) has been leading the call for college savings plans for children in the last several years. Her efforts resulted in the passage of California Assembly Bill 114 last June and in a grant to seed college saving plans for 2,000 first grade students in Glendale Unified School District. AB 114 was established for the purpose of expanding access to higher education through ScholarShare 529 saving accounts.
Jongwook Woo
Jongwook Woo (Information Systems), left, was invited by the Ministry of Small Medium Entrepreneurships and Startups in Korea to present a keynote speech, “The Importance of Open Innovation in AI Era,” at the Open Innovation Network, I-CON 2019, in Seoul, Korea, on Dec. 2, 2019. He introduced the cutting edge technology of big data, artificial intelligence, and distributed deep learning; shared his experience as a founder of startups in the states; and suggested how industry in Korea can adopt them for Smart Factory and Smart City. He also shared the university’s information for potential collaboration in research and teaching.
Publications
Choi Chatterjee
Choi Chatterjee (History) co-edited a paperback, The Global Impacts of Russia's Great War and Revolution, Book 2: The Wider Arc of Revolution, Part 1, published by Slavica Pub, Nov. 22, 2019.
Michael J. Clarke and Cynthia Wang
Michael J. Clarke (TV, Film and Media Studies) and Cynthia Wang (Communication Studies) co-edited a book, Indie Games in the Digital Age, published by Bloomsbury Academic, April 16, 2020.
Katie Dingeman
Katie Dingeman (Sociology), along with graduate student Yvette Servin, co-authored an article, “Paradoxes of Protection: Compassionate Repression at the Mexico–Guatemala Border,” in the Journal on Migration and Human Security, July 29, 2019.
Margaret Finnegan
Margaret Finnegan (Criminal Justice and Criminalistics) authored a middle grade novel, We Could Be Heroes, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers on Feb. 25, 2020. The book has been honored as a Junior Library Guild Selection, and has received positive reviews from Kirkus Review, Booklist, and Publisher's Weekly.
Catherine Haras
Catherine Haras (Center for Effective Teaching and Learning) co-authored a publication, Beyond Classroom Borders: Linking Learning and Work Through Career-Relevant Instruction, published by the American Council in Education in February 2020.
Silvia Heubach
Silvia Heubach (Mathematics) co-authored an article, “Implementing Mastery-Based Grading at Scale in Introductory Statistics,” in the journal PRIMUS (Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies), Jan. 21, 2020.
Patrick Krug
Patrick Krug (Biological Sciences), along with H. Galvão Filho and G. Paulay, co-authored an article, “Eggs sunny-side up: A new species of Olea, an unusual oophagous sea slug (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa), from the western Atlantic,” in the Zootaxa journal, vol. 4614, no. 3, June 11, 2019.
Kate S. Kurtin
Kate S. Kurtin (Communication) authored the following publications: Public Relations in Practice, Oxford University Press, Jan. 4, 2019, and Diving Deeper into Communication: An Introduction and Beyond, Cognella Academic Publishing, Oct. 15, 2019.
Jingjing Li
Jingjing Li (Geosciences and Environment) co-authored the following articles: with X. Zhang, “Beach Pollution Effects on Health and Productivity in California,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 11, 2019; with R. Sehler, JT, Reager, and H. Ye, “Investigating Relationship Between Soil Moisture and Precipitation Globally using Remote Sensing Observations,” in the Journal for Contemporary Water Research and Education, vol. 168, 2019; with W. Li, H. El-Askary, M. Qurban, K.P. ManiKandan, and T. Piechota, “Using Multi-indices Approach to Quantify Mangrove Changes over the Western Arabian Gulf along Saudi Arabia Coast,” in the Ecological Indicators, vol. 102, 2019; and T. Yang, X. Liu, L. Wang, and P. Bai, “Simulating Hydropower Discharge using Multiple Decision Tree Methods and a Dynamical Model Merging Technique,” in the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, vol. 146, no. 2019.
Randall B. Lindsey
Randall B. Lindsey (Emeritus, Education) co-authored a book, Culturally Proficient Coaching Supporting Educators to Create Equitable Schools, second edition, published by Corwin, Dec. 27, 2019.
William London
William London (Public Health) authored the following articles: "Dubious COVID-19 treatments and preventives" in the Center for Inquiry, May 27, 2020; "COVID-19 Schemes, Scams, and Misinformation" in Quackwatch, May 2, 2020; and "Can Naturopathic Doctors Combat COVID-19?" in the Consumer Health column at Skeptical Inquirer, Apr. 2, 2020.
Demetrius Margaziotis and Konrad A. Aniol
Demetrius Margaziotis and Konrad A. Aniol (Emeriti, Physics and Astronomy) were part of a research team who co-authored an article, “Deeply virtual Compton scattering off the neutron,” in the Nature Physics journal, issues 16, Jan. 27, 2020.
Paul Nerenberg
Paul Nerenberg (Biological Sciences) co-authored with A. Zhou, an article, “Benchmarking Electronic Structure Methods for Accurate Fixed-Charge Electrostatic Models,” published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, vol. 60, no. 1, Dec. 5, 2019.
Cheryl Ney
Cheryl Ney (Charter College of Education), dean, co-authored a summary report, “Achieving Climate Stability and Environment Sustainability: PK–12 Education as Part of the Solution for Bending the Curve,” with other faculty and administrative leaders from the University of California and California State University in partnership with key stakeholders to support the urgent need to advance pre-kindergarten to high school environmental and climate change literacy. The report was issued during the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Project and Summit, held at UCLA on Dec. 12, 2019.
ChorSwang Ngin
ChorSwang Ngin (Anthropology) is featured in CUNY FORUM: Asian American / Asian Studies, published by The City University of New York’s Asian America / Asian Research Institute (AAARI), fall/winter 2019-20. In the article, “Identities on Trial in the United States: An Interview with ChorSwang Ngin,” Daniel C. Tsang does a deep dive with anthropologist Ngin into how culturally relevant and competent knowledge can make an intervention within the asylum-seeking process—a legal setting with few procedural protections and serious consequences.
Tasha Willis and Allison Mattheis
Tasha Willis (Social Work) and Allison Mattheis (Applied and Advanced Studies in Education), along with B. Dotson, L. Brannon, M. Hunter, A. Moore, L. Ahmed and L. Williams-Vallarta, co-authored a research article, “I Find Myself Isolated and Alone”: Black Women’s Experiences of Microaggressions at an Hispanic-Serving Institution,” in Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, vol. 12, issue 2, 2019.
Eric Wood
Eric Wood (Biological Sciences) was part of a team who authored a paper, “Extinction filters mediate the global effects of habitat fragmentation on animals,” in the Science magazine, vol. 366, issue 6470, Dec. 6, 2019.
Honors
James Brady
James Brady’s (Anthropology) work that helped rediscover an ancient Maya ritual cave system on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula was recognized among ARCHAEOLOGY magazine's Top 10 Discoveries of 2019. Brady and a team of archaeologists found the cave system known as Balamkú or “Jaguar God,” which contained a trove of more than 150 ritual objects that are believed to have been left untouched for more than 1,000 years.
Oona Fontanella-Nothom
Oona Fontanella-Nothom (Curriculum and Instruction) is the recipient of the 2020 Dissertation of the Year Award for her dissertation titled “Deconstructing in the Wake: Learning Race and Racism in a First-grade Classroom.” She completed her dissertation at the University of Missouri, College of Education in Learning, Teaching and Curriculum. The honor was presented by the Critical Perspectives in Early Childhood Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) on Apr. 18, 2020.
John Kennedy
John Kennedy (Music) was presented a 2019 Plus Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for performances of his catalog over the past year and includes performances here in LA and in Croatia, Malta and Italy. The award recognizes writer members whose works are substantially performed in media not surveyed by ASCAP, or whose works have a unique prestige value.
Paul Liu
Paul Liu (Technology) led his students, Josefina Vasquez and Anna Maria, to a third place finish in the 2020 SourceAmerica Design Challenge. The project, “Light Up the World,“ was developed in partnership with MVLE, a non-profit company that works to employ and support individuals living with disabilities.
Edith Porter
Edith Porter (Biological Sciences) was presented with the 2020 Andreoli Faculty Service Award by the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) during the 32nd Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium at the Santa Clara Marriott, Jan. 16-18, 2020. CSUPERB also recognized Cal State LA students Jacob Parres-Gold with the 2020 Glenn Nagel Undergraduate Research Award, and Tyler Powell with the Don Eden Graduate Student Award.
Christina Restrepo Nazar
Christina Restrepo Nazar (Curriculum and Instruction) received the 2020 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) for her dissertation, “Youth as Teacher Educators: Supporting Preservice Teachers in the Developing Youth Centered, Equity-Oriented Science Teaching Practices.” She was recognized at the AACTE 72nd Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, Feb. 28 – March 1, 2020.
Lauri (Ramey) Scheyer
Lauri (Ramey) Scheyer (Emerita, English) was recently named as a Xiaoxiang Scholars Program Distinguished Professor and serving as founding director of the British and American Poetry Research Center at Hunan Normal University (HNU) in China, 2019-20.
Patrick B. Sharp
Patrick B. Sharp (Liberal Studies) had his book, Darwinian Feminism and Early Science Fiction, chosen as a 2019 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association. There are about 600 academic titles a year that receive the distinction.
Valentine M. Villa
Valentine M. Villa (Social Work) was selected by the California Department of Aging to be a member of the Equity Work Group (EWG) for the Master Plan for Aging, Feb. 13, 2020. The California Department of Aging and its stakeholders are committed to making this a Master Plan for all Californians.
Elaine Wittenberg
Elaine Wittenberg (Communication Studies) was named a Fellow of the Association of Communication in Healthcare, 2020. The Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the Academy of Communication in Healthcare honor members who make substantial contributions to its mission by awarding to them the honor of being designated a Fellow of the ACH.
Submissions
University Reports is an online publication that features faculty and staff news. It is published by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at Cal State LA.
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