Honors - Fall 2017

Emily Allen (College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology) was presented the 2017 Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity during the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., Awards Gala in Baltimore, MD, on Oct. 20, 2017. She also received a $464,977 grant from the National Science Foundation to help develop a diverse workforce in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, Aug. 15, 2017. The three-year NSF award will be used to expand Cal State LA’s first-year experience program for undergraduate students in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology. Other faculty members involved in the program include Zilong Ye (Computer Science), Mark Tufenkjian (Civil Engineering), Gustavo Menezes (Civil Engineering), and Paul Nerenberg (Civil Engineering).

Roberto Cantú (Emeritus, Chicano Studies/English) received an award in the Best Nonfiction – Multi-Author category for the book he edited, The Forked Juniper: Critical Perspectives of Rudolfo Anaya, during the International Latino Book Awards Ceremony at CSU Dominguez Hills, Sept. 9, 2017.

Domnita Dumitrescu (Emerita, Modern Languages and Literatures) was named a Lifetime Achiever by the Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles. Dumitrescu was noted for her achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field, Aug. 1, 2017.

Barry Hunt and Andre Avramchuk (Management) mentored the healthcare management graduate team who placed third at the 2017 Western Region College Bowl Case Study Competition in Los Angeles, CA, on Apr. 7, 2017. The winning team members, Chrysa Servou, Karla Salmon, Daniel Vi and Anagha Shinkre, developed a persuasive proposal and five-year strategic plan for Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Rita Ledesma (Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services) and Ashley Munger (Child and Family Studies) were awarded a $16 million grant from the California Department of Health Care Services to promote dental health among underserved populations in Los Angeles. Cal State LA is one of 15 recipients of the Local Dental Pilot Project funding, which is part of the Medi-Cal 2020 Dental Transformation Initiative, Apr. 15, 2017.

Allison Mattheis (Applied and Advanced Studies in Education) is part of a national research team that is developing a training program to combat sexual harassment in the field of geosciences. The collaborative project is funded by a four-year, $1.1 million ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation, Aug. 1, 2017.

Marina Mondin (Electrical and Computer Engineering) received a $380,000 grant from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to conduct research designed to improve cyber security. Cal State LA will collaborate with NATO experts, as well as scientists from Italy, Israel, and Pakistan on the project, May 2017.

Bridget Murnane (TV, Film and Media Studies) was selected to participate in the Television Academy Foundation’s 2017 Faculty Seminar Program, Nov. 6-10, 2017. The Television Academy selected only 25 professors from colleges and universities nationwide for the annual program.

Debasree Raychaudhuri (Mathematics) received a nearly $250,000 grant from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to create a fast track for students studying to become math teachers. Other Cal State LA faculty members involved with the Integrated Teacher Preparation Program in mathematics, commonly known as SCOPE, include co-principal investigators Melisa Hendrata (Mathematics) and Frederick Uy (Curriculum and Instruction), Nov. 28, 2017.

Jongwook Woo (Information Systems) received a $10,000 Amazon AWS research grant to analyze big data and Twitter data sets, Aug. 2017. He was also awarded a faculty scholarship from Teradata, a leading data warehouse company. The scholarship covered expenses to attend the Teradata PARTNERS Conference in Anaheim, CA, Oct. 22-26, 2017.

Howard Xu (Biological Sciences), center, was presented the 2018 CSUPERB Faculty Research Award during the 30th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium, at the Santa Clara Marriott, Jan. 11-13, 2018. The award “honors a CSU faculty member who has done significant work and built an outstanding biotechnology-related research program.” Xu’s biotechnology research is centered on fighting bacterial infections and the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains with anti-virulence factors in combination with antibiotics. Xu has led pioneering initiatives at Cal State LA and across CSU campuses to increase educational and research opportunities for students in biotechnology.