Presenters Biography

President Mildred García became the fifth CSU Board of Trustees-appointed president of Cal State Fullerton in June 2012. Previously, she served as president of Cal State Dominguez Hills beginning in 2007, where she was the eleventh female president—and first Latina president—in the California State University system.
Prior to coming to the CSU, she was president of Berkeley College in New York and New Jersey from 2001 to 2007, and earlier held administrative and academic positions at Arizona State University; Montclair State University; Pennsylvania State University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the Hostos, LaGuardia, and City Colleges of the City University of New York.
García is author of several books and articles focused on the impact of equity in higher education policy and practice, and serves on numerous national boards including President Obama’s Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
García received a Doctor of Education degree as well as a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University; a master’s degree in Business Education/Higher Education from New York University; a bachelor’s degree in Business Education from Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY); and an associate’s degree in Legal Secretarial Sciences in Business from New York City Community College, CUNY.

José L. Cruz is is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University, Fullerton. He is the former Vice President for Higher Education Policy and Practice at The Education Trust. He previously served as vice president for student affairs of the University of Puerto Rico System and as professor and chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and dean of academic affairs of the UPR Mayagüez campus. He earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Award.

Christina Adams is a senior undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry at Cal State Fullerton. During her college career, she has taken advantage of numerous research opportunities to gain well-rounded research training to enter a prestigious graduate program. First, she participated in the on-campus Research Careers Preparatory (RCP) program, and then she was selected to conduct research in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for ten weeks, as part of the NIH-funded Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) program in 2011. Soon after, she was named as a Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) scholar at CSUF, where she is co-mentored by Dr. Marcelo Tolmasky and Dr. Chandra Srinivasan. Her current project involves screening potential small molecule inhibitors for an enzyme that confers resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics. Additionally, in summer 2012, she worked in Dr. Kevin Hybiske’s lab at UC Berkeley through the Amgen Scholars Program. Christina is a recipient of the 2012-2013 General College Scholarship from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and an Undergraduate Poster Presentation Award winner at the 2012 National SACNAS Conference. Her research interests include microbial pathogenesis, host-immune responses and cancer. She is interested to pursue these areas in a biomedical sciences Ph.D. program beginning this coming fall.

Joseph Arnold’s extensive work in the Southern California arts community includes reviewing for Art Week, editing two books by Tony-Award winning director, Jose’ Quintero, and co-founding the Playwright-in-Resident program for CSU Summer Arts with Edward Albee. His directing credits include two plays that were performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His off-Broadway credits include, Grasmere, a play about Dorothy and William Wordsworth (also performed at the Egyptian Arena Theatre, Los Angeles) and The Other Side of Main Street, a play about Sinclair Lewis that was chosen as the theatrical centerpiece of the Lewis Centennial.
He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, chaired the CSUF Department of Theatre and Dance, and is an accomplished actor and playwright whose work has been performed throughout the United States. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Black Actors Theatre, Jose’ Quintero Foundation for Theatre Arts and Poets Reading, Inc., and currently serves as Dean of the College of the Arts.

Katie Ayala is a fifth year Communicative Disorders and Child and Adolescent Development double major with a minor in Human Services. She is serving this year as ASI Executive Vice President. Her past involvements include Student Leadership Institute, joining the sorority Alpha Delta Pi, as well as Jumpstart - all in her freshman year. As the years continued she got involved with ASI Productions as their Street Team Coordinator which then led her to become the ASI Productions Administrative Director, overseeing all the entertainment ASI has to offer on campus. Last year she served as the Dean of Students Get Involved Street Team Director as well as the Director for Standards and Ethics in Alpha Delta Pi.
Katie wants to make strong decisions that will best suit the student body. She is a student for students and hopes to really help student governance accomplish their goals.
Katie’s favorite quotes- Critically think and engage” and “Question everyone’s logic”.

Robert Ballard is best known for his historic discoveries of hydrothermal vents, the sunken R.M.S. Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck, and numerous other contemporary and ancient shipwrecks around the world. During his long career he has conducted more than 120 deep-sea expeditions using the latest in exploration technology, and he is a pioneer in the early use of deep-diving submarines.
Ballard has pioneered distance learning in the classrooms of America and around the world with the JASON Project, an award-winning educational program that reaches more than 1 million students and 25,000 teachers annually. He has received prestigious awards from the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Society—the Explorers Medal and the Hubbard Medal, respectively—as well as the Lindbergh Award. In 2003 President George W. Bush presented him with the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal in the Oval Office of the White House.
Ballard is president of the Institute for Exploration, scientist emeritus from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Director of the newly created Center for Ocean Exploration at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. His new ship of exploration, the E/V Nautilus operated by his Ocean Exploration Trust spends four to five months at sea each year and will be exploring the Black Sea, Aegean, Mediterranean, and Atlantic Ocean in 2011, beaming back his exploration around the clock on Nautilus Live.

Susamma Barua, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the Coordinator of the Computer Engineering program and Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Barua is a leader in engineering educational reform and is an experienced developer of innovative education programs. She has been actively involved in mentoring female and underrepresented students in computing for most of her career. She is a Co-PI on the NSF awards, "ECS Academic Catalyst for Excellence (ACE) Scholarship Program," and the "CSUF ADVANCE IT-Catalyst Project." She serves as a PI on the Department of Labor grant “Orange County Bridge to Engineering”. Dr. Barua is the author of numerous technical articles and is a recipient of Outstanding Teacher/Scholar awards several times.

Dr. Michael Bridges assistant professor of physical chemistry at CSUF, received his Postdoctoral at the University of California, Los Angeles and his Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Bridges' general research focus is centered on the study of small, intrinsically unstructured proteins and the changes to their motional dynamics upon binding, activation, phosphorylation, etc. Of particular interest is the cytoskeletal regulation protein, stathmin (or oncoprotein-18) - the configurational and dynamical changes it undergoes upon binding to microtubules and free tubulin. The goal is to elucidate the mechanism of microtubule destabilization by Stathmin as a function of phosphorylation level, employing the techniques of side-directed mutagenesis, nitroxice spin labeling of free protein cysteines, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy.

Dr. Erica Brown obtained her BS in Biochemistry from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. She earned her PHD in Microbiology and Immunology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she conducted basic research on single-strained RNA viruses. Erica then joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as a postdoctoral fellow where she characterized viral proteins involved in the entry and assembly of pox viruses. In 2006, she joined the NIAID Division of Extramural Activities as a Scientific Review Officer (SRO) in the AIDS Research Review Branch where she developed broad expertise in the policies and procedures regarding the content, submission, and evaluation of grant applications and contract proposals. In April 2011, Dr. Brown joined the Office of Extramural Research as the director of the NIH AREA Program and an Extramural Program Coordination Officer. As such, she provides technical leadership and guidance on a range of scientific, academic, legislative, and public policy matters related to NIH extramural research programs.

Dr. Lee Brown was born in Northern California but raised in Los Angeles. While in high school, he competed in basketball and volleyball. He received his B.S. in physical education from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. He completed his graduate work and obtained his Ed.D. from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. While a graduate assistant, he was responsible for isokinetic performance testing specifically designed to determine human responses to high velocity training. Dr. Brown joined the faculty at Cal State Fullerton in 2002. Prior to coming to California, he spent two years at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas as director of the human performance laboratory. Before Arkansas he was in Florida for 16 years serving as research director for an orthopaedic surgeons office and teaching and coaching at the public school level. He is President of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is a Fellow of both the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the NSCA. Lee currently lives in Buena Park, California with his wife Theresa and their two cats, Eliza and Ilsa. Lee enjoys cycling, jogging, and trap shooting.

Nathalie Carrick is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Studies at CSUF. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in Psychology and Social behavior in 2008. Her research interests concern young children's emerging mental representational skills. Specifically, she is interested in how children understand pretense, fantasy, and truths versus lies, with an emphasis on how emotions may influence children's understanding. She is also a CSUF Faculty Fellow for promoting undergraduate research experiences on campus.

Dr. Claire C. Cavallaro has served as the first sitting dean of the College of Education at California State University, Fullerton since 2006. During her tenure, the College has launched a Doctor of Education program in Educational Leadership, a Master’s degree concentration in Higher Education, and four new online Master’s degree programs which are ranked in the top 12% of Best Online Graduate Programs by U.S. News and World Report. As Dean, Cavallaro has led the College in establishing centers of excellence including the Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL) and the SchoolsFirst Center for Creativity and Critical Thinking in Schools. Before joining Cal State Fullerton, Cavallaro served as chief of staff to the president at Cal State Northridge where she worked closely with senior staff and served as the President’s liaison with internal and external constituents from 2003 to 2006. She founded the CHIME Institute, a national leader in the development and implementation of a unique model of inclusive education and was lead petitioner for the nationally recognized CHIME Charter School, later named the Schwarzenegger Community School. Cavallaro earned her Ph.D. in special education at George Peabody College for Teachers at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of numerous publications on teacher education and inclusion, including the book she co-authored, "Preschool Inclusion" (1999).

Tim Chartier is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Davidson College. He is a recipient of a national teaching award from the Mathematical Association of America. As a researcher, Tim has worked with both Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories on the development and analysis of computational methods. Tim’s research with and beyond the labs was recognized with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship.
Tim serves on the Editorial Board for Math Horizons, a mathematics magazine of the Mathematical Association of America. He also serves on the Advisory Council for the Museum of Mathematics, which will be the first museum of mathematics in the United States and is slated to open in 2012. Tim has been a resource for a variety of media inquiries which includes fielding mathematical questions for the Sports Science program on ESPN.

Parag Chitnis, director of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at the National Science Foundation, first arrived at the agency in 2002 on loan from his university (Iowa State University) for what he thought would be a relatively brief stint as a program director. But, as often happens, life had other plans. Instead of heading back to Iowa State University to continue his research on plant biochemistry, he was promoted to deputy director and then director of the division. Dr. Chitnis once was a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and served on its Education and Professional Development Committee for several years.

Mr. Brian Claassen represents clients in patent litigation and in other intellectual property matters including those involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, trade dress and copyrights. Mr. Claassen is also a registered patent attorney. He has prepared and prosecuted patent applications in a variety of technologies, including electronics, computer software, medical devices, ophthalmic devices and methods, and surf craft.
Mr. Claassen is a 2011 alumnus of the Trial Attorney Partnership program with the Orange County District Attorney's Office. As a participant, Mr. Claassen conducted multiple jury trials, motions, and felony preliminary hearings as first chair trial attorney. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Claassen developed embedded systems and signal processing devices as a Senior Software and Hardware Engineer at QSC Audio Products, Inc. Mr. Claassen worked as a summer associate with the firm in 2006. He joined the firm in 2007 and became a partner in 2013.

As Vice President for Information Technology (VPIT) and Chief Information Officer at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), Amir Dabirian oversees all enterprise services of IT. The student-and faculty-centric services provided by the Division of Information Technology include Academic Technology (including online support) research, academic, administrative, networking, IT security, common management systems (campus ERP applications including HR/Finance/Student), and other shared IT services. Amir has 27 years of experience in IT and is the former Assistant Vice Chancellor of Information Technology Services (ITS) for the California State University, Office of the Chancellor.
Amir’s vision of technological innovation has transformed the university into a model 21st-Century learning environment that is secure and sustainable. Using innovations such as server virtualization, strategic partnerships, and open source learning management software has led to a leaner and more efficient infrastructure environment.
Amir earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering with a concentration in computer engineering from California State University, Fullerton. He also earned a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering with a concentration in systems and computer engineering from California State University, Fullerton and a Master of Science degree in computer science from University of California, Riverside.

Dr. Angela Della Volpe holds a Ph.D. in Indo-European Studies from UCLA. She joined the Faculty at Cal State Fullerton in 1980 and has since taught a variety of Linguistics courses, particularly Historical Linguistics, as well as courses in the structure of the English Language. Dr. Della Volpe served as Chair of Linguistics for a number of years before becoming Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1996.She became Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2010.

Andrea Du Bois is a third year masters student in the department of Kinesiology. She has conducted research under the direction of Dr. Daniel Judelson and Dr. Lee Brown. Her thesis is a study investigating the effects of serial apneas and facial immersion on high intensity cycling performance. As a graduate student, she has had the opportunity to lead and assist with projects in the areas of environmental exercise physiology and sport performance. As the student lab director of the Human Performance Lab, she has worked on studies that include the influence of rest following assisted jumping on vertical jump performance, the effect of assisted jump training on vertical jump performance, the development of a power equation for the standing long jump, and numerous others.

Alejandro Espinoza is currently the program coordinator of chronic diseases and special projects at Latino Health Access (LHA). He serves in multiple committees’ county wide providing his expertise on community based participatory research and outreach. His work utilizing the community health worker model at LHA has provided him the opportunity to implement this model in states like Texas, Hawaii and throughout California. Alejandro has also collaborated with academic institutions in their efforts to conduct focus groups, pilot programs and research studies within the Latino community in Orange County.

Dr. Mark S. Filowitz received his Bachelor’s degree from New York University, and two Master’s degrees and a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry from Columbia University. He was with the Exxon Research and Engineering Company as Senior Staff Scientist for ten years, including two years in the United Kingdom. Dr. Filowitz joined Wynn Oil Company in Azusa, California in 1987 as Director of R&D. He subsequently held the positions of VP of R&D, VP of Operations, VP/General Manager for the USA, and was President and CEO from 1992 to 1999.
Dr. Filowitz joined the CSUF Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty in 2000 where he earned a reputation as an outstanding instructor and also served as department Co-Chair from 2004 to 2008. Dr. Filowitz also served as the co-Director of the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Cal State Fullerton with Dr. Maria Linder from 2003 to 2009. He currently is the Principal Investigator for the $2.5 million NSF TEST:UP program that is aimed at improving success of STEM students who transfer from community colleges to a four year institution. Dr. Filowitz was appointed as Associate Dean for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in August 2008.

Dr. Charles P. Funkhouser retired from the CSU system in 2005, but continues to collaborate with his Mathematics Department colleagues in Fullerton on research efforts. Additionally, he frequently serves on review panels for various directorates within NSF. Consistent with his interest in ethnomathematics (the relationship between culture and mathematics), he currently is the PI on a newly awarded NSF DUE project on Native American-based mathematics housed at CSUF. Before retiring from the Fullerton faculty, he had worked in mathematics education in California, Wyoming and Montana over the course of 35 years.

Mr. Fabian Garcia, Director, provides overall program leadership and coordination for matters relating to the implementation of the Southern California Consortium (SCC). He aligns the program with the goals and objectives of the US Forest Service GPRA Strategic Plan, Presidential Executive Orders, and the Regional Forester's partnership and collaboration priority. Mr. Garcia serves as principle liaison between government agencies, non-profit organizations, local businesses, school districts, as well as colleges and universities and collaborates to develop supportive services, outreach, recruitment, and career/school counseling to the urban areas. Mr. Garcia received his Master’s Degree in Educational Foundations from Cal State LA, and his Bachelor’s Degree in Chicana/o Studies with a Minor in Spanish from UCLA.

Dr. Kiran George is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Engineering Program. His research interests include high performance computing, biologically-inspired electronics, and VLSI and FPGA implementation for advanced signal processing and communication algorithms for digital wideband receivers. He brings several years of research and teaching in engineering disciplines, deep knowledge and a keen understanding of the local high tech industry, and is committed to recruit more women and minorities to the College. Dr. George is the author of a number of peer-reviewed technical articles and reports, and recipient of several awards for both scholarly activities and teaching. Dr. George is the sole investigator of three sponsored research projects from NSF and US Army Research Labs (ARL) with a total external funding of over $700,000 in the area of digital wideband receivers. He is the recipient of the 2012 NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. Dr. George is also the PI and the program director for the ECS Academic Catalyst for Excellence (ACE) program, a $600,000 NSF funded program at CSUF that targets academically promising but economically disadvantaged students with emphasis on first generation college students and underrepresented students.

Dr. Arnold Holland is a designer and educator. He began his career in 1991, and since 1998 has been at Cal State Fullerton where he teaches Typography in the Graphic Design Program. He earned his Ed.D. at Cal State Fullerton. Dr. Holland is also currently involved in Service Learning Projects, Magazine Production, and creating International Programs for the university. He also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he earned an MFA degree in design and visual communication. He earned his undergrad degree from Arizona State University in Graphic Design. Prof. Holland has held memberships in the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), College Media Arts Association (CMAA), and American Institute of Graphic Arts Orange County Chapter (AIGA/OC). Prof Holland's interests include: Design Fundamentals Education, Design's Cultural and Historical Context, Semiotics, Typography, and issues of Theory to practice.

Dorota Huizinga, Ph.D., is associate vice president for Graduate Programs and Research and a professor in Computer Science at California State University, Fullerton. She also serves as the university's chief research officer and WASC Accreditation Liaison Officer. Dr. Huizinga joined CSUF in 1991 as an assistant professor in Computer Science and served as the associate dean for the College of Engineering and Computer Science from 2003 to 2008. She is the recipient of several CSUF outstanding faculty recognitions in the areas of scholarly and creative activities, teaching and service. In 2007, she co-authored a professional software engineering book, “Automated Defect Prevention– Best Practices in Software Management” published by John Wiley & Sons. Her research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, State of California and private industry. She is the PI of the recently awarded $2.8 million federal grant “Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA).”

Dr. Berenecea Johnson Eanes is the Vice President for Student Affairs at California State University Fullerton. Dr. Eanes assumed her current role in July of 2012 and is excited to be a part of a new leadership team at CSUF. She oversees a comprehensive student affairs program that is focused on student success. Prior to coming to Fullerton she served as the Vice President for Student Affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In that role, Dr. Johnson Eanes provided leadership and oversight to various student services at John Jay College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). In this role, Dr. Johnson Eanes implemented new student programs, strategic plans, and assessment models, while creating an office of Community Outreach and Service Learning, and reengineering the Office of Career Services and Internships. Previously, Dr. Johnson Eanes served as an Associate Dean of Students for Diversity and Accessibility at Hamilton College, and held leadership positions at Morehouse College and Columbia University. She has university teaching experience at several institutions including John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she also held an appointment as Associate Professor and Department Chair of the Counseling Department. In addition to service as an education professional, Dr. Johnson Eanes has multiple publications and is currently a member of six student affairs professional associations. Dr. Johnson Eanes holds a Ph.D. in Social work from Clark Atlanta University, a Master of Social Work from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Dillard University.

Cathalina Juarez serves as the point of contact for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate and graduate students attending Hispanic Serving Institutions that are seeking information on NASA internship, fellowship and scholarship opportunities. Her responsibilities include implementing recruitment, retention and career development strategies.
Cathalina joined the Hispanic College Fund in 2008, as the National Resident Advisor Recruiter for seven regions of the Hispanic Youth Institute and recruited over 160 college student volunteers. As the national recruiter, she trained and managed the HYI Fellows in each region. She also worked as the Program Facilitator for the NASA Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology (MUST) Project. Ms. Juarez is a mentor on MentorNet, the E-Mentoring Network for Diversity in Engineering and Science. Through her academic, volunteer, and work experience Cathalina has developed a great interest in inspiring and engaging students in STEM.
Cathalina graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as in psychology. She is currently pursuing a master’s in education at California State University, Long Beach.

Dan Judelson, Ph.D., CSCS *D, FACSM is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Development at California State University, Fullerton. He received his B.S in Kinesiology from the College of William and Mary in 1999, his M.S. in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002, and his Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Connecticut in 2006. His primary research interests focus on the impact of environmental stressors (heat, cold, and hypohydration) on physiological functioning, sensory perception, and exercise performance. In addition to being a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Dr. Judelson received the 2009-2010 College of Health and Human Development Faculty Scholar Award and the 2010 Faculty Development Center Faculty Recognition for Scholarly and Creative Activity. He has co-authored 55 peer-reviewed publications, four book chapters, and 130 abstracts at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Judelson sits on the editorial board for the flagship journals of three major national organizations serving the field of Kinesiology and regularly reviews manuscripts for 14 other journals.

Dr. Karge has been at CSU Fullerton for 16 years. She has published numerous articles, five textbooks and several book chapters. She is a faculty in the College of Education and currently coordinates the AIMS (Autism, Inclusion, Mathematics and Science) Scholar program. AIMS Scholar is a federal grant supported program and includes both the Department of Secondary Education (Math and Science) and Special Education. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the profession.

Felicia Kelley is Senior Program Officer at Cal Humanities. She joined the staff as the Los Angeles Program Office in February 1997 and became Senior Programs Manager in February 2002. Dr. Kelley currently oversees the CA Reads biannual statewide reading project, as well as the Community Stories grant program and Literature & Medicine®. Before joining Cal Humanities, she held teaching positions at USC’s School of International Relations and Freshman Writing Program, Immaculate Heart College Center, and the University of Judaism. She has also worked with various nonprofit and educational institutions in the Los Angeles area including CSU Los Angeles, California International Studies Project (Los Angeles site), Pasadena Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA and the American Friends Service Committee’s Pacific Southwest Regional Office. Dr. Kelley has a BA in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MA and PhD in International Relations from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Patrick Kimani is an assistant professor of mathematics at CSUF. Dr. Kimani's research focuses on high school and undergraduate students' understanding of mathematics, particularly their understanding of functions. He is also interested in research on the mathematical knowledge for teachers.

Dr. Matthew Kirby is an associate professor of Geological Sciences specializing in paleoclimatology. He received his Ph.D. in geology at Syracuse University. His research focuses on late Quaternary paleoclimatology with a specific focus on the late-glacial/Holocene transition and the present Holocene Epoch Lacustrine-based multi-proxy, multi-disciplinary research that incorporates historical records of climate change as a calibration tool for assessing past climate states. His current projects are underway in Lake Elsinore, California, Thailand, Baldwin Lake/Big Bear, California, and with the Southern California Paleo-Flood project. Dr. Kirby and colleague Dr. Brady Rhodes are conducting a pilot study to hunt for geological signs in sediment preserved in Southern California's wetlands to determine the region's tsunami history. Dr. Kirby mentors both graduate and undergraduate students in his very active research laboratory.

Robert A. Koch, Ph.D. is the acting dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at California State University, Fullerton. He joined the faculty of Cal State Fullerton in 1976 and has been a professor of cell biology in the Department of Biological Science since 1985 where he served as department chair from 2004-2010. He and his students study cell-cell interactions, cell signaling and cytoskeletal organization in sea squirt sperm activation during fertilization. Koch has earned more than $4.5 million in support of research and research training, and he and his students have published over 50 papers and abstracts. He founded and served as Director of the Minority Access to Research Careers Scholars Program and the Beckman Scholars Program, and in 2003, he founded the Center for Applied Biotechnology Studies and the Program for Applied Biotechnology Studies, the latter of which now offers a Master of Biotechnology degree on three campuses. Koch was named the 1996 CNSM Distinguished Faculty Member, the 2000 CSUPERB Faculty Research Awardee in 2000, the 2010 CSUPERB Andreoli Faculty Service awardee and in 2011 was honored by the Orange County Engineering Council with the Distinguished Engineering Merit Award. Koch earned his BS from Eckerd College (1969) and MS/PhD from Florida State University (1971/76), and served in the US Army from 1971-73.

As Director of the John D. Cooper Archaeological and Paleontological Center, Dr. Jere H. Lipps oversees the management and curation of the collection and plays a critical role in securing grants to support scientists from around the world to study it. Dr. Lipps was previously on the faculty at UC Berkeley where he served as chair of the Department of Integrative Biology, director and curator of the Museum of Paleontology, and chair of the Berkeley Natural History Museums. Dr. Lipps' particular field of interest is the ecology and paleobiology of marine microorganisms, animals and marine mammals. He has conducted field research in Antarctica, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia, the Galapagos Islands and North America's west coast, including detailed studies in Orange County. He has written more than 400 research articles. His honors and awards include the naming of Lipps Island in Antarctica; Antarctic Medal of the U.S.; Joseph A. Cushman Award for Excellence in Research on Foraminifera; Raymond C. Moore Medal of SEPM for Sustained Excellence in Paleontology; Friends of Darwin Award of National Center for Science Education; and W. Storrs Cole Award of the Geological Society of America. He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the California Academy of Sciences and Geological Society of America, and a Centennial Fellow of the Paleontological Society. Dr. Lipps has served as president of the Paleontological Society, the Association of North American Paleontological Societies and the Cushman Foundation.

Comming soon

Dr. Michael Loverude is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Director of CSUF’s Catalyst Center for the Advancement of Research in Math and Science Education, a collaborative effort between the Colleges of Education and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Loverude earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 1999 from the University of Washington and joined the CSUF faculty later that year. Loverude has been the PI on two National Science Foundation grants for research on student learning and development of instructional materials. His current work focuses on student learning of thermodynamics, statistical physics, and underlying mathematical ideas in physics. He also collaborates actively with colleagues in science education to examine the development of student identity and the barriers to that development.

Archana J. McEligot, Ph.D., is a nutritional epidemiologist and professor of Health Science at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. McEligot’s primary research interests include examination of the association between dietary intakes and cancer control and prevention in at-risk populations. Also, she is interested in assessing the relationship between dietary circulating biomarkers, such as folate and carotenoids in conjunction with genetic polymorphisms on cancer risk. She is the first awardee at CSUF to receive the prestigious National Cancer Institutes Career Development Award investigating the interaction between DNA repair genes and diet on breast cancer risk. Other externally funded research projects include assessing behavior and beliefs related to food choice in Native Hawaiians in Southern California, as well as assessing dietary intakes and physical activity in Pacific Islander youth. Also, Dr. McEligot has recently been awarded two USDA external grants on workforce and curriculum development with CSUF students, garnering over a total of 1 million dollars in research funding. She has extensive experience in curriculum development, guiding students, and helping diverse students succeed. Dr. McEligot has taught nutrition-related topics to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students and has mentored nearly 30 students in research projects since 2006. She has also been recognized by CSUF’s honor society as an outstanding faculty member for involving students in research.

Shari McMahan serves as Dean of the College of Health and Human Development at California State University Fullerton. Prior to her role as Dean, Dr. McMahan served as Chair for the Department of Health Science from 2005-2011. At Cal State Fullerton, she has served in numerous academic leadership roles including: Director for the Center for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles and Obesity Prevention, Masters of Public Health Health Coordinator, Academic Senate Exec (Secretary), and founder of the Health Promotion Research Institute. She has made exceptional contributions as a teacher-scholar, researcher, mentor, and professional in her field.
She has numerous publications and presentations and serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Health Promotion. She is co-editor of the Californian Journal of Health Promotion. She has also served as Vice President of Research for the Southwest District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in 2008-2010 and Vice President of Research in 2004-2006.
Dr. McMahan received her BA and PhD degrees in Social Ecology from the University of California at Irvine and a MS degree in Health Science (now known as the department of Environmental and Occupational health) from California State University Northridge.

Dr. Alison Miyamoto is an Assistant Professor in the CSUF Department of Biological Science. She was raised and went to high school in Anaheim, CA, and earned a B.S. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. After getting her undergraduate degree, she earned her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology at Stanford University and then did postdoctoral work at UCLA on the mechanisms of Notch signaling in mammals. Her current research is focused on how animal cells communicate with their environment, including both neighboring cells and the fibrous extracellular matrix. Specifically, she is studying the role of the multi-functional extracellular matrix protein MAGP-2. This protein can activate integrin and Notch receptor signaling, promote blood vessel formation, and has been associated with some subtypes of ovarian cancer. Investigations of MAGP-2 function may lead to greater understanding of fibrotic disease, cancer, and normal matrix activity.

Van Muse is the Associate Dean for the Irvine Campus of CSUF. He oversees all academic operations including scheduling, course management and evaluation, enrollment assessment, as well as student services and recruitment. Van’s areas of expertise are in academic administration, recruitment and institutional marketing, enrollment management, and program and curriculum development. Prior to the Associate Dean position, Van was Director of Graduate Programs for the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at CSUF. There he oversaw all operations for graduate programs particularly the MBA programs. He developed and implemented a successful and unique Full-time MBA program, significantly reworked the other two MBA platforms creating the Evening/Flexible program and the MBA for Working Professionals program. Prior to working at CSUF, Van was the Dean of Academic Affairs for The Art Institute of California, Hollywood and the Dean of Instruction and the Director of the Center for New Media for Kalamazoo Valley Community College (Michigan) with earlier managerial positions at Olivet College (Michigan) and Auburn University (Alabama). Van completed his Ed.D in Higher Education Administration in 1999 from Auburn University, his Master’s in English in 1995 from Auburn University, and his Bachelor’s in English in 1991 from Ohio University.

Dawn Person is Professor of Educational Leadership at California State University, Fullerton. She serves as Coordinator of the Community College Leadership Specialization for the Educational Doctorate. She also serves as the Director of the Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL), where she oversees more than twenty-five evaluation projects and grants with the support and diligent work of student researchers and faculty colleagues. Her most recent work involves laying the foundation for a national study on African American and Latino men in community college settings.
Dr. Person received her B.S. from Slippery Rock University in Elementary and Special Education in 1977, and a Master’s degree in Learning Disabilities in 1979. She earned her Ed.D. in Higher and Adult Education in 1990 from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York.
Dawn received the American College Personnel Association's Diamond Honoree Award, a lifetime achievement award and the Most Valuable Professor Award at CSU Long Beach. She has also been named the Distinguished Faculty member in the College of Education for 2013. She remains active with numerous professional associations.
Dawn resides in Long Beach, California and is the proud mother of two young adult children and a beautiful granddaughter.

Director of Graduate Studies at CSU Fullerton since 2009, Dr. Katherine Powers is also Co-PI of the EPOCHS project at CSUF, serving as its principal writer and leading the project’s early implementation. Powers holds tenured faculty rank at CSUF (Associate Professor, Department of Music) and has been honored as a CSUF Outstanding Teacher/Scholar. She earned a PhD in Musicology and a Master of Arts in Music Performance from the University of California. Her archival-based dissertation on the counter-reformation’s Italian spiritual madrigal was funded by the Fulbright Commission, the Krieble Delmas Foundation for Venetian Studies, the Royal Swedish Academy, and the University of California Doctoral Humanities Fellowship. Powers’ research areas include music iconography (the depiction of music in art works), musical performance practice, and women’s history, on which she has completed two books, and numerous articles and lectures.As a clarinetist, Powers has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C., among other places, and recorded chamber music for the BBC, Swedish Radio, and SMS Classical.

Dr. Anil Puri serves as the dean of Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton, the largest business school in California and fifth largest in the nation.
During Dr. Puri’s tenure, the college has twice renewed its AACSB accreditation and has earned national rankings from Business Week, U.S. News and World Report, and is listed by the Princeton Review as one of the best business schools in the country. With a naming endowment and a new world-class building, the Mihaylo College is recognized as a leader in business education.
Dr. Puri is a noted economist; he received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Chris Renne, Director, Faculty Development Center and Professor, Elementary and Bilingual Education (College of Education). The Faculty Development Center (FDC) has been established to promote faculty development, enrichment and engagement in all areas including teaching, learning, scholarly/creative activities, professional and service activities, and the use of technology.
Dr. Renne received her Ph.D. from UC Riverside in Curriculum and Instruction (Education). She enjoys a variety of research interests including classroom discourse, professional faculty development, and transfer student success.

Michael Rondelli is the Director of Technology Transfer and Commercialization, responsible for the protection and commercialization of technologies developed at San Diego State University. Prior to joining the Research Foundation, Rondelli worked in the venture capital industry in New York as a specialist in business and strategic development. His experience includes acquisitions of public and private companies, purchasing companies from bankruptcy, business plan development, raising multi-million dollar venture capital rounds, and building marketing/sales teams. Venture funds he has worked for include Venture Credit, ICES Ventures and Iron Street Labs. Rondelli began his career in investment banking as an analyst covering a broad range of companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech, banking, Internet, hi-technology, and software industries. Additionally, he worked at Citicorp performing anti-fraud research.
Rondelli is an active member of the Association of University Technology Managers, the Licensing Executives' Society, Bio, Biocom, San Diego Venture Group, Security Network, and the Software Industry Association. He also provides expertise in new company formation and business development to the Spin-Out Committee of the Center for the Commercialization of Advanced Technologies.
Rondelli earned his juris doctorate from the University of San Diego, his master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from Texas Christian University, and his bachelor’s degree in marketing (with honors) from Washington University in Saint Louis.

Molly B. Schmid, Ph.D., is Vice President of the Inland Empire network of the Tech Coast Angels and a member of the TCA Board of Directors. Most recently, she was Professor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences and Adjunct Professor at the Drucker School of Management in Claremont CA, where she taught courses in drug discovery and entrepreneurship, and chaired the intellectual property committee.
Prior to KGI, she was Senior Vice President of Preclinical Programs at Affinium Pharmaceuticals in Toronto, and held leadership positions at Genencor International and Microcide Pharmaceuticals. Her experiences with these companies included securing venture capital, securing and managing multi-year, multi-million dollar corporate partnerships with Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Daiichi Pharmaceuticals, and several other smaller pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and playing leadership roles in growing and managing the scientific staff.
Prior to her biotech experience, she was an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, where she secured over $1MM in research funding. She has served on numerous NSF and NIH grant review panels, and she chaired a SBIR grant review panel for several years. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a Searle Scholar, and a Damon-Runyon Fellow.

Leaa Short is a Master's of Art student in Geography in the college of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is currently working on her thesis preliminarily titled Fluid Spaces, Moving Resources: Production Transition, Livelihoods, and Enclosure in the Louisiana Crawfish Industry. The thesis deals with the causes and sustainability of changing production from wild harvest to aquacultural methods. Her research interests are in critical resource geography with an emphasis on political-economy and socio-economic equity. She is concerned with nature-human relationships and the impacts of these interactions on livelihoods. She combines qualitative and quantitative spatial (GIS), economic, and ethnographic methods.

Sean Snider serves as the Regional Associate Director for the Orange County / Inland Empire Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network at CSU Fullerton’s College of Business & Economics. Mr. Snider grew up working for a family owned small business in Middleburg, Virginia where he developed from an early age a passion for small business. Mr. Snider is responsible for operations, program development and management within the SBDC network. Mr. Snider holds a B.A. in Entrepreneurial Management as well as an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from Cal State San Bernardino.

Chandra Srinivasan is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry (Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics) and a Research Development Faculty Fellow (Office of Research) at Cal State Fullerton. She received her Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Loyola University Chicago. Following graduation, she completed two postdoctoral fellowships: the first in the laboratory of Prof. Dennis Winge (University of Utah, Salt Lake City), and the second in the laboratory of Prof. Joan Valentine (University of California, Los Angeles). Her postdoctoral trainings were focused on metalloproteins, metal metabolism and oxidative stress in baker’s yeast. In fall 2002, she joined Cal State Fullerton as an Assistant Professor and was promoted early to the rank of Associate Professor in 2007. Her research studies are centered on metal metabolism, in particular, the trace metal manganese, and its role in handling free radicals in the worm model system. She has mentored over fifty students in her research program, and since 2005, the research in her laboratory has been supported by the National Institutes of Health Academic Research Enhancement Awards. Additionally, she has served as a Co-Principal Investigator on numerous National Science Foundation grants. She teaches courses primarily in the areas of biochemistry and biotechnology.

Sora Park Tanjasiri, DrPH, MPH, is Professor in the Department of Health Science, and Director of the Health Promotion Research Institute at California State University, Fullerton. Her scholarship applies community-based participatory research principles to understanding and addressing cancer health disparities and has served as PI or Co-PI on over two dozen extramurally funded cancer-related studies. Her research has been published in such peer-reviewed journals as American Journal of Public Health, Journal of the American Medical Association, Health Education & Behavior, and Health Promotion Practice. In addition, Dr. Tanjasiri serves as an advisor to numerous non-profit organizations and coalitions, including member and chair of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, board member of the St. Joseph Health System Foundation, board member of the Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, member of the California Breast Cancer Research Program Council, and member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Team for the American Cancer Society California Division. Dr. Tanjasiri received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s degree in Behavioral Science and doctoral degree in Community Health Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health.

Dr. Binod Tiwari is an Associate Professor and acting chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering department. His research focuses on geotechnical and earthquake engineering. He coauthored more than 38 peer reviewed papers and has received several external and intramural grants, including funding from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Tiwari has supervised 61 undergraduate and 19 graduate students in various research projects in the past 6 years. These students have won several national awards, including first place in the national geotechnical student research competition, third place in the national geo-prediction, first place in the national geo-wall competition and third place in the Google mapping competition. His students were also placed first and second in the CSU system-wide research competition. Dr. Tiwari has received several awards including the 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator of the Year award by the Orange County Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 2009 Outstanding Engineering Educator of the Year by the Orange County Engineering Council, 2011 Faculty Advisor of the Year by the CSUF ASI and the 2012 Distinguished Professor of the Year by the CSUF Alumni Association. He is the editor of two international journals and the vice-chair of the Geo-institute Los Angeles Chapter.

Art Todorov is a graphic design student at California State University Fullerton. He loves graphic design and the entire creative process. According to Mr. Todorov, “The professors at CSUF have gradually honed my design skills and I continue to get better. Although it has been an amazing experience studying here, I’m very excited to be graduating this May. Currently, I am concentrating on my last classes, in which I am trying to build a respectable portfolio by graduation; I’m also involved with a few other projects. I am on a design team working on the Common Tread exhibition catalog for the Grand Central Art Gallery and working with a couple freelance clients. After college, I hope my skills and knowledge of graphic design continue to grow. I plan to reach my goal of working full time in this field, and hope to be able to live comfortably while pursuing my passion.”

Dr. Marcelo Tolmasky is a Professor of Biological Science. His life work has been all about bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics, and he has excelled in getting thousands of students at Cal State Fullerton and other parts of the globe interested in it as well. Colleagues and students alike praise him for his dedication, his scholarship and his teaching ability, which have earned him the 2010 Cal State Fullerton Outstanding Professor Award. Since the mid-1980s, Tolmasky has studied how and why bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics, a growing concern in the medical field internationally. His work has led to teaching and speaking engagements around the world, and because of his skill as a mentor and educator, many of his students also have conducted research and made presentations nationally and internationally. Tolmasky, who earned his master’s degree and doctorate in chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, also engenders praise and support from colleagues on the campus, as well as internationally. He is also the director the Center for Applied Biotechnology Studies and is corresponding investigator at Fundacion Instituto Leloir in Argentina and official academic visitor at Oxford University’s microbiology unit in the UK.

Dr. Aravindhan Vivekanandhan obtained his PhD from Tuberculosis Research Centre (ICMR), Chetpet, Chennai. He underwent post-doctoral training, first at U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Bethesda, MD, US and then at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-National Institute of Health (NIH), Frederick, MD, US under the mentorship of Dr. Dennis M. Klinman. He headed the department of Transcriptomics and Molecular Immunology at Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Siruseri. He is currently heading the lab of Molecular Immunology at our centre. He has more than ten years of research experience in the field of immunology and molecular biology. His current interest is to study the infectious etiology of metabolic diseases. Currently, he is working on altered immune responses under conditions of diabetes-tuberculosis (DM-TB) and diabetes-Lymphatic filariasis (DM-LF) co-morbidities.

Barbara Walker serves as Director of Research Development for the Social Sciences, Humanities and Fine Arts in the Office of Research at UC Santa Barbara. She has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Geography from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Anthropology and African Studies from UCLA. Walker’s work encompasses all areas of catalyzing and enhancing research productivity, including interdisciplinary research team building and facilitation, leading workshops and seminars on proposal writing topics, and administering intramural seed-grants programs. Walker’s research on the gendered political ecology of marine resources in Ghana, French Polynesia, and California has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and NOAA Sea Grant, among others. She is a former NSF ADVANCE Fellow who is involved in several initiatives to promote broader participation in higher education, including current service on the Geographies of Broadening Participation Working Group of the Association of American Geographers, and the program committee for the Los Angeles-Ventura Chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). She also serves on the Board of the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP).

Patrick Weasel Head, Ph.D. is currently the Tribal Cultural Liason for the Graduate College and the College of Education at the University of Montana, Missoula (UM). Patrick previously was the Director of the American Indian Student Services at the UM, with an academic rank of Associate Professor. Patrick has been with the university off and on for eleven years in Indian education and more than thirty years in Indian education. Patrick successfully directed a number of NSF grants, three of which were the Alliance of States Supporting Indians in Science and Technology (ASSIST), The Tribal College Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) and more recently the Tribal College and University Programs (TCUP). All of these projects involved promoting STEM to indigenous communities. He has worked as the evaluator on two of these grants and is actively involved in reviewing NSF proposals. He currently serves on the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) advisory committees for the TCUP grants and is a Systemic Research advisory committee member for TCUP and data reporting. Patrick has taught Native American students at all levels, including K-12, Post Secondary, and graduate school. Patrick is often asked to do mock-accreditation reviews for tribal colleges and has helped at least 8 tribal colleges through their accreditation process. Patrick was the director of a major research program with the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in Portland, OR. He has been an affirmative action officer, a dean of students, and an active promoter of campus partnerships impacting indigenous studies. He lived on two Montana Indian reservations, travels frequently to Montana reservations, and promotes collaboration and cooperation among those entities. He was involved in a major national Indigenous educational effort, the White House Conference on Indian Education, and one major Montana state effort, “Opening the Montana Pipeline: American Indian Education in the Nineties.”