Our faculty members participate in conferences around the world, conduct groundbreaking research, and publish books and journal papers that contribute to their field and highlight their expertise. We feature those accomplishments and more in this section. College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences “Climate change is a hoax,” my cousin said during a family birthday party. “I saw on Twitter it's just a way to get people to buy expensive electric cars.” I sighed while thinking, “How can he be so misinformed?” Indeed, what I wanted to say was, “Good grief, social media lies are all you read.” - Beverly Palmer, former CSUDH psychology professor, wrote the article “4 science-based ... Read More
Archive
John and Katherine Tracy Establish Takeshi Katsumata Endowed Scholarship
To help support STEM students in financial need, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) alumnus and retired Boeing executive John Tracy, and his wife Katherine, have donated $200,000 to establish the Takeshi Katsumata Endowed Scholarship in the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences (NBS). Through the endowment, scholarships of at least $5,000 will be awarded annually by NBS to help full-time, low-income students studying computer sciences, physics, chemistry, or mathematics excel at CSUDH, and better compete in the booming STEM industries. “There's so much untapped potential in our communities, especially in underserved communities,” said Tracy, who grew up in ... Read More
Center for American Progress: “A Q&A on Advancing Equity in Higher Education Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic”
Source: Center for American Progress William Franklin, vice president for Student Affairs, and Matthew Smith, interim associate vice president of student life and dean of students, were interviewed by the Center for American Progress for the Q&A: "An Investment for Generations: A Q&A on Advancing Equity in Higher Education Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic." The piece shares on-the-ground perspectives on how COVID-19 is disrupting higher education, far beyond the abrupt shift to online instruction. ... Read More
Two Toros Win Prestigious NSF Fellowships
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) received a double shot of exciting news recently, when it was announced that two Toro students have been awarded prestigious Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Sahara Vilchis and Elijah Arzate will both be able to pursue original graduate research projects thanks to the NSF award. Vilchis, a senior anthropology major, won the award for a research proposal focused on obesity and diabetes in indigenous communities. Having worked in a field school in Guatemala through the CSUDH Study Abroad program, Vilchis found that “there was a lot of distrust between the indigenous people and the scientific ... Read More
Daily Breeze: “CSU Dominguez Hills Students have Created 1,500 Face Shields to Protect Against Coronavirus”
Source: Daily Breeze Cal State Dominguez Hills had an empty campus, vacant labs and plenty of students who were laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic. So Dr. Kamal Hamdan, the university's Director for the Center for Innovation in STEM Education, had an idea. Why not put some of those students and the unused lab equipment to work to create face shields for health care providers? “I kept hearing there was a huge need for face shields,” he said Saturday, April 11. “So I thought, 'We have a great workforce in our students, and we have the best technology. Why can't we repurpose that?'” So, for the past two weeks, Hamdan and about 25 students have been at work – first to ... Read More
Technology Teams Keep CSUDH Up and Running
The past month has been hectic and stressful for everyone at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)--but maybe no one has been as consistently busy as the hard-working technology teams who have been transitioning campus operations online during the COVID-19 outbreak. As the crisis rapidly escalated, the IT and Academic Technology teams threw themselves into the task of moving everything from art classes to financial aid online. The successful–and speedy–results of their efforts speak to their talents, as well as to their dedication to the Toro community. Reza Boroon is the director of the academic technology department, which was tasked with transitioning faculty and ... Read More
Faculty, Students, and Staff Heed the Call for Medical Face Shields
Heeding the call of health care professionals, two faculty-led groups at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) are using 3D printing to help supply local hospitals with the face shields they need to reduce the risk of infection on the frontlines of the pandemic. Taking on the challenge are Paul Penoliar, lecturer and clinical instructor in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (OT) Department, and Kamal Hamdan, Annenberg-endowed professor and director of the Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE) at CSUDH. Resourceful and Nimble In mid-March, CSUDH converted all in-person instruction to online classes to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This ... Read More
Student Health Center Remains Open for the Campus Community
Even as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been upending the campus community's lives over the past few weeks, the staff of CSUDH's Student Health and Psychological Services have been working tirelessly to ensure that they remain open and available to those in need of help. “We're still here!” says Irina Gaal, chief of medical services, who has been one of the leaders of their effort to keep services running. “While some things are still a bit up in the air, we are rapidly transitioning to a tele-health model that allows us to continue to help our patients.” The center's psychological services have completely transitioned to a remote model. It was important to transition the services ... Read More
Telecommuting Could Curb the Coronavirus Epidemic
Recent surveys from both the National Household Transportation Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that around 29% of the United States workforce has the option to work at home, and around 15% usually does so. Working from home pays a double dividend during a pandemic. First, it can help to limit the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. This supports organizations' efforts to limit travel and major public events, and more assertive efforts by governments in badly affected regions to restrict population movement altogether. Restricting travel and canceling events have substantial costs at a time when businesses are already dealing with absences due to ... Read More
Basic Needs Office Continues Providing Food for Students in Need
Despite operational limitations in place on campus to help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Basic Needs Office at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has found a new way to continue distributing food to the students who need it most. When the CSU system called on campuses to immediately transition in-person operations to virtual mode, the Basic Needs Office began exploring ways to ensure the food pantries at CSUDH continued to serve the needs of students. Key was the consolidation of two main food pantries in the Office of Student Life and the Women's Resource Center. They also needed to create a system that adhered to social distancing guidelines. The ... Read More
