In physics today, adding anything to the “Theory of Everything” (ToEs) would really be something. That possibility may come true for Ken Ganezer and Jim Hill, professors of physics at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), and physics lecturers Brandon Hartfiel and William Keig, who co-authored the study “Search for n−n(bar) oscillation in Super-Kamiokande,” which was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Physical Review D in April 2015. The study is based on years of research conducted in the Super-Kamiokande detector, a nucleon decay and neutrino observatory in Hida, Japan, by the CSUDH faculty, approximately 20 of their students and with the ... Read More
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
A Loving Family Legacy
Despite having earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Cal Tech as a young man and having enjoyed a successful career in the aerospace industry, Philip Johnson was retired and in his 50s when he began attending California State University, Dominguez Hills in the late 1970s. By all accounts, Johnson was an enthusiastic participant in academic pursuits within the CSUDH physics department, where he dedicated himself to both learning everything he could and sharing his own considerable knowledge with others. He earned his bachelor's degree in physics in 1980. “Phil was what you might call a renaissance man, well-versed in many fields: literature, philosophy and history,” wrote Keith ... Read More
Geography Students Awarded for Coyote Tracking Project
A spring 2015 internship for credit was a walk in the park, or a nature reserve, for California State University, Dominguez Hills students Alex Lepicier and J.J. Baraja, whose findings on those walks turned into a research project that won them a monetary award at the Southern California Academy of Sciences annual meeting in May. As volunteers for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Citizen Science Wildlife Tracking Team, the students were trained and assigned a hiking trail that they monitored weekly for animal tracks and scat. They would photograph, examine and report back what they found to the conversancy's steward associate in research, Ann Dalkey, who ran the program. “Alex ... Read More
Water Wise & Life Friendly: Connie Vadheim Educates Community on Natives Plants
Following one of California's driest winters, South Bay gardeners will need to make some choices about their thirsty rose bushes and tomato plants. The good news is that appropriate regional water-wise landscapes are not all cactus and rock gardens, according to Constance M. Vadheim, a CSU Dominguez Hills adjunct professor of biology. “There are many drought-tolerant native shrubs that are evergreen or bloom with pretty flowers,” she said. “The lemonade berry, for example, has beautiful flowers, edible berries, and birds love it.” For more than 10 years, Vadheim has volunteered her extensive hands-on knowledge of California's native, water-wise plants with creative and practical ... Read More
Kenji Jones overcomes setback and loss to earn her master’s degree with honors
After more than 20 years of putting the needs of her family before her college aspirations, Kenji Jones has earned her Master of Science in Marital and Family Therapy with honors from California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), despite the sorrow of losing four close family members just prior to beginning graduate school in 2012. Jones, who graduated summa cum laude, experienced her first educational setback after graduating from high school in 1993. She had begun attending college and pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse, but a year into her studies her aunt gave birth to a baby boy whom she couldn't care for. “My grandmother asked me to help raise my baby cousin, so I ... Read More