Whether she becomes a biomedical researcher, a professor, or both, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) graduate student Maricruz De La Torre will always consider dispelling ignorant cultural views about science, and who teaches it, among her most important professional obligations. After sharing such values in an award nomination essay, De La Torre was honored with the Crellin Pauling Student Teaching Award, and its $2,000 prize. She was one of two California State University (CSU) students given the annual award that acknowledges outstanding teaching in biotechnology-related settings, courses, and programs. The award was presented at the CSU Biotechnology Symposium on ... Read More
STEM
To Ban or Not to Ban: Teachers Grapple with Forcing Students to Disconnect from Technology
At Cal State Dominguez Hills, the low November sun had faded to dusk when professor Toddy Eames called for a break in the middle of a nearly three-hour screenwriting class. “Fifteen minutes!” she announced as her students stood, stretched or ambled to the door. “You can take out your phones,” she added, but most students were already scrolling through the texts, emails, Snapchats and other postings that had piled up during an hour of mandated tech abstinence. Since fall 2016, the communications department at California State University at Dominguez Hills has banned smartphones, laptops and other personal technology in every classroom – with grade deductions for violations – except for ... Read More
Cal State Dominguez Hills Honors the Old with New Fab Lab
As subtle as it may be, there's a profound difference between A. Quincy Jones and the Quincy Jones. Though both made their names producing creative work in '60s-era Los Angeles, the latter is a music producer who worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, and the former is an architect known for, among other ventures, the original design of California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). One of these talented fellows recently had a “fab lab” integrated into their oeuvre, and here's a hint – it's not going to win a Grammy. The new Toyota Center Fab Lab at CSUDH, however, might still win awards despite being theoretically undanceable. Thanks to the efforts of the Los Angeles office of ... Read More
Sarah Lacy Hangs with ‘Hot Hominins’ on Social Media
Sarah Lacy really likes a “good brow ridge.” She thinks “it's hot!” In class, Lacy, a new assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), and her anthropology students call that facial characteristic a “supraorbital torus,” which was sported by Neandertals around 40,000 years ago. They have also given the long-extinct human species a “sexy” social media presence with Lacy posing with their skulls in a series she calls “Hot Hominin of the Day.” “I dress a bit unusual, and my students were joking about it. They thought I should create an 'Outfit of the Day' blog. It seemed a little frivolous, so I came up with a way to have fun with that idea, ... Read More
CSUDH Student Ramneek Kaur Honored for Spreading HOPE
For Ramneek Kaur, helping others requires a lot of hard work, and plenty of hope. Kaur, a cellular and molecular biology major at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), is providing hope in her own way, as president of the Homeless Outreach Promoting Empathy (HOPE) student organization. HOPE's outreach involves providing hygiene kits, medical care, and assistance for homeless individuals–up to three times per month–by organizing events in areas where homelessness is prevalent. “My passion for community involvement comes from growing up and realizing the issues surrounding our community, and seeing people struggle for basic needs, like hygiene items,” said Kaur, who ... Read More