CSUN’s solar observatory has returned to the campus. Photo by Richard Chambers

It is one of only a dozen solar observatories in the country and one of the oldest still in use. On March 15, the San Fernando Observatory will celebrate its new home on California State University, Northridge’s main campus.

The observatory’s dedication ceremony is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, in the Orange Grove, located on the southeast side of campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.

CSUN physics and astronomy department chair Say-Peng Lim said the observatory has provided enormous opportunities for students and professors to study the sun over the years.

“The sun is not only the provider of energy for Earth,” he said. “It is also responsible for the weather — it provides us with sunlight, with warmth. These are things that everyone knows. But what is not clear to everyone is that the sun is actually not a smooth ball of fire. It is actually a very violent and turbulent ball of hot plasma.”

Solar astronomer, CSUN professor emeritus, director and donor to the observatory Gary Chapman has been with the observatory since its conception in the late 1960s, when it was gifted to the university by the Aerospace Corporation and placed on the Metropolitan Water District’s property in the northern San Fernando Valley.

Since then, Chapman’s research has helped NASA better predict the cause of long term variation of radiation from the sun and when dangerous bursts of energy, called solar flares, might reach near Earth’s orbit or atmosphere.

The observatory’s move to CSUN’s main campus will provide more opportunities for students to conduct practical solar research and use skills they learned in a classroom setting on a real-life application, Chapman said.

“By being on campus, we are going to be more visible,” he explained. “People will see the dome. Students can walk from their classroom to the campus observatory and help us collect data. By having a research project, you break down barriers of [lessons] from this class or another and make a project.”

Former physics and astronomy department chair and observatory donor John Lawrence agreed that having the observatory on campus will make research more accessible.

“If it’s right here on campus, it’s very convenient,” he said. “I think there will be more student involvement in actual projects analyzing data.”

Wendy Garen, CEO and president of The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, said the observatory’s hands-on applications will be more available with the move.

“This little observatory has the longest record [helping perform solar research] of any Earth-based observatory,” she said. “It’s important science. But even more important than it being science — it’s an observatory that provides research opportunities for students.”

The projector in the center of the Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium simulates the current night sky for visitors of this semester’s planetarium shows. Photo courtesy of Jan Dobias.

Spanish major Day Spencer went to a show at the Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium in February to earn extra credit for an astronomy class. She enjoyed it so much that she returned for the March show, Magellan: Report from Venus.

The planetarium at California State University, Northridge has offered shows and presentations every semester since 2004. Every other Friday — and occasional Thursday nights — the planetarium opens its doors to the CSUN and surrounding communities for a night sky show and presentation on varying astronomy topics.

“Anyone can come. Students, not only from CSUN, but also from other schools and the general public can come,” said Jan Dobias, CSUN astronomy professor and organizer of the planetarium shows. “This is their opportunity to learn about astronomy and what goes on in the sky.”

The night sky shows begin at 7:30 p.m. and involve a narrated simulation of the current nighttime sky with its constellations of stars and planets — and occasionally eclipses if applicable. The consecutive shows continue at 8:30 p.m. and are either pre-recorded presentations on astronomy topics of interest, or guest speakers who present on current astronomical events.

“[The shows] are so interesting because they give you a new perspective of orientation — not only your own, but generally on the galaxy and the universe,” Spencer said.

Last week’s show, Magellan: Report from Venus, was a narrated slide program that assessed the Magellan mission to Earth’s sister planet Venus.

Just like Spencer, many astronomy students earn extra credit by attending the shows. Others enjoy the presentations on their own. Psychology major Yonina Sabel and geographical information science major Luis Garcia said they are fascinated by constellations and galaxies, which inspired them to attend the shows.

“It’s spectacular to see the perspective of all the stars and planets,” said Garcia.

“We usually don’t get to see the constellation this close,” Sabel added. “I definitely recommend anyone to come and see the shows — they are really great.”

Tickets for planetarium shows can be purchased at the AS Ticket Office or at the door. Tickets are $6 for one show and $10 for both shows. CSUN students receive a discount with a valid CSUN student ID: $4 for one show and $7 for both shows.

For information about showtimes and dates, visit http://www.csun.edu/science-mathematics/physics-astronomy/planetarium.

California State University, Northridge mechanical engineering junior Steven Paqueo has been involved with robotics since the fifth grade, when his mother convinced him to participate in the VEX Robotics summer camp. From there, he stayed active in VEX Robotics clubs throughout middle school and high school. When Paqueo enrolled at CSUN, he decided to try something new — working for the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation, rather than joining the CSUN VEX Robotics club.

But two years later, CSUN’s VEX Robotics team has qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championship, which will take place April 20-23 in Louisville, Kentucky — with Paqueo on board.

While working for the REC Foundation, Paqueo helped organize various robotics competitions, including the annual VEX Robotics World Championship. When he saw two of his friends competing for the University of Colorado at Boulder at the 2014 World Championship, he felt his passion for robotics competitions rekindle.

“I couldn’t believe how well [the Colorado team] was doing, because they just started from scratch with their own money. I just thought, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,'” Paqueo said. “So, I came back [to VEX Robotics] right after the world championship. I walked straight through the club’s door and signed up. I wanted to beat my friends so badly. Ever since, I have spent more hours [at the club] than I have at home.”

VEX Robotics is an international education initiative, encouraging students of all ages to discover science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields related to robotics design, and supporting leadership, teamwork and problem-solving skills. In 2011, CSUN established a VEX Robotics club, which has been growing ever since.

“When I joined in 2012, it was only five of us gathering around one little cabinet and working out of a cardboard box full of steel components,” said Edwyn Jocol, president of the club and a senior in computer information technology. “Now we are more than 20 members, and I am proud to be part of the club and see it grow.”

CSUN’s VEX Robotics club recently won the championship and excellence award at a four-round tournament at University of Southern California in February. A robotics tournament is similar to a basketball game: Two teams each send two robots — one small and one big — into the match, trying to score as many points as possible. The robots collect and throw different kinds of balls into a basket on the opposite side of the field, scoring points. The team with the most points qualifies for the next round, until the final teams compete against each other.

“I was pretty confident that we were going to win. However, the last match against USC got me nervous,” Jocol said of the final round. “But I had confidence in the robots, and the circumstances made it more exciting.”

Looking forward to the World Championship in April, the CSUN team is eager to compete.

“With our recent success, we definitely think we have what it takes to compete there,” Jocol said. “It’s going to be tough, but we’re expecting to perform really well.”

Adrian Castellon, a junior in mechanical engineering and vice president of the club, emphasized the other teams’ competitiveness and unpredictability.

“Sometimes their whole strategy is to stop the other teams’ strategy, or know how to work around the strategy,” he said. “You can prepare all you want, but you never know which team will be able to counter your strategy, which can cost you the game.”

The CSUN group will compete against top VEX Robotics teams from all over the world — an exciting, yet nerve-wracking experience.

“We’re going up against engineering students from high-tech colleges like New York Institute of Technology or Worcester Polytechnic Institute,” Paqueo said. “We’re not just competing against the best and brightest, but we’re also competing for the prestige of CSUN.”

The VEX Robotics World Championship hosts competitions for students in elementary school, middle school, high school and college. Many students base their college decisions on the robotics achievements they observe at the World Championship, Paqueo said.

“As we do better in competitions — especially at the World Championship, where everyone is watching — we also increase the chances of student enrollment at CSUN, pulling from the brightest kids,” he added.

Club member Erin Kubo, a mechanical engineering junior, said she hopes to attract more young girls to CSUN and the robotics club. She sets an example that female students contribute to STEM fields just as much as their male counterparts.

“[VEX Robotics] gives them the opportunity to try something that they don’t think they can do,” Kubo said. “I want to show them that they can. Especially as a girl, you should just try it and don’t limit yourself.”

She added that she joined the CSUN club with no prior experience in robotics.

“I tried doing a design last year, but it wasn’t that great because I was just starting out,” she said. “But this year, they actually picked my design, so I am the design lead for the small bot. Seeing it work feels great.”

CSUN’s VEX Robotics club encourages students from all majors to join and become more involved in robotics, regardless of their level of experience. Any major can contribute a unique skillset, which can provide significant input in robot design, functionality and techniques, Castellon said. Others can help with club administration.

“You learn a lot of things in the club, like teamwork, believing in your projects and not quitting on them when things are frustrating or when it seems like things might not work out,” Castellon said. “Your team is always there to support you.”

California State University, Northridge students Navin Row, Ali Saeed-Alqahtani, Ryan Duckworth and Harout Ter-Papyan approached their entry into the second annual AppJam Showcase — a contest where undergraduate and graduate students competed to create the best mobile app — with the goal of transforming what started out as a simple idea into a service that could help their fellow students.

According to the group, the inspiration for the app Fyndit came when a classmate in their senior design class kept asking them where he could access a variety of campus resources.

“[My classmate] would always ask where on campus he could use a microwave or where he could go to print out papers,” Row said. “Finally he said, ‘You guys should just make an app that shows people where everything is at.’”

Fyndit was born with the goal of helping CSUN students find everything on campus from classrooms to vending machines. To see that idea come to fruition took many hours of work. “There was a lot of communication back and forth, a lot of in-person meetings and a lot of late nights,” Duckworth said.

That hard work received its reward at the March 30 AppJam Showcase, when the creators of Fyndit earned first place and a cash prize of $3,000 for their winning app. Yet theirs was just one of several success stories on an energy-filled afternoon, when 33 teams presented their apps for the campus community to view and in some cases test out the teams’ innovative creations.

Second place and $2,000 went to students Benjamin Villalobos, Edward Villamor and Scott Judge for Bike Tracker. The app is meant to immediately assist students if their bicycle is stolen. The app will alert students that their bike has moved and if someone suspects that a bike has been stolen, the owner will be able to file a police report through the app using the account information they provide when initially signing up.

Armen Arslanian and Saba Janamian received $1,000 for their third-place app, CSUN Easy-Park. The app gives students real-time updates about how many spaces are available in each CSUN parking lot.

“AppJam exemplifies the innovation and forward thinking that leads to student opportunities,” CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison said. “This competition is an opportunity for students to flex their creative muscles, to push their natural skill set and to collaborate with a team. These are all factors in preparing our students for rewarding and impactful careers.”
 
All the winning groups — including the popular-vote winner, SideBySide, a health-and-communication app voted by students on Portfolium, CSUN’s new, digital portfolio and career-readiness network — will receive professional start-up counseling in order to help advance their apps, through expert advice and networking from Bixel Exchange and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).

“These startup resources will allow each of the winning teams to receive advice and counsel to potentially take their mobile app idea to the next level,” said CSUN Vice President for Information Technology Hilary Baker. “We are thankful to both LACI and Bixel Exchange for offering these services for our winning CSUN AppJam teams, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the incubation discussions.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles, a steel bridge, a social networking website for gamers, a concrete canoe and a human-powered tricycle — all these incredible creations and more were on display at the Seventh Annual Senior Design Project Showcase at California State University, Northridge on April 15.

Students from every department of the College of Engineering and Computer Science had worked tirelessly on these projects, some since the beginning of the spring 2016 semester and some as part of a three-year plan, while others worked to improve the projects that had been constructed in 2015, such as the CSUN Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge team.

“Last year, the rider actually crashed the bike when we went to competition,” said Rachel Foreman, a mechanical engineering senior. “So, the first thing we looked at when we started work on this tricycle was how we could make it easier for the rider to use, and how we could make sure the brakes would work efficiently. We also looked into the general health and fitness of our riders, as that played a big part in the competition last year as well.”

The event began with teams giving a 10-minute oral presentation on their research to a panel of judges. The panels consisted of professional engineers, who evaluated the teams’ clarity, methodology, project completeness, ability to articulate points and ease with handling the question-and-answer portion of the presentation. The teams that scored the highest overall in these categories were honored at a ceremony at the end of the event.

The second part of the showcase was a gallery, where the teams presented their designs in a more general setting. One group, the CSUN Concrete Canoe Team, already had taken its finished product to a competition, but that didn’t stop them from pulling out all the stops for their booth. They were given a Game of Thrones theme by CSUN on which to base their floor presentation, and not a single detail was overlooked, whether it was the canoe painted with dragon artwork or the rustic jars containing the different materials that made up the canoe. The display was a fantastic opportunity for members of the team to use their creativity to demonstrate how much effort had gone into constructing the canoe.

The CSUN Steel Bridge Team also made an appearance at the showcase. Only weeks away from a competition that will determine if the hard work the team members had dedicated toward the project will pay off, Luis Molina, a civil engineering senior, was hopeful about the team’s chances of winning.

“Last year there were some hiccups with the design, but this year we pulled out all the stops to make sure those same flaws didn’t appear again,” Molina said. “Working on this project and the experience you get from it is great. It really takes the lessons you learn in a class and applies them to a real-life setting. I used to sit in class and say, ‘Oh, that’s just a number or a part of a design.’ But now I get to see where it fits in and how different parts of a design work.”

The end of the day brought an awards ceremony that exemplified the respect that the students and faculty shared for one another. Walking out to the ’80s hit Eye of the Tiger, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science S.K. Ramesh spoke about how proud he was to see students undertake these kinds of projects, and how grateful he was to everyone who participated. He recognized the teams and individual judges for their commitment to the event.

“It was no accident that this event occurred today,” Ramesh said. “It is the culmination of a lot of hard work from everybody — from students to faculty, to our wonderful judges — and we can all take pride in the work we see today.”

Here is a summary of all the winners from the showcase, with students and faculty advisors from each team listed:

Grand Prize

CSUNSat1: Armen Arslanian, Rosy Davis, Sandra Dheming Lemus (CS), Timothy Friedman (CS), Gary Gamble, Cesar Garcia (CS), Nereida Herrera, Matthew Ingram, Phuoc Ma, Priya Malavia (CS) (Captain), Jobeth Palacio, Clifford Williams

Faculty Advisors: Sharlene Katz, James Flynn, Adam Kaplan, David Schwartz

Oral Presentation First-Place Winners

Civil Engineering & Construction Management Department

ADA-Compliant Accessory Dwelling Unit David Boyajian, Sami Maalouf, Tadeh Zirakian, Michele Glidden (Captain), Razan Khalil, Kevin Liu, Andrew Slusser, Anthony Talebian

Faculty Advisors: David Boyajian, Sami Maalouf, Tadeh Zirakian

Computer Science Department

Learning, Classifying and Recognizing Bot (LCAR Bot): Steve Delgado, Jake Hanvey, Thomas Jentis, Karanvir Panesar (Captain), Edwin Portillo, Hovig Shahbazian, Nathaniel Wilson, Bryan Wong

Faculty Advisor: Nhut Ho

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

Modular Solar Powered Water Pump System Jose Baez (Captain), Joel Fischetti, Jireh Christine Imperial, Brian Lee, Jong Jin Lee, Edwin Rebollo

Faculty Advisor: George Law

Manufacturing Systems Engineering & Management Department

CSUN Cloudponics Hyunjin Kim, Michael Mora (Captain), Navjeevan Sandhu, Rodrigo Soltero

Faculty Advisor: Bingbing Li

Mechanical Engineering Department

2016 Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge: Brian Albarracin, Alan Alcocer, Benjamin Bell, Daniel Cabrera, Eric Figueroa, Rachel Foreman, Mihran Kechichian, John Kok, Armando Lagunas, Jonathan Lo, Alexis Marquez, Cassandra Mathison, Kevin Matsuno, Steven Molumby, Nancy Nodal, Angel Sevilladiaz, Mark Shipman, William Steed, Nami Taghavi, Robert Timm, Robert Vallet (Captain)

Faculty Advisor: Aram G. Khachatourians

Project Display First-Place Winners Per Department

Civil Engineering & Construction Management Department

Concrete Canoe: Catherine Adrover, Daniel Akmakjian, Gabriel Bonilla, Dannick Castaneda, Phat Duong (Captain), Cristian Duran, Julio Iglesia, Sara Lopez, Joe Medina, Valeria Padilla, Ernesto Pedroza, Jecsan Perez, Joel Plascencia, Sam Potts, Claris Rivera, Paul Rivera, Hani Salhab, Miguel Sanchez, Jose Sanchez, Nicole Thompson, Soledad Tlamasico, Francisco Villalobos, Julie Yin, Nikki Zulueta

Faculty Advisors: Rais Ahmad, David Boyajian, Sami Maalouf, Tadeh Zirakian

Computer Science Department

PartyQ: Frank Addelia, Stefan Eng, Marco Jonker (Captain), Alex Kolesnik, Andrew Maynard, Narbeh Movsesian

Faculty Advisor: Steve Fitzgerald

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department

CSUN SAT1: Armen Arslanian, Rosy Davis, Sandra Dheming Lemus (CS), Timothy Friedman (CS), Gary Gamble, Cesar Garcia (CS), Nereida Herrera, Matthew Ingram, Phuoc Ma, Priya Malavia (CS) (Captain), Jobeth Palacio, Clifford Williams

Faculty Advisors: Sharlene Katz, James Flynn, Adam Kaplan, David Schwartz

Manufacturing Systems Engineering & Management Department

CSUN Cloudponics: Hyunjin Kim, Michael Mora (Captain), Navjeevan Sandhu, Rodrigo Soltero

Faculty Advisor: Bingbing Li

Mechanical Engineering Department

2016 Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge: Brian Albarracin, Alan Alcocer, Benjamin Bell, Daniel Cabrera, Eric Figueroa, Rachel Foreman, Mihran Kechichian, John Kok, Armando Lagunas, Jonathan Lo, Alexis Marquez, Cassandra Mathison, Kevin Matsuno, Steven Molumby, Nancy Nodal, Angel Sevilladiaz, Mark Shipman, William Steed, Nami Taghavi, Robert Timm, Robert Vallet (Captain)

Faculty Advisor: Aram G. Khachatourians

California State University, Northridge geology professor Julian Lozos has a history with earthquakes. His research on a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that occurred in 1812 in the Inland Empire used historic accounts to help understand how fault lines affect not only the Earth, but life on it.

His study, published in the March issue of “Science Advances,” was based on a unique scientific approach that utilized historic accounts from Missions San Juan Capistrano, San Gabriel, San Fernando Rey and San Buenaventura, alongside custom-made computer simulations of fault activity on the San Andreas (SAF) and San Jacinto (SJF) fault lines to reproduce what seismic activity happened on Dec. 8, 1812.

Lozos’ study is one of the first to connect major earthquake phenomenon on the SAF, which runs north and south along California, to the SJF, which is smaller and runs northeast and southwest through Riverside County. His project provides proof that the 1812 earthquake may have caused damage in various Missions in the Inland Empire if the SJF ruptured first, and caused enough fault stress to make the SAF rupture as well.

“[The data shows that] the earthquake was in a different place,” Lozos said. “A way to explain [the ruptures] is that you could be driving on the [Interstate] 5, which is a long freeway. You can go a long distance on the I-5 by itself, or you could exit and go on [Route] 170 and still get to the same place.”

While the science behind earthquakes is interesting, exploring the human experience of them is just as important to understanding how they behave and affect people, Lozos said. Historic seismology, which uses historic documentation of earthquakes, provides a human perspective on how a large earthquake, like the 7.5 magnitude that occurred in 1812, might affect people residing in the Inland Empire in the present.

“This is a hazard we are talking about — a very real hazard,” Lozos said. “If this were to happen today in densely populated areas, it would be a massive disaster.

“Earthquakes are fascinating from a physics standpoint,” he continued. “But one of the things that makes [seismology] such an interesting and rewarding field to me is the way that it influences people,” he said. “The science is fascinating to me, but people living in earthquake country might not give a care about science. They certainly might give a care about their house breaking. There is something to be gained from that.”

Lozos explained that while his research looks at past earthquakes to understand current fault line activity, predicting the next earthquake is not yet feasible.

“I always make the point that this has nothing to do with timing,” he said. “We can’t predict earthquakes, nobody can. The best we can do is look at the statistics. But the idea that it happened once and it can happen again is a very real thing.”

Students at Canoga Park High School, Columbus Middle School and Hart Street Elementary in the San Fernando Valley are diligently working on their latest homework assignment — to build a robot.

With guidance from California State University, Northridge director of the Neighborhood Partners in Action (NPA) initiative Douglas Kaback and elementary education professor John Reveles, the K-12 students are exposed to a nationally recognized and more hands-on approach to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in their classrooms.

CSUN education professor John Reveles, center, stands with fellow education professor James Foley, right, and biology professor Virginia Vandergon, left. Photo by Lee Choo.

The initiative’s goal is to connect CSUN to the San Fernando Valley, with a focus on areas that are traditionally underserved such as Canoga Park, Kaback explained.

“The idea [NPA] went in with was how CSUN can provide services to the Canoga [Park] community,” he said. “There was a critical need across the board for human capital. That is what CSUN has in great supply. We have [more than] 40,000 students and tremendous faculty and staff.”

Reveles mentors the CSUN student volunteers who work directly with the Canoga Park High School students. He said the program is an opportunity to teach K-12 students STEM skills — as well as leadership experience — while working on their robotics projects. While the CSUN students directly mentor the high school students, the high school students then take the information and learning experiences they gain and mentor the K-8 school students with it. This creates a trickle down effect of leadership with experiential learning.

“The [CSUN and high schoool] students learn so much when they are put in the teaching position,” Reveles said. “This is why experiential learning is great for STEM.”Kaback added that experiential learning in a community outreach program accomplishes more than just building a robot.

“There are a number of studies that show there is a great capacity for learning when we are thrust in the position to teach,” he said. “This is an expansive outreach. It’s a comprehensive effort to get these students into the community as they are needed. It gives our students real professional experience that has engagement, that has impact and meaningfulness.”

California State University, Northridge biology professor MariaElena Zavala has been named the first Latina Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB).

The ASPB is a professional scientific society devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. Zavala was named a Fellow in honor of her service to the society and her distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology.

Zavala said she was surprised and honored to learn she had been named an ASPB Fellow.

“I didn’t even know that my name had been put forward,” she said. “I was at a meeting when I received the call. It is quite an honor.”

Zavala, who has been teaching at CSUN since 1988, is the first Mexican-American woman in the country to earn a Ph.D. in botany. Since coming to the campus, she has played an integral part in building the national reputation of CSUN’s Department of Biology’s as a place where students, particularly those from underserved communities, thrive and successfully pursue advanced degrees at top tier research institutions.

She has served as the director of CSUN’s Maximizing Access to Research Careers Undergrad Student Training and in Academic Research (MARC U-STAR) program since 1990 and Research Initiatives for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) since 1993. Her work as a mentor and advocate for countless students who have gone through these program earned her recognition from the White House. In 2000, Zavala received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from President Bill Clinton.

Zavala’s research focuses on the manipulation of genes as a way to improve plant productivity by enhancing root growth. She also is studying ways to make beans more nutritious.

“When we eat beans, we basically are eating special leaves, cotyledons (seed leaves) that store huge amounts of protein.” she said. “The most abundant of these proteins in beans have low amounts of an essential amino acid that humans need to eat.”

She and her students are working to increase that amino acid — that has sulfur — into the bean seed to improve the nutritional value of beans.

Zavala said plant research is critical in the effort to combat hunger around the world.

“There are more than 925 million people who are malnourished or undernourished in the world right now. That’s a huge number of people (about 1:7 worldwide), and the consequences are tremendous,” Zavala said. “Malnutrition disproportionately affects young children and older people leading to premature death. Infants and young children, who are malnourished often suffer life-long consequences including poor brain development and weak bones and short-term effects including susceptibility to infections because of a poor immune system.

“The world’s farmers grow enough food for every single person to eat the recommended 2,300 calories a day,” she continued. “People should not be starving. The problem is that food isn’t produced where it is consumed, the food distribution system is flawed and much food is lost to pests. The field of plant science has an important role in solving these problems.”

While people across the Pacific coastline have been pelted with the torrential downpour of El Niño, California State University, Northridge biology professor and coral reef expert Peter Edmunds delved deep below the ocean’s surface to monitor and study the effects El Niño has on coral reefs.

As part of an ongoing decades-long research project on reefs, Edmunds and a team of CSUN biology graduate and undergraduate students began a one-year National Science Foundation RAPID-funded research project in January on the island of Mo’orea to see if El Niño’s affect on rising water temperatures could in turn change coral growth rates.

“We are now in what is thought to be an extremely serious El Niño event, with high sea waters and epic rain,” Edmunds said. “Part of that package is that the seawater is expected to get unusually warm in the tropical Pacific and the Caribbean. The projections suggest there will be negative effects in Mo’orea and that they will be strong. But we don’t know they will be strong until they take place.”

CSUN marine biology graduate student Daniel Sternberg dives in the tropical waters of Mo’orea. Photo provided by Peter Edmunds.

The project is aimed at seeing how El Niño’s warm waters may affect the growth rate and arrival of coral larvae near Mo’orea, Edmunds said. He and his students are monitoring the effects by scuba diving and cementing terra-cotta floor tiles to the sea floor that collect the larvae. The process will occur in three waves, from January 2016 to January 2017, Edmunds explained.

“Baby corals arrive from larvae that are only about one-sixteenth of an inch long. So they are teeny weenie,” he said. “They swim through the water, and they are affected by [water] temperature in two ways — if it is very hot, corals tend not to reproduce. So, the larvae drifting in the water don’t do so well.”

Graduate biology student Daniel Sternberg emphasized the importance of the study being done now, explaining it is unknown when another study on El Niño’s effects can be done.

“El Niño is happening right now,” he said. “It could have serious implications on the reefs. We are not seeing bleaching quite yet, but if we don’t start monitoring right now, we don’t know if we ever will.”

Fellow graduate biology student Jesse Bergman said studying the effects of climate change on the reefs is valuable research for the future of reefs around the globe.

“I think this whole field of marine science and climate change is a big deal and really important,” Bergman said.

Edmunds added that understanding how coral reefs are reacting and adjusting to climate change is vital to those regions that live with them.

“Coral reefs are a critical source of biodiversity,” he said. “They are a critical resource for fisheries. They are critical resources of economic gain. People go on vacation to clear blue waters to see cool stuff [like corals]. At a crass level, corals generate millions and millions of dollars for island economies. At a pragmatic level, they provide this intense barrier of coastal protection.

“Tropical regions are always being hit by hurricanes and cyclones,” he noted. “One of the reasons they don’t destroy the land is because there is this big old calcareous barrier out there.”

Edmunds added that the corals also are important for training the next generation of researchers.

“I think one of the thoughts that comes to my mind is just how fortunate we are to get this support at CSUN, and what a really unique opportunity it is to launch our students into these really important and life-changing experiences,” Edmunds said. “I have invested a large part of my life into getting students out into the field. It is so different from being in a classroom where you go, ‘yak, yak, yak.’ Instead, you get them out there. I take a tremendous satisfaction in seeing people grow up, what they go on to do and that the lessons they had at CSUN are being used in their work.”

Both Bergman and Sternberg agreed the research project has given them an immense opportunity to conduct scientific work.

Bergman said she has learned important lessons in how to conduct research from her trips to Mo’orea this year.

“I think one of the things I’ve learned is to be flexible,” she said. “That is the nature of field work. You are in nature and at the whim of the ocean. You must adjust.”

Sternberg agreed.

“Our professor does a good job of providing great opportunities for us,” he said. “He knows that we are interested graduate students who are big fans of Mo’orea. We are passionate about the work and he is gracious and allows us to come here time and time again.”

California State University, Northridge’s Department of Police Services invited students, faculty and staff to Beat the Quake on April 28 at the Bayramian Lawn.

The event featured campus and community resources for emergency preparedness and provided tips and information on how to respond during an earthquake.

The highlight of the event was the puzzle room, an earthquake-themed escape room adventure in which student teams of four solved puzzles in a short period of time to prepare for an earthquake.

“It was really fun,” said Tiffany Nguyen, a freshman biology major. “We live in California, so we’re prone to many earthquakes. It’s important to be prepared and be aware.”

Top-scoring teams earned prizes such as DVDs, gift packs, Matador spirit items or MataMoney gift cards. The grand prize was a gift certificate for the Amazing Escape Room.

In addition to the resource tables and the puzzle room, CSUN geology students presented posters that displayed historical earthquakes and talked about earthquake preparedness, which many students said they found informative.

“There are a lot of foreign exchange students who come to CSUN from all over the world,” said Brandon Cu, a freshman in communication studies. “They might not know that we have a lot of faults in California, so they should know how to be prepared to stay safe.”

California State University, Northridge hosted students and faculty from seven other California State Universities for the PUMP Research Symposium on April 23 in Live Oak Hall. Preparing Undergraduates through Mentoring toward Ph.D.s (PUMP) is an initiative founded by the National Science Foundation and hosted by CSUN’s Department of Mathematics to motivate mathematics students to enter Ph.D. programs.

The initiative has expanded to other California State Universities and high schools throughout Southern California, and it was recently honored with an award for an exemplary program or achievement in a mathematics department by the American Mathematical Society.

One of PUMP’s key elements is the undergraduate research project, in which teams of two math students research complex mathematical topics and present them at the PUMP symposium. Each team is supervised by an advisor who helps mentor the team through the process.

“It was fun and a very beneficial experience,” said Diana Contreras, a junior and participant on one of the CSUN teams.

“We appreciate the opportunity to do it,” added her team partner, senior Kevin Manley.

Contreras and Manley researched and examined predictors for student success in college and presented a statistical approach that investigated the achievement gap between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Our supervisor, Dr. [Bruce E.] Shapiro, was already looking into it and when we approached him about the topic, he mentioned it,” Contreras said. “It was fun to figure out what the GPA cutoffs were in order to predict [graduation likelihood].”

The second CSUN team researched the Collatz problem, a prominent mathematical conjecture that investigates iterations of integers. Melida Paz and Miriam Ramirez, both math seniors, were advised by CSUN mathematics professor Werner Horn.

“I loved the open-endedness of it and that there is always more to find,” Paz said. “There is never an end to anything. You can spend as much time as you like and just immerse in mathematics.”

Paz and Ramirez discovered the Collatz problem in a book while researching their topic for the project. One year later, they resolved the conjecture for one specific case, which is a groundbreaking achievement for the two undergraduate students.

“We’re hoping to publish in a journal and get our results out there,” Ramirez said. “Knowing that your name might be out there somewhere and getting [credit] for what you have done is really rewarding.”

All 24 participating CSU students balanced their classes and research for an entire academic year, which many said was one of the program’s main challenges.

“It felt like I was a juggler,” Paz said. “I took five classes and did the research. It was pretty intense, but I enjoyed it a lot.”

CSUN manufacturing systems engineering professor Shereazad Jimmy Gandhi and his students work on the efficiency of New Horizons’ manufacturing systems. Photo courtesy of Roschell Ashley.

This spring, students in professor Shereazad Jimmy Gandhi’s manufacturing systems engineering class MSE507 benefitted from a special partnership between the nonprofit organization New Horizons and California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

New Horizons is a local organization that helps people with special needs and disabilities to acquire significant skills for different work environments. The organization provides vocational training, work placements and supportive housing. New Horizons reached out to CSUN for help implementing lean manufacturing practices and processes within the organization, which supports the training of people who aim to work in manufacturing and assembly processes.

“As a nonprofit, we are always challenged with finding resources to assist us to remain innovative and grow our services, in order to fulfill our mission of empowering individuals with special needs to fulfill their dreams,” said Roschell Ashley, chief operating officer at New Horizons.

Over the years, New Horizons has developed partnerships with several departments and colleges at CSUN, such as the Department of Social Work, the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics and the College of Health and Human Development. After collaborating with the College of Engineering and Computer Science in spring 2014, when CSUN students worked to improve New Horizons’ warehouse and production operations, the organization turned to CSUN again.

“We were so impressed with the level of sophistication and recommendations from the students that we reached out to CSUN again to provide an opportunity for students to work on other sub-divisions,” Ashley said. “It was without hesitation that we turned to CSUN — a university with great expertise in business and teaching lean principles in manufacturing — to assist us to rebuild this division.”

Gandhi’s service-learning class is targeted at undergraduate seniors and graduate students in the Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department. The course is only an elective, but it is one of the most popular classes because of its hands-on opportunities, said Gandhi.

“The collaborative project is very well organized and developed under the leadership and guidance of professor Gandhi,” Ashley said. “The students display a high level of professionalism and are eager to assess and provide recommendations for challenges that can make or break your business.”

According to the professor, the hands-on approach to real-world issues helps students develop better problem-solving skills and builds an understanding of lean manufacturing implementations. Students identify current processes and evaluate them to understand constraints and make recommendations for improvement.

Esteban Estrada, New Horizons’ director of work services, talks to CSUN engineering students about manufacturing processes. Photo courtesy of Roschell Ashley.

“If recommendations are implemented, they can help [New Horizons] to have a better-flowing process, which can help them to reduce their costs,” Gandhi said. “We would love to help more nonprofits in the area to achieve similar efforts.”

Esteban Estrada, director of work services at New Horizons, said that two CSUN students who participated in the 2014 collaboration became volunteers with the organization. They worked on improving inventory processes in the warehouse and created a cleaner and more organized warehouse environment.

“CSUN is a great partner for New Horizons, a true win-win, positive community relationship,” said Erik Sjogren, New Horizons’ director of business services.

“The teams come equipped with the latest tools and knowledge of best practices,” Ashley added. “They display compassion and creativity while solving issues that involve a workforce of individuals with and without disabilities.”

California State University, Northridge hosted the third-annual Rally in the Valley event May 7 in Redwood Hall, to showcase technology and engineering-related projects of more than 200 elementary school students from the San Fernando Valley.

Co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the competition required student teams to design, build and program Lego Mindstorms robots, challenging other teams for awards.

“We were very excited [about the event] and pleased to promote awareness for parents and educators about the important way STEM-integration (science, technology, engineering and math) events like robotics offers girls and boys diverse opportunities to apply math and science in the problem-solving that engineers do every day,” said Susan Belgrad, one of the event’s main organizers and CSUN professor of elementary education.

Belgrad said the Rally in the Valley student activities, which students prepared for all year long, engaged them in 21st century learning skills: collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity. Developing these skills can help increase access to college majors and careers in STEM for the participants, she said.

“The teacher-coaches from the seven elementary schools (Stanley Mosk, Castlebay Lane, Pacoima Charter, Haskell, Santa Monica Boulevard Community Charter, Victory and Haddon Avenue) have my deepest admiration,” Belgrad said. “Parents were absolutely amazed to see that their children have the capability to program these robots and overcome difficulties by collaboration and teamwork.”

CSUN geology professor Jennifer Cotton depicts the different areas in North America affected by vegetation change. Photo by Ruth Saravia.

What do old bison hair, teeth and bones have to do with judging the future of Earth’s climate change? They may be the key to understanding how the North American climate has changed in the last 20,000 years, according to California State University, Northridge geology professor Jennifer Cotton.

Since bison eat only grasses, Cotton was able to see what they ate in various periods of time and space by testing the carbon isotopes in the more than 600 samples of bison hair, teeth and bone she acquired. Her study, which was published in the April edition of Science Advances, is the first to create a comprehensive understanding of the spread of various grasses in the North American grasslands, which leads to a better grasp of why certain grasses spread and others did not.

“There are two types of photosynthesis,” Cotton said. “The one you learned in biology, which is used by pretty much everything you see outside today, is what C3 grasses use. The second type is C4, which is used primarily by tropical grasses, corn and sugar cane.

“Between three and eight million years ago, some event took place that caused C4 plants to spread rapidly and take over about 20 percent of terrestrial productivity in a really short amount of time,” she continued. “One of the ideas of the study was to understand what caused that change and try to see if we can use this information to interpret what might happen [to Earth’s vegetation] in the future.”

CSUN geology professor Jennifer Cotton holds a sample of bison hair that was used in her research of grassland changes in North America. More than 600 samples of bison hair, teeth and bone dating back to 20,000 years ago were used in her study. Photo by Ruth Saravia.

“My work showed that precipitation — and specifically the timing of precipitation — is important,” she said. “C4 grasses really like wet conditions during hot times. This has a number of implications. We can now look back in the geologic record and look for more evidence [of] summer precipitation, and see if there are increases in C4 grasses.”

Because C4 grasses are a main staple of the human diet, looking at their spread and what may happen to their spread in the future is important, Cotton said.

“If you think about the future, we are increasing both atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperatures,” she said. “It is not clear what plants are going to do. [C3] likes high levels of carbon dioxide and [C4] likes low carbon dioxide. [C3] likes low temperatures, [C4] likes high temperatures. It is important to humans and food security [and to] economies around the world. They are important to biodiversity. Understanding how they changed in the past can help us with future conservation efforts.”

California State University, Northridge mechanical engineering students dominated the field at the 2016 American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) Human Powered Vehicle Challenge last month in San Jose, Calif.

CSUN’s Human Powered Vehicle team. Photo courtesy of Aram Khachatourians.

More than 30 student teams from universities from the United States, Mexico, Egypt and India participated in the competition on April 22-24. Each team brought an originally designed human-powered vehicle, which were judged for design, workmanship and innovation, among other categories. They then showed off what their vehicles could do in drag races and endurance races that tested the vehicles’ speed and construction.

The CSUN team of 21 undergraduates won several challenges, enough to take the overall first-place title. While other teams brought non-engineering student athletes to compete as riders, the CSUN engineering students trained for the race.

The CSUN vehicle, called “The Khach,” has been in production for the past year as part of a two-semester senior design class. The team spent the first semester researching and designing the vehicle, and the second semester building and testing it.

“The Khach” is akin to a recumbent bicycle, though it has two wheels in the front and one in back. It leans back, sits low to the ground and can travel up to 35 miles per hour just by pedaling. It can be used as a clean-energy, alternative means of transportation for short trips, such as going to the grocery market.

Mechanical engineering professor and faculty advisor Aram Khachatourians — the vehicle’s namesake — said space in the senior design class is competitive because he carefully selects those who have the right attitude to work on a team.

“Not anyone can just sign up,” Khachatourians said. “I have to go through a selection process. I ask, ‘What do you bring to the table?’ because this is about teamwork.”

Khachatourians said the students worked hard throughout the semesters and were challenged to learn new things, sometimes beyond their own expertise. He said about 70 percent of the innovation was electrical, and as mechanical engineering students, they had to use a multidisciplinary strategy. This hands-on experience was a taste of what the professional field of engineering is like, he said.

The team was divided into five subgroups, focusing on components, faring, frame, innovation and systems. The goal was to optimize the vehicle and improve on the model from the previous year’s team.

To achieve maximum speed, they designed the vehicle to be as light as possible, weighing only 62 pounds — compared to the 100-plus-pound vehicles of other teams. They designed the faring to be aerodynamic and figured out the right combination of gears for the wheels to travel up to six feet in one revolution of the pedals.

The CSUN team also added a new feature to their vehicle that was influenced by the previous year’s challenge, where a vehicle from a competing school lost control and collided with one of the ASME judges while traveling at 38 miles per hour. The judge ended up needing surgery.

This year, the CSUN team added an Autonomous Brake Assist System (ABAS) to “The Khach.” The ABAS continuously senses objects in front of the vehicle and analyzes the live data and distance from the object. If the object moves away or distance increases, there is no action taken, but if the object is approaching, the brake system is automatically engaged without any input from the rider, bringing the vehicle to a safe stop and preventing an accident.

Senior mechanical engineering student Rachel Foreman, who served as the systems team lead and participated in the challenge as a rider, said working with her team and building the vehicle over the past year has been an exciting, gratifying and enjoyable learning experience.

“While it has certainly had its ups and downs, [the experience] has definitely improved my motivation and teamwork as an engineer and generally as a person,” Foreman said. “I have found that I have become more patient, which I am sure will be invaluable to me in my future career. I have also made some great friends on the team and enjoyed an incredibly fun year with them.”

Foreman said the Department of Mechanical Engineering is very supportive of its students.

“CSUN’s mechanical engineering department has been wonderful — the professors are really great and care a lot about the students’ success,” Foreman said. “Professor Khachatourians is a perfect example, as I am positive every student who has ever taken him would attest to [his excellence as a professor]. There is a lot of industry experience in the department, which is something that you might miss out on at a more theoretical school. We get plenty of hands-on practice, along with the background knowledge and practical advice.”

California State University, Northridge’s VEX Robotics club scored fifth place at the VEX Robotics World Championship recently in Louisville, Ky.

From more than 200 VEX Robotics teams worldwide, only 60 teams qualify each year to participate in the world championships, which took place April 20-23 this year. With competitors separated into two divisions of 30 teams each, CSUN’s fifth-place score put the team in the top 10 of VEX Robotics teams across the globe.

“Fifth place in this year’s competition is their best showing yet,” said Robert Conner, professor of manufacturing systems engineering and management. “Their performance improves with each competition, and next year, if they don’t win, they will be close. Their confidence level is soaring.”

After winning all rounds of the qualifying tournament at the University of Southern California, CSUN’s VEX Robotics team worked around the clock to optimize the design of their robots.

“We rose to the occasion and pushed ourselves further than we ever had before,” said team member Steven Paqueo, a junior in mechanical engineering. “Going into next year, we know what’s expected of us and what it takes to win.”

In addition to a vision-tracking feature, the team designed and built its own sensors and 3-D printed parts to use on their robots.

“They have developed confidence in themselves that will help see them through any challenges they face,” Conner said. “That they did this so successfully speaks volumes to both their engineering skills and their maturity.”

Larry Allen (right) and fellow marine biologist Daniel Pondella, who presented Allen with the Wheeler North Award. Photo courtesy of Larry Allen.

Larry Allen, a respected authority on California’s coastal marine fishes and chair of the Department of Biology at California State University, Northridge, has received one of the highest honors given by the Southern California Academy of Sciences, for his contributions to scientific knowledge regarding Southern California and to the region’s scientific community.

The academy surprised Allen with its Wheeler North Award, named for the pioneering marine biologist and environmental scientist whose work led to a better understanding of California’s coastal kelp beds, during its annual meeting in early May. The award is given only occasionally, as deemed appropriate by the academy’s board. Allen is the award’s sixth recipient since its inception in 2004.

“I was really honored,” Allen said. “It’s always nice to have the stuff you’ve done over a lifetime acknowledged, particularly for excellence in research. It’s about making a fundamental impact on research and the culture of research in Southern California. So, it’s quite an honor.”

Allen has spent more than 35 years studying the biogeography and ecology of marine fishes of the Pacific coast of North America, particularly along California’s coast. He regularly involves students in his research. Over the years, 45 of the students who worked personally with him on research have received master’s degrees in marine biology, and 15 have gone on to receive Ph.D.s. Of those with doctorates, about six are now professors themselves.

Larry Allen, standing in the center back, with some of his former students who surprised him during the presentation the Wheeler North Award.

“I like to study fish, and involved students in it,” he said. “I like to embed enthusiasm in my students, and I think it’s working.”

Allen thought he had been invited to give a plenary address on California’s giant sea bass at the academy’s annual meeting May 6.

“They fooled me,” he said. “I was about to give the plenary address when a lot of my students from decades ago started showing up. I started wondering what was going on. There were students of mine from the 1980s, 1990s and the early 2010s along with my current students.”

When fellow marine biologist Daniel Pondella, who co-edited the book “The Ecology of Marine Fishes: California and Adjacent Waters” with Allen and Michael H. Horn, climbed onto the stage and presented him with the Wheeler North Award, Allen said he was stunned.

“It was really nice,” Allen said. “Wheeler North was a big-deal marine ecologist in California. He did a lot of fundamental work on California’s kelp beds. He’s kind of a hero of mine. To receive an award named after him is quite an honor. And then to have my students there made it very special.”

When Ryan Davis ’15 (Biology) was in high school, he didn’t even consider going to college. He grew up in a troubled household in Northridge with a father who was addicted to drugs and a mother who barely finished high school.

“It was a chaotic environment,” Davis said. “College was never discussed in my house.”

This fall, the first-generation college student will begin a doctoral program in chemistry at Yale University as a recipient of a 2016 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind and one of the most prestigious. Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000, along with a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education.

The 32-year-old Davis said the fellowship was made possible because of the support and guidance of California State University, Northridge faculty and the research he has done.

“CSUN had everything to do with my success,” Davis said. “All the faculty I’ve worked with want to see students succeed.”

Davis transferred to CSUN in 2013 from Pierce College, but his journey was full of obstacles and curves along the way.

Music always had been a significant part of Davis’ life, so when he graduated from high school, the self-taught guitarist thought music was his best option for “escaping” the life he had grown up with.

He poured himself into music and ended up signing with a record label, touring the world and obtaining a “moderate” level of success in the music industry. But Davis was not happy and decided to enroll in a San Diego community college. He enrolled in an introductory chemistry class and fell in love with the subject.

“I fell in love with problem solving, the periodic trends and the predictive power this information provided,” Davis said. “More importantly, I fell in love with the enrichment provided by learning, and it was in this community college classroom that my life began the process of being forever changed.”

He initially thought he would go to medical school. Davis obtained his emergency medical technician license to support himself and get some experience. In 2011, his older sister was diagnosed with cancer and he decided to move back to the San Fernando Valley. He enrolled at Pierce College and took a job working in the college’s chemistry stockroom.

Davis visited CSUN to find out more about its programs, and an adviser recommended he contact Department of Chemistry professor Gagik Melikyan. The two met, Melikyan invited Davis to join his research group and today, the CSUN chemistry professor is the former musician’s No. 1 cheerleader.

“Ryan is one of the best students I have ever had,” Melikyan said. “I’m absolutely positive he will be successful in any doctoral program in this country.

“He is one of the CSUN students who will definitely make us proud,” Melikyan added.

Davis has worked in Melikyan’s research group since 2013, where he has done research at the interface of organic, organometallic, computational and medicinal chemistry. He has co-authored several papers due to be published with Melikyan and presented at numerous conferences. He also has won several other awards, including the 2015 ACS Southern California Undergraduate Research Conference (SCURC) Outstanding Oral Presentation Award, 2015 Sigma Xi CSUN Student Research Symposium Second Place Award and the 2015 Leslie and Terry Cutler Scholarship for Outstanding Promise in Science.

“The faculty here cares,” Davis said. “CSUN is the best thing that ever happened to me.”