University Reports

Kris Bezdecny 

Kris Bezdecny (Geosciences and Environment) presented a paper on “What happened in Florida? The sociopolitical implications of Florida’s attempt to dissolve the RICD,” at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, in Bellingham, WA, Oct. 6-8, 2022.

James Brady 

James Brady (Anthropology) conducted archaeological research at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico in June of 2022. His team included four Cal State LA students: Taylor Benoit, Christina Iglesias, Venessa Karkkainen, and Ulysses Salcido.

Stanley Burstein

Stanley Burstein (Emeritus, History) presented a paper, “A Crisis of Legitimacy: The Case of Ergamenes/Arqamani,” at the 15th International Conference for Nubian Studies, in Warsaw, Poland, on Sept. 2, 2022.

Choi Chatterjee

Choi Chatterjee (History) delivered a virtual lecture on “Building a Home at the Crossroads of Empire: Vasily Klyuchesvky, G. M. Trevelyan, and Imperial Nationalisms” at Princeton’s Russia & Eurasia Workshop on Oct. 6, 2022. She also presented a keynote address, “Russia, a Pariah Nation or a Multi-Polar World Order: Shifting Perspectives,” at Columbia University’s Unsettling the Union: An Interdisciplinary Symposium, April 14, 2023.

Maria Oropeza Fujimoto

Maria Oropeza Fujimoto (Applied and Advanced Studies in Education) was among a panel of scholars discussing the topic of “Standing with BIPOC Youth, Family, and Community Leaders to Advance Educational Equity in Schools,” at the Annual Convention for the University Council for Educational Administration, in Seattle, WA, Nov. 17-20, 2022.

Rosalba González and Sharon Ulanoff

Rosalba González (Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies) and Sharon Ulanoff (Curriculum and Instruction) presented a paper session, “Put That in Your Own Words: Long Term English Learners Story Their Experiences of Reclassification,” at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association conference, April 13-16, 2023.

Steve LaDochy

Steve LaDochy (Emeritus, Geosciences and Environment), along with graduate student Tania Torres and Frederick Hsu of Temple University, presented a paper on “The Elusive Los Angeles Urban Heat Island,” at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, in Bellingham, WA, Oct. 6-8, 2022. LaDochy also coauthored with graduate student Antonio Santana and Todd Hall of the National Weather Service, an oral paper, “The changing climate of Los Angeles over the last quarter century,” that was presented during the California Geographical Society’s Annual Meeting at East LA College on April 22, 2023.

Pau Pabustan

Pau Pabustan (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) was a speaker on the panel, “Sustainable Kinship Practices: Collectively Resting, Playing, and Dreaming Our Way Home,” at the National Association for Ethnic Studies Conference, hosted by Cal State LA Ethnic Studies, on Nov. 5, 2022.

Lorne A. Platt

Lorne A. Platt (Geosciences and Environment) presented a paper on “Gardens, Baseball, and the Search for a Modern Stadium in Los Angeles,” at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, in Bellingham, WA, Oct. 6-8, 2022.

Susan Saul

Susan Saul (Anthropology) presented “Who Let The Dogs Out: Is Choice of Dog Breed Reliable in Predicting Physical and Personality Characteristics?” for the session “Implications of Ancient Technology, Food, and Trade for the Modern World” at the 92nd Annual Conference of the Southwestern Anthropological Association, held in Long Beach, CA, on April 7, 2023. 

Petr Vozka

Petr Vozka (Chemistry and Biochemistry), along with G. Barzallo, H. Gieng, E.N.Luu, M. Auersvald, and P. Straka, delivered an oral presentation, “Quantitative analysis of Aliphatic Olefins in Alternative and Petroleum-Based Fuels by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography,” at the American Chemical Society’s Fall 2022 meeting in Chicago, IL, Aug. 21-25, 2022.

Pau Abustan

Pau Abustan (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) authored an article, “Surviving & Thriving: Queer Crip Pilipinx Kapwa Dream Worlds in Animal Crossing New Horizons,” in Lateral: Journal of the Cultural Studies Association, issue 11.2, fall 2022. She also coauthored an article, “Disability Justice Praxis: Sick, Disabled, Deaf Women and Non-Binary Educators of Color Holding Each Other in Radical Love and Accessible Kinship,” in Research in Arts and Education, no. 3, Dec. 30, 2022.

J. Theodore Anagnoson

J. Theodore Anagnoson (Political Science) coauthored an article, “Cultivating a Beginner’s Mind: How Textbook Writing Improves Our Undergraduate Teaching,” in Political Science & Politics, published online by Cambridge University Press, on March 30, 2022.

Okezie Aruoma

Okezie Aruoma (Chemistry and Biochemistry) coauthored an article, “The double trouble: COVID-19 associated mucormycosis a focused review and future perspectives,” in the Global Journal of Medical, Pharmaceutical, and Biomedical Update, vol. 16, no. 4, July 3, 2021.

James Brady

James Brady (Anthropology) coauthored an article, “Blue Fibers Found in Dental Calculus from Maya Sacrificial Victims,” with former Cal State LA graduate student Amy Chan, in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, on Sept. 20, 2022.

Stanley Burstein

Stanley Burstein (Emeritus, History) authored a book, The Essential Greek Historians, that was published by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., July 18, 2022. A German translation of his 2017 book, The World from 1000 BCE to 300 CE, was published under the title, Antike Global: Die Welt von 1000 v. Chr. bis 300 n. Chr., by Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Feb. 23, 2022.

Maria Oropeza Fujimoto, Agustin Cervantes and Frances Contreras

Maria Oropeza Fujimoto (Applied and Advanced Studies in Education), along with Agustin Cervantes (College of Education) and Frances Contreras of UC Irvine, coauthored a chapter, “Exploring the Production of Teachers in an Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) System,” in the Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers, published by the American Educational Research Association, Jan. 1, 2022.

Bianca L. Guzmán

Bianca L. Guzmán (Pathway Programs) coauthored an article, “Racial reckoning, resistance, and the revolution: A call to community psychology to move forward,” in the American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 71, Feb. 16, 2023.

Barry Hibbs

Barry Hibbs (Geosciences and Environment) authored an article, “Commentary and Review of Modern Environmental Problems Linked to Historic Flow Capacity in Arid Groundwater Basins,” in Geosciences, vol. 12, no. 3, Feb. 22, 2022. He also coauthored an article, “Origins of Salinity in Groundwater and Surface Water of the Rio Grande Floodplain, Texas, USA and Chihuahua, Mexico, the Case of Sulfate,” in the Hydrology Journal, vol. 9, no. 95, May 24, 2022. He also authored a research article, “New Conceptual Models of Groundwater Flow and Salinity in the Eastern Hueco Bolson Aquifer,” in Los recursos hidrológicos en cuencas transfronterizas entre México y Estados Unidos: El Paso del Norte y la gobernanza binacional del agua, Granado Olivas, Alfredo, ed., published by the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, 2022.

Chenyong Liu

Chenyong Liu (Accounting Department) coauthored a paper, “No rose without a thorn: Corporate teamwork culture and financial statement misconduct,” in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, vol. 37, March 2023.

William M. London

William M. London (Public Health) authored the following articles in the online Consumer Health columns for Skeptical Inquirer: “Health Street Smarts Fairs Created by University Students to Promote Critical Thinking on Campus, Part 1” on July 27, 2022, and “Health Street Smarts Fairs Created by University Students to Promote Critical Thinking on Campus, Part 2,” on Sept. 2, 2022.

Silvia Martin

Silvia Martin (Marketing) coauthored an article, “Key Factors that Influence Consumer Preferences for Natural‐Hyped Products,” in Psychology & Marketing, vol. 40, no. 2, February 2023.

Roger Lee Mendoza

Roger Lee Mendoza (Management) authored an article of his two-year long study on “The insurance role in workplace health promotion: A comparative analysis of the United States and the Philippines,” in Health Promotion International, vol. 38, no. 2, April 2023.

Joyce Parga

Joyce Parga (Anthropology) coauthored an article with former Cal State LA undergraduate Emma Thurau, “Food availability and male deference in the female‐dominant ring‐tailed lemur,” in the American Journal of Primatology, vol. 84, no. 9, July 20, 2022. Emma is currently working towards a Ph.D. in anthropology at The City University of New York.

Kenneth S. Peter

Kenneth S. Peter (Kinesiology) authored a memoir, Lies My Parents Told Me, that was published by BookBaby, in 2022.  The book is a compilation of family histories and stories reviewed in a historical context. It looks at the effect of oral history on family beliefs and dynamics, and on how like the old game, “telephone,” events can become distorted over time and retelling.

Pedro Ramirez and Andre Ellis

Pedro Ramirez and Andre Ellis (Geosciences and Environment) coauthored an article with graduate student Ricardo Lopez-Maldonado, “Paleoclimate Changes in the Pacific Northwest Over the Past 36,000 Years From Clumped Isotope Measurements and Model Analysis,” in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, vol. 38, no. 2, Feb. 2023.

Alexandru V. Roman

Alexandru V. Roman (Management) coauthored a textbook, Public Procurement: CPPO & CPPB exam preparation through case studies and exercises, that had its third edition published by Birkdale Publishers, Inc, 2023. In addition, he coauthored the following papers: “The link between performance below historical aspiration, team size and member contribution, dispersion” and “Employee dilemmas from competing organizational objectives: Insights from emergency medical services,” that were presented at the Strategic Management Society Conference, London, UK, Sept. 17-20, 2022.

Lauri Scheyer

Lauri Scheyer (English) co-edited a book, Selected Poems of Calvin C. Hernton, that will be published by Wesleyan University Press in the summer of 2023.

Stephen M. Trzaskoma

Stephen M. Trzaskoma (Arts and Letters) co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography, Oxford University Press, Nov. 4, 2022. In addition, he co-wrote the introduction, authored one chapter, coauthored two chapters, and co-translated two chapters into English from French and Italian.

Ping Yao

Ping Yao (History) authored a book, Women, Gender, and Sexuality in China: A Brief History, published by Routledge, Dec. 30, 2021. She also co-edited Zai Meiguo jiao lishi (Teaching History in America), Peking University Press, Oct. 2022, and Zhonggu tanwei: Yi Peixia Zhongguoshi yanjiu (An Exploration into Medieval Times: Patricia Ebrey’s Studies of Chinese History), Shanghai Classic Publishing, Dec. 2022. She also coauthored a book, Chinese Autobiographical Writing: An Anthology of Personal Accounts, University of Washington Press, Jan. 9, 2023. She authored the following articles: “Female Association Bylaws from Medieval China” (in Chinese), in Women and Gender in Medieval China, Zhongxi Press, Dec. 2022, and “Coping with the Loss of a Child: Evidence from Tang Funerary Writing,” in Family in Chinese History, special issue of Journal of Chinese History, vol. 6, no. 2, 2022.

Pau Abustan

Pau Abustan (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) was inducted by the National Disability Mentoring Coalition into the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame during a virtual ceremony on March 28, 2023. The Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame was established in 2015 to carry on the legacy of disability champion and lifelong mentor, Susan Daniels, and to spotlight individuals and groups around the country who are making a significant difference in the lives of youth and adults with disabilities through mentoring.

David Blekhman

David Blekhman (Technology) secured a $500,000 grant from the California Energy Commission for workforce development related to zero-emission vehicles (ZEV). The three-year grant will help Cal State LA develop and implement a new training curriculum bridging skills gaps for future ZEV engineers and working toward the state’s goal of producing a viable workforce. Additionally, Blekhman received the California State University’s (CSU) Wang Family Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship. The CSU award honors faculty and staff for unwavering commitment to student achievement and advancing the system’s mission through excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. He was also recognized by Congresswoman Judy Chu during the Fulbright Award Recognition Ceremony in South Pasadena on March 15, 2023.

Gabrielle E. Clark

Gabrielle E. Clark (Political Science) was awarded a $60,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her project titled “Lineages of the Deportable Labor State: Migrant Workers and the Law in American History.” Clark is one of only 29 grantees in the faculty program section. The program supports faculty research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Negin Forouzesh

Negin Forouzesh (Computer Science) secured a $730,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide students with opportunities to participate in biomedical research. The four-year grant from the NIH Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) program will support research on computer-aided drug design.

Eun-Young Elaine Kang

Eun-Young Elaine Kang (Computer Science) secured a joint National Science Foundation grant, totaling $1.8 million, to help transform the early computing curriculum for underrepresented minority students studying computer science. Cal State LA will work with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, and San Francisco State on the grant project. The universities will incorporate inclusive STEM pedagogy into early computing courses, with faculty training to support community-centered projects in their coursework.

Julie Patel Liss

Julie Patel Liss (TV, Film and Media Studies) was selected to be on the advisory board of the $25M California Local News Fellowship program, offered through the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The program is a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.

Yangyang Liu

Yangyang Liu (Chemistry and Biochemistry) secured a $300,000 two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance key clean-hydrogen technologies while growing the skills and knowledge of science and engineering students at Minority-Serving Institutions. As part of the project, Liu and her students will work on developing novel hydrogen storage materials for clean energy vehicles.

Julianne Malveaux

Julianne Malveaux (College of Ethnic Studies) was one of six women leaders honored at the Inaugural Sisters with Superpowers (SWS) dinner and awards gala, hosted by the Rolling Out national multi-media firm, at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2023.

Allison Mattheis

Allison Mattheis (Applied and Advanced Studies in Education) secured a collaborative grant, totaling $1.2 million, from the National Science Foundation to help combat identity-based harassment, bullying, and other hostile and exclusionary behaviors that contribute to low diversity in the earth and space sciences and other STEM disciplines. The NSF-funded ADVANCEGeo program aims to catalyze behavioral and cultural change through interventions at the individual and collective level.

Roger Lee Mendoza

Roger Lee Mendoza (Management) was announced as an inaugural awardee of McGraw-Hill’s Pathfinder Award for Teaching Excellence on May 2, 2023. The award, which was launched in September 2022 and received hundreds of faculty nominations, honors three of the most innovative and inventive educators nationwide for their teaching practices and helping students succeed on their learning paths. The award comes with a $5,000 cash prize, trophy, and testimonial dinner.

Serie McDougal and Zama Dlamini

Serie McDougal and Zama Dlamini (Pan African Studies) received a Fulbright-Hays grant from the Department of Education to travel with 14 high school teachers, college professors, and administrators to South Africa this coming summer. The goal of the program is to contribute to the enhancement of the ethnic studies curriculum in the United States.

José Mijares-Palacios

José Mijares-Palacios (Mathematics) was selected as one of the 2023 honorees featured on the Mathematically Gifted & Black website. The online platform, which highlights the accomplishments of black scholars in mathematical sciences, spotlights 28 Black mathematicians every February in commemoration of Black History Month.

Sara Pugach

Sara Pugach (History) received a 2023 Faculty Development Seminar Award from the Council for American Overseas Research Centers. Pugach is one of 42 seminar awardees selected from community colleges and minority-serving institutions who will attend Faculty Development Seminar programs overseas in 2023.

He Shen

He Shen (Mechanical Engineering), technical advisor, and a team of students from the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology placed eighth in the 2022 RoboSub international competition held at the University of Maryland in College Park. Cal State LA’s RoboSub team competed against 39 teams from around the world. Mark Tufenkjian (ECST), associate dean, founded the RoboSub team at Cal State LA in 2016 with a grant through the Office of Naval Research.

Gay Q. Yuen

Gay Q. Yuen (Emerita, Education), a Cal State LA alumna, was presented a Leadership Award at the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association (APAA) Scholarship and Awards Gala at The Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena, CA, April 22, 2023. She was recognized for her role as board chair of the Friends of the Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles.

Miguel Zavala

Miguel Zavala (Curriculum and Instruction) and his collaborator were presented the Association for Ethnic Studies’ Outstanding Book Award for their book, Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Research, during the AES Annual Conference at Bowling Green University, Nov. 5-6, 2021. In an award letter, it states: “The Association believes that Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools is an excellent example of the type of scholarship, rigor and creativity that promotes and enhances Ethnic Studies. Your book represents the best combination of intellectual work and meaningful engagement with the themes, issues and questions central to Ethnic Studies today.”