Olaseni “Seni” Sode, an associate professor of chemistry at Cal State LA, has received a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to teach and conduct research in France during the 2025-26 academic year.
As a Fulbright scholar, Sode will spend six months in Grenoble, France, at the Institut Néel, a national research laboratory of the French National Centre for Scientific Research for fundamental research in condensed matter physics.
While in Grenoble, Sode will collaborate with Andrés Cano’s Condensed Matter Theory group and colleagues at CEA, which is the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. His project will focus on applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to better understand how atoms vibrate inside materials with important technological uses, such as oxides and superconductors.
“This Fulbright award lets us exchange ideas and resources between Cal State LA and Grenoble, so that both communities benefit long after the visit ends,” said Sode, a South Pasadena resident. “Having studied in Nantes and Toulouse and given research talks in Grenoble, returning to France feels like coming full circle. I’m ready to put my French to work in the lab and in everyday life.”
Sode’s research bridges computational chemistry and condensed-matter theory. He began his professional career at the University of Tampa before joining the College of Natural and Social Sciences (NSS) at Cal State LA in 2018.
Supported by the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund, his work focuses on ab initio electronic and vibrational structure methods and the development of model potentials, including fragmentation-based approaches, for condensed-phase systems.
Currently, Sode directs Cal State LA’s Partnerships for Research and Education in Chemistry program in collaboration with the Molecular Sciences Software Institute. He previously directed the university’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
Sode earned dual degrees in chemistry (B.S.) and French (B.A.) from Morehouse College in 2007. He started his graduate work at the University of Florida and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2012. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago.
Sode is one of more than 800 U.S. scholars selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in 2025-26. Fulbright scholars engage in impactful international collaboration, expand their professional networks, and often establish enduring partnerships between institutions.
“Dr. Sode’s Fulbright award is a powerful testament to the global significance of the research taking place at Cal State LA,” said NSS Dean Stephen M. Trzaskoma. “We are proud of his achievements and excited about the international collaboration and expanded opportunities this will bring to our students, faculty, and campus community.”
Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also contribute to the program, which operates in over 160 countries. In the U.S., the Institute of International Education administers the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. For more information, visit the Fulbright program website.
# # #
California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 22,000 students and has more than 270,000 distinguished alumni.
