University Reports

Will Baker

Will Baker (University Advancement) served as technical director of the second San Quentin Film Festival at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center on Oct. 23 and 24, 2025. This fall, film-industry insiders converged on the 173-year-old facility to connect with incarcerated filmmakers—a follow-up to last year’s historic inaugural event, the first film festival ever held inside a U.S. penal institution.

Roberto Cantú

Roberto Cantú (Emeritus, English/Chicano Studies) was featured in a special series of interviews with former editors-in-chief of MESTER in an online conversation hosted by UCLA’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese. In the spring 2025 interview, he reflects on his years as editor of the literary journal while completing his Ph.D. (1970–1973) as part of a broader celebration of the journal’s legacy.

Joshua T. Kelly

Joshua T. Kelly (Geography, Geology, and Environment) served on an expert panel for a California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) whitepaper report, “Tracking Coastal Habitat Change Over Time: Considerations for a Statewide Mapping Program,” which focused on managing California’s coastal habitats. This report informs the development of ongoing mapping efforts, enabling their application in a consistent, practical, and effective manner.

Daniel E. Lambert

Daniel E. Lambert (English) presented his paper, “‘The Razor-Potato Man’: An Analysis of Harlan Ellison’s Short Story ‘He Who Grew Up Reading Sherlock Holmes,’” at the first annual Speculative Fiction Across Media Conference in Monterey Park, Calif., on Oct. 19, 2024. His paper also appeared on The Strand Magazine‘s website. He also contributed a short story to an anthology, Symptom of the Universe: A Horror Tribute to Black Sabbath, edited by J.C. Macek III, Dark Moon Rising Publications, 2024. His poem “Hollywoodland” was published on the Poetry Super Highway website on March 18, 2024.

Sarah Minslow

Sarah Minslow (English) presented a paper, “The Role of Children’s Literature in ‘Never Again,’” at the 2025 International Association of Genocide Scholars Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct. 20-24, 2025.

Lauri Scheyer

Lauri Scheyer (Emerita, English) delivered the following keynote lectures in fall 2025: “Creative Writing as Cross-Cultural Translation” at the Literary Translation Conference at Tongji University in Shanghai; “Current Transformations in Black British Literature and Culture” at the Chinese Society for British Literature”; and “Afrofuturism in Black Diaspora Poetry” at the Modern and Contemporary Literature Conference at Central China Normal University. She was also a visiting professor at Renmin University in Beijing in November 2025.

James Simon, Siouxsie Calderon, and Valentine Villa

James Simon and Siouxsie Calderon (Social Work) provided leadership on the event planning team in organizing an interactive seminar, “Tomorrow’s Caregiving Today: It’s Never too Early to Plan for Future Caregiver Needs,” hosted in partnership with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in Los Angeles. The intent of the AARP presentation is to increase young people’s awareness of the aging U.S. population and the need for individuals to plan for potential caregiving roles within their family. Valentine Villa (Social Work), director of the Applied Gerontology Institute, provided the opening remarks at this seminar focusing on the demographics of the U.S. population, the health profile of the older adult population, and the current and increased demand for caregiving. The event took place in the Rosser Hall Lecture Hall on Nov. 18, 2025.

Beverly Stein

Beverly Stein (Music) presented a talk, “Unlocking Meaning in Art Song: Schubert’s Meeres stille,” at The Berklee School of Music in Boston, Feb. 10, 2025. She also gave a lecture, “Is Your Song a Warm Bath or a Sinking Ship?”, at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Feb. 8, 2025. She was featured in a Juilliard Spotlight as part of the Juilliard Connect alumni organization, Oct. 31, 2024. The bio includes a description of her work at Cal State LA, including the emphasis on social justice and community engagement in her curriculum.

Ericka Verba

Ericka Verba (Latin American Studies) presented a talk, “Violeta Parra: Chile’s Folk Revolutionary, Cold-War Exile & Mother of Nueva Canción,” on the Explaining History podcast, Player FM, July 9, 2025.

Mohamed Hassan Awad and Mabel Sanchez

Mohamed Hassan Awad and Mabel Sanchez (Management) coauthored an article, “How to Manage Underperforming Cross-Sector Partnerships,” in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, summer 2025.

Luoman Bao

Luoman Bao (Sociology) coauthored an article, “Religious Affiliation and the Division of Housework over the Life Course,” in the journal Advances in Life Course Research, vol. 65, September 2025.

James Brady

James Brady (Anthropology) co-edited a book, Exploring the Mesoamerican Subterranean Realm, published by the University Press of Colorado, Sept. 1, 2025. It was co-edited with former Cal State LA graduate student Cristina Verdugo. The book brings together recent work and interpretations on the use of underground cavities by Mesoamerica’s pre-Columbian cultures.

Stanley Burstein

Stanley Burstein (Emeritus, History) coauthored the fifth edition of the textbook, Ancient Greece: A Brief History: Politics, Society, and Culture, New York: Oxford University Press, 2025. He also authored an article, “Alexander and the Two seas: the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea,” in the Macedon and its Influences: Narratives of Politics and War in Honor of Edward M. Anson, Colloquia Antiqua, no. 44, Leuven: Peeters, 2025, and he coauthored an article, “Dementia in Ancient Greece and Rome,” that was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, June 2025.

Roberto Cantú

Roberto Cantú (Emeritus, English/Chicano Studies) authored a book, Octavio Paz and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Studies in Biography, Poetry, and Poetics, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Oct. 17, 2025. This book includes a comprehensive analysis of Octavio Paz’s 1982 biography of Sor Juana, and critical studies of Sor Juana’s poem Primero sueňo (The Dream, 1692), and of Octavio Paz’s poem Blanco (1966). An English translation of Sor Juana’s The Dream, as well as its Spanish original, is included in the book’s appendixes. 

Ramani Durvasula

Ramani Durvasula (Emerita, Psychology) coauthored an article, “The Autism vs. Narcissism Confusion: Clarifying Dangerous Misconceptions Affecting Couples Today,” in the Psychotherapy Networker, 2025.

Margaret Finnegan

Margaret Finnegan (Criminal Justice and Criminalistics) authored her fifth middle-grade novel, Spelling It Out, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, May 13, 2025. The story follows a young boy determined to reach the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals while confronting signs that his beloved grandmother may have dementia. The novel is a Junior Library Guild Selection and the June 2025 pick for Bee’s Bookshelf—the official book club of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

David B. Green Jr.

David B. Green Jr. (Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies) authored his first book, Inner City Sissy: A Black Queer Literacy Story, published by Lived Places Publishing, April 14, 2025. The book is a critical reflection and memoir about growing up African American and queer in inner-city settings in the United States.

Silvia Heubach

Silvia Heubach (Mathematics) coauthored with K. Burke, M. A. Huggan, and S. Huntemann an article, “Keeping Your Distance is Hard,” in Games of No Chance, Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Barry Hibbs

Barry Hibbs (Geography, Geology, and Environment) authored an article, “Driving Processes of the Niland Moving Mud Spring: A Conceptual Model of a Unique Geohazard in California’s Eastern Salton Sea Region,” in GeoHazards, vol. 6, no. 4, Sept. 25, 2025. This new study sheds light on one of California’s most mysterious natural features: a mud spring that moves across the desert near the Salton Sea. He also coauthored the following articles: “Geochemical Drivers of Elevated Sulfate in California Coastal Basins: Evolution from Marine Sediments to Watersheds and Aquifers,” in the Journal of The American Water Resources Association, December 2025, and “Groundwater Seepage into Lined Urban Channels: An Overlooked Source of Nutrients and Trace Elements in the Upper Los Angeles River,” in the Water journal, Vol. 17, no. 21, Nov. 5, 2025.

Patrick Krug

Patrick Krug (Biological Sciences) coauthored an article, “Coastal Elites: Recurrent Trans-Arctic Migration and Vicariance in a Cosmopolitan Sea Slug Driven by Pleistocene Glacial Cycles,” in the Zoologica Scripta, vol. 54, no. 6, November 2025.

Silvia L. Martin

Silvia L. Martin (Marketing) coauthored with S. Ouidade, E. Nadr, and A. Zineb an article, “When Your Supporters Become Your Opponents: Exploring the Unintended Effects of Parodies on Social Media Engagement,” in the Psychology & Marketing, vol. 41, no. 2, 2024. She also coauthored an article with N. Hana and G. Kondrateva, “Emission-smart Advertising: Balancing Performance with CO2 Emissions in Digital Advertising,” in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 209, 2024.

Sarah Minslow

Sarah Minslow (English) co-edited a book, Contemporary International Literature and the Shoah, published by Peter Lang, Nov. 14, 2025. The book analyzes 21st-century literature about the Holocaust and includes contributions from international scholars who examine contemporary trends.

Erica Ellis and Ian Morton

Erica Ellis and Ian Morton (Communication Disorders) coauthored an article, “Sentential Complement Clause Sentence Constructions of Early School-Age Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder,” in the International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, May 17, 2025.

Enrique C. Ochoa

Enrique C. Ochoa (Latin American Studies/History) authored a book, México Between Feast and Famine: Food, Corporate Power, and Inequality, which was published by University of Arizona Press, 2025. He also authored “1989: Crónicas de la memoria y el cuerpo/1989: Chronicles of Memory and the Body,” in Central America: Chronicles of Memory and Embodiment, eds., A. Aguilar Atunes, C.E. Villacorte, E.C. Ochoa, and M. Seone, URUK Editores, May 2025. He also coauthored an article with G.L. Ochoa on “Sewing the Threads of Nicaragua in the Casa de Nuestros ‘Litos in La Puente, California” in 1989 en Centroamérica: Crónicas de la memoria y el cuerpo/1989 in Central America: Chronicles of Memory and Embodiment, San José, CR: URUK Editores, 2025. He also authored a chapter, “Latin American Food Systems,” in the Oxford Bibliographies in Food Studies, ed., Megan Elias, Oxford University Press, 2025.

Carlena Orosco

Carlena Orosco (Criminal Justice and Criminalistics) coauthored the following articles: “Can De-escalation Training Reduce Use of Force and Injuries to Citizens Without Risking Officer Safety?”, in the Journal of Applied Police Briefing, vol. 2, no. 1, 2025, and “A Primer on the Design, Delivery, and Evaluation of De-escalation Training: Explaining the Impactful Findings from the Tempe Smart Policing Initiative,” in the Justice Evaluation Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, 2025.

Lauri Scheyer

Lauri Scheyer (Emerita, English) authored an article on “African American Poetry,” which was included as a featured selection in the Oxford Research Encyclopedias, July 16, 2025. She also authored an article, “Global Noir,” published in the book Globalizing the Avant-Garde, ed., David Ayers et al, De Gruyter, 2025.

Petr Vozka

Petr Vozka (Chemistry and Biochemistry) coauthored an article, “On-board Hydrogen-rich Syngas Production via Waste Heat Recovery from Compression-ignition Engines: Maximizing Hydrogen Content with Novel Multi-objective Algorithms,” in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 130, May 21, 2025.

Zhe (Meredith) Zhang

Zhe (Meredith) Zhang (Sociology) coauthored an article, “Who Cares? Unpaid Caregiving by Sexual Identity, Gender, and Partnership Status Among U.S. Adults,” published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 61, no. 1, Feb. 1, 2024.

Chris Bachman

Chris Bachman (Mechanical Engineering) was selected for a 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Mexico. As a Fulbright scholar, Bachman will bring his expertise to Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Tijuana (UABC Tijuana) from August 2025 to January 2026. During his time there, he will teach courses in human-centered design and automotive engineering, mentor the university’s Formula SAE student team, and lead faculty workshops on project-based and asset-based pedagogies. He will also collaborate with UABC faculty and students on research in sustainable automotive technologies.

David Blekhman

David Blekhman (Technology) secured $400,000 in Catalyst Predevelopment Seed Funding through the California Jobs First Los Angeles Collaborative to support the university’s Hydrogen and Electric Vehicle Workforce Initiative. The grant project is leading the initiative to cultivate a diverse, highly skilled clean transportation workforce and position the region at the forefront of climate-aligned innovation.

Angela Cooke-Jackson

Angela Cooke-Jackson (Communication Studies) was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to New Zealand, where she conducted scholarly work from February to July 2025. Cooke-Jackson collaborated with Senior Lecturer Jade Le Grice of the University of Auckland on research exploring how Māori faculty and Indigenous groups negotiate their professional trajectories in predominantly white institutions. She also collaborated with Rebecca Kiddle, director of the Te Manawahoukura Rangahau Centre at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, examining the role of women in prominent research fields and the ways women have been catalysts for growth and advancement in their communities.

Colleen Friend

Colleen Friend (Emerita, Social Work), former school director, was inducted into the California Social Work Hall of Distinction on Nov. 15, 2025—the highest honor for social work educators and practitioners. The Hall of Distinction, part of the California Social Welfare Archives, was established in 2002 to recognize social workers who have made significant contributions to the betterment of society.

Elaine Kang

Elaine Kang (Computer Science) secured a $150,000 grant from Google to support the Computer Science Supplementary Authorization program, advancing the university’s efforts to prepare K–12 educators to teach computer science in underserved communities. The co-principal investigators include Professors David Krum and Manveen Kaur.

Patti Kilroy

Patti Kilroy (Music), as part of the contemporary classical group Alarm Will Sound, was nominated for two Grammy awards (Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and Best Contemporary Classical Composition) for the album Land of Winter, featuring the tone poem by Donnacha Dennehy, and released through Nonesuch Records. In addition to the Grammy nominations, Land of Winter was featured by the Washington Post on Nov. 12, 2025.

Silvia L. Martin

Silvia L. Martin (Marketing) received a Best Paper Award for her coauthored article, “Emission-Smart Advertising: Resolving the Media Performance and CO2 Emissions Dilemma in Digital Advertising,” that was published in the 20th Academy of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge conference proceedings, Innovative and Meaningful Knowledge: Towards a Sustainable Business, ed., E. Lamarque Sorbonne Business School, Paris, France, 2024.

Arturo Pacheco-Vega

Arturo Pacheco-Vega (Mechanical Engineering) has received a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to teach and conduct research in the Czech Republic during the 2025-26 academic year. As a Fulbright scholar, Pacheco-Vega will be based at the Czech Technical University in Prague, working in collaboration with the University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings. His project will focus on the development of advanced thermo-fluids models and AI-informed simulation methods to improve energy efficiency in multiroom building systems.

Lauri Scheyer

Lauri Scheyer (Emerita, English) was a recipient of the 2025 American Book Award for a book she coauthored, titled Between the Night and Its Music: New and Selected Poems, published by Wesleyan University Press. She was formally recognized at the 46th annual American Book Awards at UC Berkeley on Oct. 26, 2025.

Olaseni “Seni” Sode

Olaseni “Seni” Sode (Chemistry and Biochemistry) 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. 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.

Jie Zhong

Jie Zhong (Mathematics) secured a $499,867 National Science Foundation grant to empower data-driven learning and strengthen student success in mathematics. The project is titled “Transforming Mathematics Education for the Next-Generation Workforce: Building Pathways to Data Science and AI through Accessible Innovations.” The co-principal investigators include Dong Zhou, associate professor of mathematics at Cal State LA, and Xiaodan Leng, professor of mathematics at Pasadena City College.