University Reports

Amira Ainis

Amira Ainis (Anthropology) and a group of her students have contributed to recovery efforts following the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires. Working alongside the Alta Heritage Foundation (AHF), they have helped families recover cremated remains from the ashes of destroyed homes. AHF specializes in disaster archaeology, using forensic methods and trained dogs to locate and recover human cremains after wildfires, and has been working to assist more than 1,000 families affected by the recent fires. 

David Blekhman

David Blekhman (Technology) was the lead in Cal State LA’s effort in the 2025 Hydrogen Safety Challenge, an initiative that aims to promote a culture of safety in the hydrogen industry. The university’s Hidrógeno Eagles team tied for the top score and was recognized with a Gold Award for its outstanding participation and leadership across six challenge categories.  Hosted over 12 weeks, the challenge included these six key focus areas: core values, leadership, workforce, communications, customers and community, and incident sharing.

Berenecea Johnson Eanes

Berenecea Johnson Eanes (Cal State LA), president, was the keynote speaker for this year’s Future Forums, entitled “Recovery, Rebuilding, Resilience and the Future of Infrastructure,” held at Cal State LA on April 15, 2025. Future Forums are presented through a partnership between Cal State LA, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, and CSU Dominguez Hills. The forums position higher education institutions at the forefront of industry advancements, offering insights into how emerging developments shape regional economic growth. 

Barry Hibbs

Barry Hibbs (Geography, Geology, and Environment) delivered the following presentations at the annual meeting of the National Groundwater Association that were published in the 2024 conference program: with M. Rosas and M. Newcomer, “Hydrochemical and Isotopic Study of the Glendale Narrows Reach of the Los Angeles River”; with B. Darling and J. Sharp, “Simple and Complex Pediment Systems as Surfaces for Groundwater Recharge in the Basin and Range”; with J. Michel, S. Naimy, D. Montellano, and M. Newcomer, “Hydrochemical Trends in Arroyo Seco: Groundwater Inflows and Urban Runoff on Water Quality”; with T. Rojas, “Hydrochemical profile of Laguna Channel Watershed”; and with C. Ruelas, C. Cristales, L. Sprecker, and M. Newcomer, “Hydrochemical Analysis of the L.A. River between downtown Los Angeles and the outlet at the Pacific Ocean.” 

Stephen LaDochy

Stephen LaDochy (Emeritus, Geography, Geology, and Environment) presented a paper, “L.A. Fires: Past, Present and Future,” at the annual meeting of the California Geographical Society, held at CSU Stanislaus, in Turlock, CA, on April 26, 2025. 

Hermila Melero

Hermila Melero (Social Work) has collaborated with the Comprehensive Community Health Centers to help launch its Mentored Internship Program through a $22,750 award from Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. This two-month project provided important hands-on training opportunities for emerging social work professionals and strengthened ties with a key community health partner. 

David Pitt

David Pitt (Philosophy) was a guest on the New Books in Philosophy podcast to discuss his book, The Quality of Thought (Oxford University Press, March 11, 2024), Player FM, February 2025.

Maritza Sanchez

Maritza Sanchez (Mechanical Engineering) has teamed up with Ohio State University on a research project titled “Effect of synthesis method on densification of rare-earth oxide-doped zirconium diboride for enhanced oxidation performance.” The research is supported by a $253,610 grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory. 

Walter Zelman

Walter Zelman (Public Health) organized the CSU Health Policy Conference, facilitating the participation of students from Cal State LA and other CSU campuses in a visit to Sacramento in April 2025. Throughout the conference, students were introduced to public health officials and legislators, who provided in-depth explanations of the governmental policymaking process, addressed critical health policy issues, and discussed emerging public health challenges anticipated in the coming years. 

Jose L. Galvan

Jose L. Galvan (Emeritus, Education) coauthored the 8th edition of Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, published by Routledge, Nov. 14, 2024. Written with his daughter, Melisa C. Galvan, this new edition of the book provides students with model literature reviews and discussions of digital research tools and implications of AI use. 

Hichem Hajaiej

Hichem Hajaiej (Mathematics) coauthored an article, “Static States for Rotating Two-Component Bose–Einstein Condensates,” published in Studies in Applied Mathematics, vol. 154, issue 1, Jan. 11, 2025. 

Ken Herold

Ken Herold (University Library) was a guest editor for the Library Trends issue on “Design and the Philosophy of Information,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press, vol. 73, no. 1-2, August and November 2024. 

Barry Hibbs

Barry Hibbs (Geography, Geology, and Environment) authored the following articles: “Hydrogeological, Hydrochemical, and Geophysical Analysis of a Brine-Contaminated Aquifer Addressing Non-Unique Interpretations of Vertical Electrical Sounding Curves,” in Water, vol. 16, no. 24, Dec. 10, 2024, and “Analyzing Aquifer Flow Capacity and Fossil Hydraulic Gradients Through Numerical Modeling: Implications for Climate Change and Waste Disposal in Arid Basins,” in Environments, vol. 12, no. 3, March 2, 2025. Hibbs also coauthored with students the following articles: “Synoptic Changes of Salinity, Nutrients, And Arsenic in Drainage Channels Feeding into Bombay Beach Wetlands, Salton Sea Area, California” and “Investigating the Source Waters, Salinity, Nutrients, and Selenium in the Salton Sea Wildlife Area,” in the Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. vol. 56, no. 5, 2024. 

Norman Klein

Norman Klein (Emeritus, Anthropology) authored a short story, “Crime Doesn’t Play,” in the Angel City Beat: A Sisters in Crime Los Angeles Anthology, published by Level Best Books, Dec. 26, 2024. The story follows a New York City police detective who goes to Los Angeles for a vacation and finds himself involved in investigations of a robbery of a Beverly Hills billionaire and the murder of a college professor. 

Minas Michikyan

Minas Michikyan (Child and Family Studies) authored an article, “Funds of identity: Implications for belonging among ethnically and racially minoritized emerging adult college students,” in the Journal of Adolescent Research, Dec. 20, 2024. She also coauthored an article with Pamela Regan (Psychology) et al, entitled “Differences in and relationship between digital access, use, connectivity, skill, engagement, and motivation: Implications for digital inequality in online learning among first-generation and continuing-generation undergraduate students,” in Discover Education, vol. 4, no. 9, Jan. 13, 2025.

Katie Perry

Katie Perry (University Library) coauthored an article, “Library instruction and information literacy 2023,” in Reference Services Review, vol. 52, no. 3, 2024. She also published a chapter titled “Historical Chronology of Black LIS Education” in the updated foundational text, Handbook of Black Librarianship, 3rd edition, 2024, which recently received the Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation Award presented by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.  

Christine Scoffoni

Christine Scoffoni (Biological Sciences) authored an article, “Sensitive Hydraulic and Stomatal Decline in Extreme Drought Tolerant Species of California Ceanothus,” published in Plant, Cell & Environment, vol. 48, issue 2, February 2025.

Olaseni Sode

Olaseni Sode (Chemistry and Biochemistry) authored an article, “Theoretical Insights into the Vibrational Structure of Carbon Dioxide Rare-Gas Complexes,” published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol .128, Issue 21, May 21, 2024. 

Jeff Stein

Jeff Stein (Project Rebound) authored a chapter, “Transforming Lives Through Prison Higher Education,” in a collection titled Higher Education and the Carceral State: Transforming Together, published by Routledge on March 5, 2024.

Manuel Aguilar-Moreno

Manuel Aguilar-Moreno (Art) was presented with the Tlamatini Award honoring his invaluable contributions to the field of Mesoamerica during the 2025 Mesoamerican Symposium that was held on the Cal State LA campus on March 22, 2025. The theme of this year’s symposium was “At the Crossroads of Civilizations: The Cultures of West Mexico Through Time.” 

Gabriela Fried Amilivia

Gabriela Fried Amilivia (Sociology) whose article, “Fifty Years of Secrecy: The Politics of Oblivion and Perpetuation of the Dictatorship’s Impunity in Contemporary Uruguay,” coauthored with Mariana Achugar, earned Honorable Mention from the Latin American Studies Association’s Recent History and Memory Section. The piece, part of the American Behavioral Scientist “Autocrat’s Toolkit” series, was also highlighted in the Scientific American in Oct. 2024. Fried also presented her work on April 17 at the 10th Annual Social Theory Conference on the Cal State LA campus. 

David Blekhman

David Blekhman (Technology) secured a $345,000 grant for the Cal State LA-RockeTruck project, which is aimed at developing a portable fuel cell generator that can be easily transported to deliver clean electric power when grid power is not available. RockeTruck is a developer and manufacturer of advanced power generation systems and components. The funding is part of a $1.15 million Phase II grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Technology Transfer program.

May Fu and Alejandra Marchevsky

May Fu (Asian and Asian American Studies) and Alejandra Marchevsky (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) secured a $100,000 grant as part of a CSU initiative to increase the number of credit-bearing programs that link Ethnic Studies to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The grant project aims to develop dual B.A. degree pathways for Cal State LA students to pursue double majors in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and an Ethnic Studies discipline, such as Asian and Asian American Studies, Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies, and Pan African Studies. 

Kristiina Hackel

Kristiina Hackel (Television, Film and Media Studies) secured two grants from the Golden Globe Foundation to support the university’s television, film, and journalism programs. The grants include $30,000 for its Television, Film, and Media Fund and $10,000 for its Diversity in Journalism Fund for the 2024-25 academic year. 

Anne Larson

Anne Larson (Kinesiology) secured a $144,920 grant from ExpandLA to collaborate in developing its Professional Development Summer Bootcamp in the summer of 2024. Focused on Larson’s Activating Intentional Youth Development Approach (AIYDA©), the program trained youth professionals to build core social-emotional skills. It concluded with on-site coaching and a Certificate of Completion from Cal State LA. 

Roger Lee Mendoza

Roger Lee Mendoza (Management) received the prestigious Mary L. Todd Award in December 2024 from the international honor society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Mendoza intends to use the $50,000 award to conduct research on universalized healthcare in Australia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. 

Marla Parker

Marla Parker (Political Science) secured two major grants to support the Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship, a university program that partners with small businesses, microbusinesses, and nonprofits in underrepresented communities. The grants include $2 million from Los Angeles County’s Department of Economic Opportunity Economic Mobility Initiative and $1.4 million from the City of Los Angeles’ LA Optimized 2.0 program. 

Mohammad Pourhomayoun

Mohammad Pourhomayoun (Computer Science) secured an $86,000 grant from the City of Los Angeles to collaborate on a project titled “Predicting What We Breathe: Using Machine Learning to Understand Urban Air Quality.” Pourhomayoun, along with a team of graduate students, has taken time-series measurements of satellite and ground data and applied machine learning to uncover patterns that may not be discernible to human analysts.