News 2005

Congratulations to Dr. Mohamed Hegab for receiving a Faculty Curriculum Development Grant for the Spring 2006 semester. The Select Committee considered his proposed course among those that offered the greatest benefit to both our community and CSUN students.

Congratulations to Dr. Sharlene Katz for receiving a grant of $15,000 to conduct a Design Clinic entitled "Piezoelectric Sensor Characterization Testing." The sponsoring company is Dytran Instruments, Inc.

Congratulations to Professor Won Woo Ro of ECE. He has been awarded three units of release time for Spring 2006 from the Probationary Faculty Development Program.

Dr. Behzad Bavarian receives a new Tseng Family Collection: Chinese Antiquities Research Award. His proposal entitled "Piece Mold, Lost Wax & Composite Casting Techniques of the Chinese Bronze Age" will receive $20,978 of funding.

The American Institute for Steel Construction (AISC) has selected CEAM/CSUN as the hosting university for the 2007 National Steel Bridge Competition. In making this selection, AISC considered our long time participation to the program, our active student organization and the support of university leadership, among other factors.

Dr. Nhut Tan Ho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at California State University, Northridge, has won the first prize of a national research paper competition of the Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER), an FAA/NASA/Transport Canada - sponsored Center of Excellence. The Joseph A. Hartman Student Paper Competition of PARTNER annually seeks to capture the very best ideas concerning technical solutions, economic analyses, methodologies, and processes that work towards reducing airport noise exposure through source reduction technologies, noise abatement operating procedures, compatible land use management, and airport operational control measures. Dr. Ho receives this honor for his paper entitled, "Design of Aircraft Noise Abatement Approach Procedures for Near-Term Implementation." It is a paper published when Dr. Ho was a graduate student at M.I.T. The award carries a $5,000 cash prize.

Dr. Campbell Doubles her Endowment. Bonita Campbell, chair of Cal State Northridge's Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management, believes so much in the department she helped found that last year she created a $25,000 endowment to ensure that the engineering management program has financial support in the future.
In a new demonstration of her commitment to the work of students and colleagues in the department, Campbell has doubled the size of the Bonita J. Campbell Engineering Management Endowment with the contribution of another $25,000.

"I've been fiscally conservative and invested my money wisely. Now it is time for me to do something with it--however small the amount," Campbell said. "I believe in what this department is doing and what the university is trying to do. This is just my small way of supporting it."

S.T. Mau, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, called Campbell's decision to double her gift a reflection of the commitment she has for her students and colleagues.

"Bonita Campbell is a dedicated educator whose determination to ensure that the students in her department have the best opportunities possible is outmatched only by her generosity," Mau said.

Dr. C.T. Lin's proposal entitled "An Automated Acquiring System Monitoring Drug Delivery Accuracy of an External Infusion Pump," and Dr. Taehyung Wang's proposal entitled "Knowledge-based Test and Evaluation Environment for Insulin Pump Software" are approved for funding by the CSUN Foundation in corporation with Medtronics MiniMed. The amount of funding is $40,516 for Dr. Lin and $33,539 for Dr. Wang. Congratulations to Dr. Lin and Dr. Wang!

ME IAB member Tony Rubino received the College Volunteer Service Award and alumni Jose Castellon and Gus Elias received Alumni Chapter Volunteer Service Awards at a CSUN awards ceremony on November 4, 2005. Tony, Jose and Gus are long time supporters of the college and have contributed significantly to the academic programs of the college.

Congratulations to Professor Bruno Osorno! He has won ASEE Spread the Word 2004-2005 award for both most members recruited and highest percentage of membership maintained in the Pacific Southwest section. To show its appreciation for his work, ASEE presented him with plaques of his name, school, and section at the complimentary Campus Representatives Reception at the 2005 ASEE annual conference in Portland, Oregon on Monday, June 13.

Dr. Nhut Ho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected as a Faculty Fellow for the 2005 NASA Summer Faculty Research Opportunity (NSFRO). He will work at the AMES Research Center. The offer from NASA carries a weekly stipend as well as relocation and travel allowances. The NASA NSFRO is a competitive national program. It is indeed an honor to receive such an offer. Congratulations to Nhut.

Two of our faculty members are among the recipients of the 2005 CSUN Faculty Awards. Dr. Behzad Bavarian, Professor of the Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management, receives the Outstanding Faculty Awards. The award honors faculty members with an extraordinary record of contribution to the learning experience of their students and to their discipline. To qualify for this award, a faculty member must demonstrate (1) distinguished teaching, counseling or librarianship and (2) a distinguished record of professional accomplishment in the form of scholarly publications, creative accomplishments or service. The award carries a prize of $1,500.
Dr. Sembiam Rengarajan, Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, receives the Preeminent Scholarly Publication Award. This award honors the best original written work-article, essay, or book-or body of works on a single subject, produced by a faculty member. To be eligible, the majority of the writing and of the research leading to the work(s) must have been carried out while the author was a faculty member at California State University, Northridge. The award carries a prize of $1,000.
Congratulations to Behzad and Sembiam.

The University Ambassador's Executive Board has selected Professor Stephen Gadomski to be one of the recipients of the 10th Annual Polished Apple Award. The award honors those who have made a difference in the University Ambassadors' lives. The Reception and Award Ceremony is at the Grand Salon from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Congratulations to Steve.

Mr. Mory Ejabat, class of 1976 and 1979, has made a pledge to endow the Mory Ejabat Chair in the College of Engineering and Computer Science with a gift of $1 million over the next five years. This is the first endowed chair the college has ever received. It symbolizes the excellence achieved by our faculty and students. This endowment is both inspirational and transformational. The endowment certainly will provide additional resources to the college and serve as a magnet for others to consider giving to the college and to support faculty with chairs and professorships.

Mr. Ejabat holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and an M.S. degree in Systems Engineering from Cal State Northridge. He later earned an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University. He is a co-founder of Zhone Technologies and has served as its Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer since its inception in 1999. Zhone Technologies delivers a complete line of telecommunications equipment that allows network service providers to offer voice, data and video services for the local access network. Immediately prior to co-founding Zhone, Mr. Ejabat held various senior management positions with Ascend Communications, Inc., a provider of telecommunications equipment. During his tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer the company was successfully sold to Lucent Technologies, Inc., in 1999.

Mr. Ejabat was the 2004 commencement speaker at the college. In his speech, he illustrated how foresight, innovation, and commitment to success guided his career and encouraged graduates "to learn from your mistakes and take advantage of your opportunities. Focus on what it is you are trying to accomplish, innovate and move forward with new ideas. Let mistakes be the platform of your next success."

Recently Mr. Ejabat reflected on the education he received from Cal State Northridge: "My degree from Northridge in Industrial and Systems Engineering has been the foundation of my success as an engineer, CEO and entrepreneur. I could not have done it without CSUN."

Our college has been providing excellent education in engineering and computer science for nearly 50 years. Our graduates are well sought after by the employers in the region and beyond. Many of our alumni, like Mr. Ejabat, have gone on to become entrepreneurs and majors employers themselves. Mr. Ejabat's career is a symbol of the success of our alumni, and his gift is an indication not only of his generosity, but his belief in the future possibilities for our college.

Professor Tarek Shraibati of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management received the Outstanding Volunteer Award in the FIRST Awards ceremony last week. Tarek was selected for this award from amongst 1,000 of the adults in the region who have been working with FIRST. The two high school terms we sponsor also received honor and attention. The Granada Hills team received the Johnson & Johnson Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. This is one of the most prestigious awards in FIRST. It goes to the team (if any) that best exemplifies the philosophy and mission of FIRST, with respect to gracious professionalism and sportsmanship at the competition event. About 60 teams were at the Southern California regional competition. There was also quite a (positive) stir over the Louisville all-girls team robot design.

Brett Grunert, a junior in civil engineering was awarded the top scholarship at last Friday's Student Night of ASCE Los Angeles Section Younger Member Forum. Three scholarships in the amounts of $2000.00, 1500.00, and $1000.00 were presented to students from Los Angeles and Orange County Universities, and Brett was the top recipient. The ASCE Branch Scholarship is awarded according to recipients' academic achievement (30%), interest in engineering as a profession (30%), ASCE activities (30%), and potential for leadership (10%). Congratulations to Bret and the civil engineering faculty and staff.

Congratulations to Prof. Matthew Radmanesh. His new book entitled "The Gateway to Understanding: Electrons to Waves and Beyond" just went live today at the following site: www.beyondelectron.com.

Professor Stephen Gadomski learned that one of our alumni, Dr. Mike Manoogian has just been promoted to Full Professor at Loyola Marymount University at Los Angeles, beginning fall '05. Mike graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1975. He then received a Masters Degree in Engineering (Civil-Structures) in fall 1982 from CSUN. He also received a Masters Degree in Biology from CSUN in spring 1983. He then attended USC and received a PhD in Civil Engineering while working at the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo. He left Aerospace in the early1990s to accept an Assistant Professor position at LMU and has been with them ever since. Congratulations to Mike and the civil engineering faculty and staff.

The Raytheon Company has donated $5,000 to the College to establish a Raytheon Scholarship. The Raytheon scholarship is to recognize underrepresented freshman students who are U.S. citizens and entering CSUN in fall 2004 majoring in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering who have succeeded in completing freshman year calculus courses with excellent grades. The recipient is to earn a B or better grade in the first calculus course, MATH 150A, in the fall 2004 semester, or a B or better grade in the second calculus course, MATH 150B in the spring 2005 semester, while enrolled in each semester with nine or more credit units. Each recipient will receive $500 of scholarship in each qualified semester. In case more students are qualified than funds allow the highest semester GPA holders will be the recipients. The scholarship is to be awarded after the semester grades are available.

The San Fernando Valley Engineering Council has announced the recipients of its 2005 awards. Congratulations to Robert G. Ryan for the Engineering Educator of the Year Award, John M. Motil for the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award, Ahmad R. Safaraz and Jeffrey A. Wiegley, for the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award.

In addition, three of our Industrial Advisory Board members' company teams will receive Distinguished Engineering Project Achievement Award: Capstone Microturbine's C200 MicroTurbine Team, Moore Industries' IEC 61508 Safety Team , and Shell Solar's Automation Team. Congratulations to them all.

All awards recipients will be honored at a banquet celebrating SFVEC's 50th anniversary on February 26, 2005.

The U.S. Army Research office has approved an award for Dr. Somnath Chattopadhyay's project entitled, "The Innovative Development of Avalanch Photoide/OPFET Photodetectors for Optical Modulator/Optical Interconnects Application in the amount of $499,728. Dr. Chattopadhyay is a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Congratulations to Somanth ans ECE.