CNSM Highlights from the Office of the Dean

Volume 1, Number 3 :: Spring 2007 :: March 5, 2007

Spotlight on New CNSM Faculty Award for Excellence

Dear Faculty,

In alignment with our commitment to recognize excellence in the College through this semi-monthly Highlights email, our website articles, and local community press outlets, we are also inaugurating a new award in the College this year – the CNSM Faculty Award for Excellence. Our Faculty Council wishes to recognize and honor our faculty for their contributions in teaching, scholarly achievements, service, and leadership through this award fondly known as the Pretty Darn Good Professor Award. The CNSM Faculty Council will select one to three award-winners each academic year to be honored at the Annual College Meeting held the following Fall (after Convocation). The recipients of these awards will be selected from individuals who have been nominated by another faculty member for their exceptional performance in one or more aspects of teaching, scholarly achievements, service, and/or leadership while at CSULB. A detailed letter of nomination by a faculty member (or members) citing the accomplishments and contributions of the nominee at CSULB must be accompanied by the nominee's current CV. Nominations must be submitted to the College Office to be held for the Faculty Council before noon on March 31st of each year. This year, due to holiday closures, the deadline for nominations to be submitted is Thursday, March 29. In recognition of the value that the College places on the contributions these faculty award-winners, I will add a monetary award of $1,000 for each faculty winner. NOTE: Winners of the award in any given year shall not be eligible for a subsequent award for 7 years. March is already here so please give nominations for this award some thought and consideration; think of your colleagues who may deserve recognition and take time to nominate them. Contact Margaret Karteron (karteron@csulb.edu) in the College Office for more information.

On a related celebratory note, please don't forget that tomorrow, Tuesday, March 6th, is our Nobel Laureate talk from 11:15am-1:00pm in the University Ballroom. Our speaker will be Dr. Douglas Osheroff, 1996 Physics Nobel Prizewinner. Dr. Osheroff and his colleagues, Drs. Lee and Richardson, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3. Dr. Osheroff's upcoming talk is titled, "How Advances in Science are Made". I hope you are able to join us for Dr. Osheroff's talk. Please take a moment in your classes to remind our students to attend as well.

Have a great week,

Laura

Laura Kingsford, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
California State University, Long Beach

Spotlight on Students

Geology graduate students, Paul Day and Angela Ribeiro, conducted their research in the field in Mongolia during the summers of 2005 and 2006 under the guidance of their advisor, Tom Kelty. Both are excellent students and are planning to finish their theses this semester with an upcoming May 2007 graduation expected. Ribeiro is currently working full-time for an environmental consultant and Day is applying for Ph.D. programs at several prominent research universities. Day's thesis is titled, "Geology and Seismicity of the Hustain Fault, Mongolia". Ribeiro titled her thesis, "Geological Transect through the Hangay-Hentey Basin: Implication for the Contraction of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean, Mongolia". Congratulations and good luck with your future plans, Paul and Angela!

Physics graduate students, Firuz Demir, Asif Hyder, and undergraduate math student, Eric Kelbert, deserve recognition for their fine research work accomplished alongside Physics professor and mentor, Zoltan Papp. Demir is co-author with professors Hlousek and Papp on a Physical Review A article titled, "Coulomb-Sturmian Matrix Elements of the Coulomb Green's Operator". Hyder and Kelbert et al are authors on a paper currently under consideration in the Journal of Physics A.

Erica Jarvis, current M.S. candidate in Marine Biology, received her B.S. in Marine Biology here in 1998 and returned 2 years later to earn her M.S. degree here at The Beach. Next week she will defend her thesis entitled "The effects of barotrauma on the catch-and-release survival of southern California nearshore and shelf rockfishes (Scorpaenidae, Sebastes spp.)". Jarvis' mentor, Chris Lowe, comments that the results of this research will likely change how the California Department of Fish and Game manages rockfishes and will be hailed as a landmark study used to change management of this fishery along the entire eastern Pacific coast. Lowe remarked, "Erica has been an outstanding student and her research has also received a lot of publicity. Erica's research has been featured in the Long Beach Press Telegram, OC Register, Daily Breeze, Sport Fishing Magazine, and Pacific Sport Fishing Magazine." Jarvis recently accepted a full time position as a Fisheries Biologist at the California Department of Fish and Game and will working out of the Los Alamitos Office. Congratulations, Erica Jarvis!

Kudos go out to Jeremy Young, physics graduate student, currently studying the 2-dimensional quantum fluctuation effects in superconductors. Young has built the experimental set-up, demonstrated the operation, and collected preliminary data. Young came to us as a transfer student from Cypress College; he first joined us as a summer research student in 2003. He transferred to CSULB and eventually served as president of the Society of Physics Students. As an undergraduate, Jeremy Young won 2nd place in the 2006 CSULB Student Research Competition and upon graduation in May 2006 was honored with the Salem award. Young's advisor and mentor, Chuhee Kwon, is impressed with his work. She reports, "To date, Jeremy has co-authored 3 peer-reviewed publications in Physica C and the Journal of Applied Physics, co-authored 6 contributed talks at professional meetings, and participated in student research symposia on four separate occasions."

Spotlight on Faculty and Staff

Scott Crass, Mathematics Professor, has a proposal to establish a Geometry Center at CSULB currently under consideration at the National Science Foundation. Recently, his proposal was recommended for funding. Scott's Long Beach Project in Geometry and Symmetry seeks to establish both an intellectual and a physical space—a sort of studio/lab—for mathematical pursuits. A geometry studio will be a place where students and faculty can gather to construct, discover, and explore models and structures connected to mathematical ideas and results. A fundamental objective is to encourage students to develop experimental, perceptual, and geometric modes of thinking.

Geometry and symmetry exert unifying influences within mathematics and also provide conceptual bridges from mathematics to other fields of study, including physics, chemistry, biology, and art. The geometry studio will be a place where students can realize the connections of these fields to mathematics. The meaning of 'connection' here is not the usual sense of 'application,' but the experience of mathematics as a way of thinking about as well as a way of looking at something that we want to understand. In an initial stage, the project's core will consist of a newly-proposed interdisciplinary undergraduate course, Reflections in Space and Time: Experiments in Symmetry and Imagination. The studio will also host a summer workshop for professional development of schoolteachers.

Stan Finney, Geological Sciences Professor and Chair, recently presented an invited paper at the Lyell Meeting 2007 in London, England. This is a special one-day meeting held each year, jointly sponsored by the Geological Society of London (the world's oldest geological professional society) and the Palaeontological Association. The meeting consists of one session of 14 papers - 30 minutes each. The meeting is held in the theater at the headquarters of the Geological Society, which is in Burlington House on Piccadilly Lane. Burlington House is also home to the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Academy of Chemistry, and the Linnean Society. This year's meeting is one of the events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Geological Society, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Palaeontological Association. Stan's presentation was titled, "The Gondwanan Affinity of the Cuyania (greater Precordillera) Terrane of Western Argentina."

Jeff Mellon, CNSM Safety Officer and CSULB Radiation Safety Officer, has been operating solo this semester as his colleague, Kristen Hunter, is currently on leave. The safety of each individual is of primary importance in this college and our thanks go out to Jeff for all his fine work in the past and during this semester as he works without his colleague's assistance. Information regarding safety in this college can be found at http://www.cnsm.csulb.edu/services/safety/index.htm.

MANY THANKS to faculty who assisted in the cultivation of potential donors during January and February 2007! Opportunities to meet with faculty and visit their labs are essential to the development process. Paul Buonora, Bob Loeschen and Henry Fung helped host alum Marv Garrett of ISTA Pharmaceuticals. Doug McAbee generously gave of his time to host alum Steve Pentoney of Beckman Coulter. Jim Kiesel offered his time and expertise to host Steve Chesser of Boeing. Sema`an Salem and Pat Kenealy helped host Gisela and Wilfried Eckhardt. Dessie Underwood aided with the visit of Bob Atkins of the San Diego Agricultural Commission and Chris Lowe assisted with the hosting of Skip Smith and Jim Burkle of the Southern California Tuna Club and the SCTC Marine Biology Educational Scholarship Foundation, respectively. Our Director of Development, Maryanne Horton, coordinated and co-hosted the visits of our many potential donors.

College, Campus and Community Highlights and Events

Short Web-based Video on Stem Cell Use and Research: Hans Keirstead, UCI Neurobiologist, talks about federally approved and non-federally approved research, the challenges of getting into stem cell research, generating new stem cell lines, stem cell replacement therapies, stem cell treatments for disease, and the stem cell clinical trials that are in UCI's future. He notes that the $10 million dollar gift from Bill and Sue Gross will greatly assist UCI to take down many of the barriers encountered when doing stem cell research. The 5 minute video may prove interesting to play for students to promote further discussion on this topic. The video can be found at http://home.myoc.com/media/uci070406/.

UCLA's Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) colloquium is held every Thursday at 4pm in Geology 3656 (UCLA campus) and is open to the public. Distinguished members of earth and space sciences community give presentations on their latest research. The ESS colloquia provide an arena for the exchange of ideas and a chance to discuss recent scientific advancements. For more information contact: Jelena Tomic (tomic@moho.ess.ucla.edu) or Sara Cina (cinawp@gmail.com) UCLA's Seismology Seminars are held every Wednesday at Noon in Geology 1707 (UCLA campus). The Seismology Seminars are open to the public. Contact Professor Vladimir Keilis-Borok (vkb@ess.ucla.edu) for information.

Panel of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and representatives from venture capital firms will explain where online commerce is headed - Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum, Saturday, March 17, 8:00am-12:00noon, Baxter Lecture Hall, Caltech. Details can be found at: http://www.entforum.caltech.edu.

CSULB Career Development Center Hosts Annual Internship Week - March 5-8: The Career Development Center would like to invite you and your students to participate in the annual Internship Week activities/workshops scheduled for March 5-8, 2007 in the Career Development Center, Brotman Hall, Room 250. Internship Week events provide a unique opportunity for students to interact with internship employers and former students who have participated in internships as a part of their college experience. A complete schedule of activities is available on our website at http://www.careers.csulb.edu. Questions should be addressed to Marie Burks, Internship Coordinator, at ext. 5-5552 or email burks@csulb.edu. Please make your students aware of this week's opportunities.

Women and Careers – Intersection 9 Conference – Friday, March 9, 9:00am-1:30pm. The FREE annual conference returns to the USU Ballroom. Successful women will be talking about their career paths, their challenges, their choices and the people and events that have made a difference in their lives. Registration is free. Please make our CNSM students aware of this opportunity. Just register - on line or in the Women's Resource Center, Career Development Center, or at (562) 985-8576. Website: http://www.csulb.edu/conference/intersections/. Please spread the word of this conference to all our CNSM students.

2007-2008 Enhancing Educational Effectiveness Awards – Call for Proposals: EEE awards support curriculum development to enhance student learning and student success. Proposals may be submitted by individuals or collaborative teams, with a maximum budget of $10,000 and a maximum of 3 units of assigned time for an individual participant. Proposals are due in the Faculty Center for Professional Development by Friday, April 27, 2007 and awards will be announced by Friday, May 18, 2007. FCPD is hosting two workshops, on Friday, March 9, 2007, 9:00am-11:00am and Friday, April 13, 2007, 9:00am-11:00am. The Call for Proposals can be found at http://www.csulb.edu/aa/personnel/development/awards/eee.

Fitness Opportunities for CSULB Staff, Faculty: The following activities and programs are available (for a nominal fee) to CSULB staff and faculty through the Department of Recreation and Club Sports: Deep water exercise, Shallow water exercise, Lap swimming, Yoga, Pilates, Line dancing, Circuit workouts on weight machines, Walking, Cardio kickboxing, Faculty/staff fitness program, Golf lessons, Surfing lessons. For more information or to sign up, stop by the Recreation Office in Physical Education, Room 20 or call (562) 985-2570. You may also visit its Web site.

Upcoming Local Science and Math-Related Events of Possible Interest

Mar 5: High Energy Physics Seminar, "Causality in Effective Field Theories," Alejandro Jenkins, Research Associate at the Center for Theoretical Physics, MIT, 4:00pm-5:00pm, Room 469 Lauritsen, Caltech.

Mar 5: Applied Mathematics Colloquium, "Adaptable Optimization," Constantine Caramanis, assistant professor, department of electrical and computer engineering, University of Texas at Austin. 4:15pm-5:00pm, 101 Guggenheim Lab, Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall, Caltech.

Mar 6: 30th Nobel Laureate Talk - Dr. Douglas Osheroff, 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics. Dr. Osheroff's talk is titled, "How Advances in Science are Made". The talk will be in the CSULB University Ballroom, 11:15am-1:00pm.

Mar 7: Geobiology Seminar Series, "From the Chemoautotrophic Pioneer Organism of Life to Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya," Dr. Günter Wächtershäuser. 12:00noon-1:00pm, 365 S. Mudd, Salvatori Room, Caltech.

Mar 7: Materials Research Lecture, Nie Shuming, professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry, hematology, and oncology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 4:0pm-5:00pm, 106 Spalding Lab, Hartley Memorial Seminar Room, Caltech, Topic: TBA.

Mar 7: Public & Scientific Global Climate Talk - Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series: John Seinfeld, Caltech's Louis E. Nohl Professor and professor of chemical engineering, will discuss the global climate and explain how the earth's temperature results from a balance between incoming and outgoing radiation. The lecture will summarize scientists' current understanding of global climate change resulting from greenhouse gases and particles, 8:00pm-10:00pm, Beckman Auditorium, Caltech, Information: http://events.caltech.edu/events/event-3862.html.

Mar 8: UCLA Math Department Probability Colloquium presents Wolfgang Koenig, Leipzig University, The Parabolic Anderson Model, Location: MS 6221 (on UCLA Campus), 3:00pm-4:00pm.

Mar 9: High Energy Theory Seminar, "Renormalizable Non-metric Gravity?" Kirill Krasnov, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 1:00pm-2:00pm, Room 469 Lauritsen, Caltech.

Mar 14: Beckman Lecture, "Transition Metal-Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon and Carbon-Heteroatom Bond-Forming Processes: Progress, Applications and Mechanistic Studies," Stephen L. Buchwald, Dreyfus professor of chemistry, MIT, 4:00pm- 5:00pm, 22 Gates Annex, Caltech.

Mar 14: Weigle Lecture, "Building Molecules to Image Synaptic Plascitity and Tumors In Vivo", Roger Tsien, investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, UC San Diego, 4:00pm- 5:00pm, Room 119 Kerckhoff, Caltech.

Mar 15: Space Shuttle is scheduled to lift-off for the International Space Station during a launch currently set for 6:43am ET. Atlantis will launch from Cape Canaveral, Fl. The ship's six member crew will add a major truss section to space station. NASA TV will cover the launch.

Mar 15: Children's Hospital of Orange County is sponsoring a major daylong symposium [pdf] on the use of stem cells to treat pediatric diseases and injuries at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, starting at 8:00am Symposium cost: $100. Symposium and dinner: $150. Learn more: (714) 532-8894.

Mar 16: Scripps Chemistry Lecture Series, Shannon Stahl, Chemistry Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2:00pm in the Keck Foundation Amphitheater. Although the lecture topic is yet to be announced, Stahl's research group is broadly interested in the development and study of catalytic reactivity, ranging from new synthetic methodology for organic chemistry to fundamental inorganic and organometallic transformations and mechanisms.

Mar 20: Karl Rubin, UCI's Thorp Professor of Mathematics, will discuss how his doctoral adviser -- Andrew Wiles of Princeton -- solved Fermat's Last Theorem, 7:30am, Beckman Center, Irvine, next to the UCI School of Medicine.

If you know of information that you feel should appear in future issues of my semimonthly emails, please email Maureen McMahon, CNSM Director of Research and External Support, at mmcmahon_csulb@yahoo.com.