2023

When Joe Kiani first enrolled at San Diego State University he was typically the youngest (15) kid in the room. That was rarely a hindrance for the student who immigrated from Iran, now CEO of a medical technology company and a presidential adviser, but the same can’t be said for his original plan for his education. “I wanted to be a doctor but I realized quickly I wasn’t good at chemistry,” Kiani said in remarks Thursday morning at the President’s Lecture Series at Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. “Fortunately I was good at physics, it came naturally to me.”

As a two-time alumna of San Diego State University, a staff member for over three decades, and a dedicated donor, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Theresa Garcia ('91, '09) has demonstrated steady support for College of Engineering students. Beginning her career with the Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program in 1991, Garcia was surrounded by students who were interested in STEM but had yet to realize their path forward.That’s when she became passionate about helping students identify their dreams. When Garcia became director of MESA in 1997, she began giving back to the college every month through the payroll deduction program.

Ignacio Sepúlveda Oyarzun, assistant professor at San Diego State University’s College of Engineering, and his team invented a dynamic tsunami modeling system that will enable researchers to significantly advance warning methods to save lives and mitigate the cost of damage in oceanfront areas. Through the creation of the new instrument, Sepúlveda found that planetary winds play a critical role in the formation of tsunamis — something that has never been proven before.

Theresa M. Garcia, a first-generation college student and SDSU Aztec for life, with more than 30 years of supporting students in STEM, will be this year’s Ray Landis Impact Award winner.

Under a $1.5 million federal grant, San Diego State University researchers are developing ways to protect the current power system from the effects of natural disasters and cyberattacks that leave people and utility companies vulnerable to data breaches and widespread blackouts. Their work aims to help utilities withstand events that carry the threat of pervasive power outages at a time when energy systems need to be redesigned to accommodate the growing use of renewable energy sources. Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Tong Huang and Distinguished Professor Chris Mi received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) ASCENT (Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams) program to further their research.

Associate Professor Hassan Davani joined Fox 5 News during Hurricane Hilary to discuss his research on storm water management and flood prevention.

San Diego State University researchers in biology, nutritional science and aerospace engineering received awards from the NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) initiative for their innovative projects in algae-infused space guacamole and drone highways.

Tong Huang, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), received the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Technical Committee Prize Paper Award for his high-impact journal paper.

Q&A with engineer Saeed Manshadi, whose team uses artificial intelligence to calculate fire risk and help utilities decide when to shut off power.

The particles that wear off your car tires as you drive are a huge source of microplastic pollution, and some of it is toxic. Now researchers at San Diego State University have identified 60 chemical compounds in tires. Half of them have never been linked to tire waste before. KPBS sci-tech reporter Thomas Fudge has the story.