Beach WIE Sessions 2023

Description: Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is an exploding and fascinating technology with a wide variety of opportunities across multiple engineering disciplines. AM offers direct manufacturing from computer-aided-design to product using either plastic or metal. The top places AM is unstoppable are aerospace, medical, transportation, energy, and consumer products. AM Representatives from local AM companies will participate in a panel discussion to provide their insight into this field and their career.

Surajit Roy, Assistant Professor, CSULB Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Moderator)

Speakers:

Monica Robles, CSULB Chemical Engineering Graduate
Holly Craig ’84, Owner and CEO, Stratonics
Missy Tammi, AM Engineer,  Morf3D 
Victoria Reyes, Sr. Project Manager, Morf3D
Roxanne Warren, Director, Program Manager, Morf3D
Kaitlin Devane, Additive Manufacturing Engineer, Morf3D

Description: CHIPS and Science act will enhance American semiconductor research, development, and production ensuring U.S. leadership in the technology that forms the foundation of everything from automobiles to household appliances to defense systems. It will strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security, and invest in research and development, science and technology, and the workforce of the future to keep the United States the leader in the industries of tomorrow.

Dr. Anna Lee, Assistant Professor,  CSULB Department of Electrical Engineering (Moderator)

Speakers:

Maria Meza Bruguera, Sr EE, Raytheon Intelligence Space
Neveen Farag, Principal EE, Northrup
Mozhdeh Najafabadi, Chief Engineer and Engineering Branch Material Leader, SATCOM

Description: Engineering Ethics is the most important part of our engineering world. Licensed engineers must adhere to the engineering ethics standards. Without ethics, engineers cannot function. Engineering Ethics apply to all engineering disciplines, no exceptions.

Darr Hashempour, President and Founder, DH Green Energy (Moderator)

Speakers:

Gina Bibby, Partner & Fashion Tech Practice Lead, Withers  LLP
Kendra Cook, Operations Systems Lead, JPL
Mandy Vaughn, CEO and Founder, GXO Inc.

 Description: Welcome to our mentoring panel presentations & discussion, where we will be talking about the importance of mentoring in advancing students' careers.
Mentoring is a powerful tool for personal and professional growth, and it has been proven to be effective in many fields. Mentoring relationships allow for the exchange of knowledge, skills, and experiences between experienced professionals and students, which can help students to identify and achieve their career goals. Moreover, our session provides you the opportunity for you to meet and engage with some of the most successful women leaders in their field. You will have the chance to ask questions, share your experiences, and learn from their stories of success and challenges. Our panelists are all accomplished women who have excelled in their careers and are passionate about helping the next generation of students to succeed. We believe such an insights and guidance that you will gain from this panel discussion will be invaluable in advancing your career goals. So, we encourage you to participate actively and take advantage of this opportunity to learn from the best.

Elhami Nasr, Professor, CSULB Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management (Moderator)

Speakers:

Pamela Santos, Director of Construction, PMB (Speaker)
Susan Nakamura, COO, South Coast AQMD (Speaker)
Camila Bortoluzzi, Sr. Manufacturing Engineer, Rolls-Royce

Description: The auto industry is experiencing a revolutionary transformation. Automakers are preparing to phase out cars run only by internal combustion engines. According to J.P. Morgan Research team, the growth in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles is rising to around 30% by 2025, and 40% by 2030.

Saleh-Al Jufout, Part-Time Lecturer, CSULB Department of Electrical Engineering (Moderator)

Speakers:

Anne Devine, CEO, Janus Electric US 
Anupama Kuruvilla, Senior Product Manager,  Motional
Kaori Emerson-Shurilla, UAV Startup

​Description: Engineers, scientists and the broader population are increasingly witness to the destructive consequences of climate change and aware that it is a threat we can no longer avoid. Buildings and their construction are among the most significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Did you know concrete and steel alone, two of the most common structural materials, represent approximately 21% of global carbon emissions? Making changes to how and what we build is urgent to mitigating climate change. The next generation of engineers, AND current practitioners, need new skills for success. These include evaluating a building’s carbon footprint as early as possible, identifying alternative building materials, and prioritizing materials that are locally sourced or have high levels of recycled content. In this session, project team members will share how engineers, architects and contractors are actively managing our operational carbon footprint and tackling measurement and reduction of embodied carbon of our projects. Join us to learn about the tremendous responsibility and opportunity you have as you enter this industry to contribute to a low carbon future.

Dr. Amr Morsy, Assistant Professor, CSULB (Moderator)

Speakers:

Emily English, BNBuilders 
Christi Fu, Global Manager of Design, Engineering, and Services, Meta
Jessica Min, Associate Civil Engineer, Sunrun
Julia Ragragio-Ruiz, Senior Associate, Gensler
Nicole Isle, Chief Sustainability Strategist, Glumac
 

Description: It’s that nagging inner voice whispering – I don’t really deserve my achievements!   In this session, women Industry leaders share their past experiences with this common feeling and offer advice on how you can feel proud of your talents and skills.  Don’t let Imposter Syndrome hold you back!

Sergio Mendez, Associate Professor, CSULB Department of Chemical Engineering (Moderator)

Speakers:

Megan Traver, Principal & Speaker 
Dr. Kim Armstrong, Senior Human Resources Strategic Business Partner, The Boeing Company
Bettylynn Senes, Project Executive, BNBBuilders 

Description: An internship isn’t required to get a job,  however, 95% of employers prefer graduates with experience.

Rosa Trujillo, Career Center, CSULB

 Description: Chemical Engineering is the only engineering field that has molecules and molecular transformations at it core and represents an area of applications critical to our society’s future advances in such vital areas as energy, food, water, medicine, and manufacturing. This panel is an opportunity for students to learn about the different career paths available in the field of chemical engineering and features discussions with experienced professionals in the field, who share their experiences and insights into the profession. It is a great opportunity for students to gain knowledge and advice from professionals in the field.

Roger Lo, Department Chair/Professor, CSULB Department of Chemical Engineering (Moderator)

Speakers:

Lucie Nurdin, PhD, Chemical Engineer, Terraform Industries 
Bahareh Farahani, AQMD, Engineering and Permitting
Angela Choy, Engineering and Permitting Division, South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD)

 Description: What factors determine the career success of an aerospace engineer?  What is systems engineering?  Industry women leaders from local aerospace firms share their experience and skills for success in these dynamic and rapidly expanding professions.

Dr Eun Jung Chae, Assistant Professor, BSAE Advisor, CSULB Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (Moderator)

Speakers:

Delilah Nuñez, Systems Director, Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) Systems Engineering & Integration 
Lynette McKinnon, Senior Manager, The Boeing Company
Candace Givens, VP of Engineering, Northrup Grumman

Description: Engineers working in biotech industry combine engineering principles with sciences to design and create equipment, devices, computer systems, and software for the healthcare. Many women choose bio-technology/bio-engineering field to fulfill their drive to improve human health and save patients' lives using technological innovation. This session will provide the current students an opportunity to learn more about biotech industry and the professional journeys of several successful women in the field. The goal of the session is to inspire students about the field and educate them about potential job opportunities. Building a supportive community that promotes diversity, inclusion, and a culture of resilience is another goal of this session.

Moderators:

Ava Hedayatipour, Assistant Professor, CSULB Department of Electrical Engineering 
Shadnaz Asgari, Chair, Advisor, Professor, CSULB Department of Biomedical Engineering 

Speakers:

Hana Moshirvaziri, Program Manager, Medtronic & PT Lecturer, CSULB Department of Biomedical Engineering
Dinamarie Stefani, Head of Quality, Verily Life Sciences
Mahsa Rohanizadeh, Senior Principal Biologist, Study Director, Edwards Life Sciences

Description: Machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence that enables computer systems to make decisions based on learning from data. This is typically done by providing the algorithm with a large set of training data, which it can use to identify patterns and relationships in the data. Some example types of machine learning include supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement learning. Machine learning has numerous applications in areas such as speech or image recognition and natural language processing.

Dr. Shabnam Sodagari, Associate Professor, Computer Engineering Computer Science, California State University, Long Beach (Moderator)

Speakers:

Deval Parikh, Senior Solutions Architect, AWS 
Rosa Elena Lorenzana, Solutions Architecture Leader, AWS

 Description: Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users via ransomware; or interrupting normal business processes. Find out from cybersecurity professionals what skills are required to work in this sought-after career, and where future growth opportunities lie.

Dr. Hossein Sayadi , Assistant Professor, CSULB Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science (Moderator)

Speakers:

Dawn Armstrong, VP Operations, Human Good
Sandra Labib, Staff Technical Program Manager, Intuit

Description: Algorithmic thinking is the ability to find the steps to correctly solve a problem while checking for the accuracy and efficiency of the solution. It is a high-level, intellectual action that involves the ability of understanding the problem and finding the adequate actions to construct the correct and efficient algorithm. 

Dr Susan Nachawati, Part-time Lecturer, CSULB CECS Department (Moderator)

Speakers:

Natalie White, Principal Enterprise Solutions Architect, AWS
Rochelle Lakey, Solutions Architect, AWS 
Emel Demircan, Associate Professor, CSULB Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Biomedical Engineering , Technology Startup Owner

 Description: Water is essential for life. It impacts many aspects of our lives whether it be through its multitude of uses (e.g., municipal, agricultural, industrial, and recreational), role in the climate, importance as a natural resource (i.e., drinking water), and associated hazards (e.g., flood and drought). Given this, engineers are involved in a variety of aspects related to the supply, management, and distribution of water. In addition, engineers are critical to water and wastewater treatment, flood control, drought mitigation, storm water capture, groundwater recharge, water recycling, and low impact developments. This session brings together professionals whose work and experiences are related to water resources and the environment. They will share their career journeys and backgrounds, provide insights into the field and current projects, and discuss opportunities and challenges related to careers in this engineering area.

Dr. Laurie Huning, Assistant Professor, CSULB Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management (Moderator)

Speakers:

Hedieh Esfahani ,Associate Engineer, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Melanie Rivera, Water Project Engineer, HDR
Nasrin Nasrollahi, Project Manager, Orange County Sanitation District

Description: Learn from the experience of women leaders on:  How to get feedback from your boss/professor regularly and why it is important; How to turn rejection into a positive “Grow from no” -- every “no” offers critical feedback on the road to “yes”; and Act with confidence - Stop asking “Am I good enough for that” and start asking “Is that even good enough for me.”

Jennifer Didlo, AES President (Retired) (Moderator)

Speakers:

Dr. Kim Armstrong, Sr. Human Resources Strategic Business Partner, Boeing 
Sylvia A. Espinosa, Vehicle Flight Software Lead, Space Force at LA Air Force Base
Debbie Meeks, Strategic Alliance Manager, Shell Oil Products