Welcome to the October newsletter updating you on everything going on in the College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering.
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Geology students conduct summer research on seafloor sediment
Last year, four CSUB geology undergraduates got the opportunity to join a five-week research voyage off the coasts of Canada and Greenland, working with a collaborative group of scientists to gather sediment core samples from the Labrador Sea.
This summer one of those students — now earning his master’s — and two new undergrads continued the paleoclimate research, working in facilities across the country to better understand what the samples can tell them about ancient ocean conditions.
At the University of Delaware (UD), CSUB geology grad student Garrett Cooper continued his work studying the geochemistry of the sediment cores collected from the Labrador Sea, plus new cores from the Okhotsk Sea. Meanwhile, geology undergrads Virpal Kaur and Alessa Linares conducted their research sampling the Labrador cores at Oregon State University (OSU) before interning at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts.
Read more about their research!
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Valley Strong pledges $500k to support engineering, student athletes
Valley Strong Credit Union has committed $500,000 to CSUB to help students succeed academically and in athletic competition.
The gift will be equally split between Athletics and the Energy Innovation Building (EIB) over a three-year period. The EIB portion will be used to support instruction and provide study resources and equipment for seniors completing their capstone work while the Athletics portion will assist with recruiting and retainment efforts.
In recognition of the donation, a lab in the EIB will be officially named the Valley Strong Credit Union Senior Capstone Lab. Athletics will also recognize the credit union through new signage in the Icardo Center, such as on the scoreboards above the basketball court and men’s locker room.
Read more about the gift!
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NSME welcomes hundreds of high school students for Open House, Geology Day and Chemistry Day
October was a busy month for NSME outreach events! At the Open House event on October 13, prospective students got the chance to learn all about NSME’s programs. Our second annual Geology Day was held on October 16 and gave visiting students a glimpse into the possibilities of a career in the geosciences. Chemistry Day on October 23 brought in another group of students, who enjoyed a day of chemistry demonstrations and learned all about why they should consider studying chemistry.
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Two new programs approved for NSME
The College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering continues to grow to meet the needs of students and the community, recently adding two new bachelor’s degree programs, one in mechanical engineering and another in environmental geosciences. Current students will be able to enroll for the spring semester, and new students can apply for fall 2027!
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Dr. Amin Malek receives AI grant
Associate professor Dr. Amin Malek in our Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science recently received $3 million from the U.S. Dept. of Education for his grant, “CATALYST: Cultivating Adaptive Teaching And Learning with AI-Supported Technologies.”
The five-year project aims to strengthen STEM education and prepare students for an AI-driven workforce. It will develop 12 AI-integrated STEM courses, train 40 faculty members in AI-supported pedagogy and create 40 open educational resource modules. These will be used to serve approximately 600 students annually, help 180 students to earn AI industry-recognized credentials and expand internships, capstone projects and applied learning opportunities.
"The CATALYST project will help transform STEM education by integrating AI into teaching and learning while providing students with the skills and industry-recognized credentials needed to succeed in an AI-driven workforce,” Dr. Malek said. “This grant creates new opportunities for hands-on learning, faculty development and stronger partnerships with industry. I am grateful to CSUBs faculty, staff, students, institutional leadership and industry partners for their support and collaboration in making this award possible."
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Dr. Isolde Francis receives two grant awards
Biology professor Dr. Isolde Francis has received two grants recently. The first, a collaboration with Dr. Aaron Hegde (economics), is a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for the Cooperative Arrangement Grant for Cultivating the Rural Agronomy Workforce: A Central Valley Transfer Pathway. It will support the establishment of the region’s first bachelor of science in agronomy degree and two stackable, credit-bearing food safety certificates, anchored by CSUB’s soon-to-be-acquired 80-acre Shafter Research Station.
Her second grant awards her $82,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a collaboration with Dr. Nicholas LeBlanc at the USDA-ARS Crop Improvement and Protection Research Facility in Salinas, California. The project, "Evaluating Microbial and Chemical Characteristics of Soil for Improved Carrot Production in California,” will span two years and fund two master students with projects related to carrot health and three student assistants. In collaboration with the group of Dr. Jaspreet Sidhu from the Kern County UC Cooperative Extension office, they will evaluate the impact of nitrogen application rates on microbial composition and disease pressure during carrot production with a specific emphasis on oomycete carrot pathogens and the beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
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Nursing Dept. holds first White Coat Ceremony for DNP-FNP students, celebrates final oral defenses for first graduating cohort of MSN-DNP
Back in August, the Nursing Department held its first White Coat Ceremony for its new Doctor of Nursing Practice – Family Nurse Practitioner program. The 12-student cohort received their white coats in the ceremony, a milestone marking the students’ transition from courses in the classroom to the clinical setting where they will work with patients for the remainder of their time in the program. It was an opportunity for the students to reflect on the kind of nurse practitioner they want to be and the promise to their patients the coat represents.
The program is also celebrating the first graduating cohort of the Master of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice (MSN-DNP) program. Devaughn Bell, Gladys Moreno and Gurpreet Brar all successfully completed their DNP Project Final Oral Defenses on Oct. 14. “We are incredibly proud of their dedication, perseverance, and accomplishments,” said Dr. Heidi He, DNP Program Director. “As our first MSN–DNP cohort, they are helping pave the way for future students and establishing a strong foundation for our program's continued growth and success.”
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California Well Sample Repository honors late curator
The California Well Sample Repository (CWSR) recently honored its late curator, Charles James, who passed in January 2025. Colleagues, friends and family of James gathered at the repository for a special dedication event earlier this month. A plaque on a boulder outside the repository says the beloved curator served “with dedication, expertise and an unwavering commitment to preserving and sharing geological knowledge.”
See photos of the plaque and ceremony!
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NSME faculty share expertise for state report
Drs. Anna Jacobsen and Brandon Pratt from our Biology Department are contributing authors of the recently published “California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment: Statewide Summary,” which shares key findings on climate impacts across the state and ways to strengthen resilience. The report aims to help communities understand how climate risks are changing and prepare for their effects.
Read the report!
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Biology faculty Dr. Antje Lauer and Dr. Lucas Hall and their students talked to the National Wildlife Federation about their efforts to monitor and conserve kit fox populations on campus and around town. The biologists have created a campus conservation model that could be scaled up to protect populations elsewhere in the city as kit foxes lose habitat to urban development. Their work involves collecting scat to know where kit foxes den, which could help pinpoint locations where no further development should occur.
Read the story!
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Kern Engineering to Energy Pipeline MOU-signing
Join us to celebrate a new partnership between CSUB and Kern County Employers’ Training Resource
Friday, October 30 at 10 a.m.
MESA Center
Forensic Analysis of Soils in the Crime Laboratory
With speaker Gregory E. Laskowski (Criminalistics Services International)
Wednesday, November 4 at 4 p.m.
Humanities Room 1109
Register
CRC Energy Transition Lecture Series
With speaker Sai Rao (Drillers.AI)
Thursday, November 5 at 10 a.m.
Dezember Reading Room, Walter W. Stiern Library
Register
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"What's New at NSME" is a monthly newsletter produced by the College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering at California State University, Bakersfield. This newsletter will go out every month during the regular school year to highlight the work our students and faculty are doing both on campus and off. If you have any questions or entry submissions, please contact Kelly Ardis at kardis@csub.edu.
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