October 2024 Faculty Staff Bulletin

Dear Maseeh Community,

Welcome to the new academic year! Classes for the fall term are underway, and campus is full of activity.

We just celebrated National Hispanic American Heritage Month and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and in November will move into Native American Heritage Month. I’m proud of the accomplishments we’ve made together to make Maseeh College more inclusive and a destination for Indigenous STEM. And I’m excited about where our shared work is taking us and its impact on student success. In addition to moral and ethical reasons for inclusion, research consistently demonstrates that diversity matters even more to team achievement than individual abilities of team members. Data proves that diverse teams are more innovative and productive. The work we're undertaking isn’t just about recruiting more Native students, although that’s a good outcome. Neither is the focus appropriation or assimilation: it’s about cultivating systemic change that makes science and tech fields more innovative and productive. Making STEM better has the potential to improve the world for all of us.

I’d encourage you to see our year in review for an overview of some Maseeh's highlights from last year (webpage coming soon). The wonderful work you all do makes us proud.

Looking to the college's future, I’ve appointed Elliott Gall (MME) as Special Advisor to the Dean this year to lead our curriculum revision, including working on student retention in the first two years of our programs (collaboratively with CLAS), mentoring assistant professors, and engaging junior faculty across the college in research and teaching best practices. Our curriculum revision committee has been formed and their work will support retention, student success and an inclusive excellence within the college. The committee will be chaired by Gall. Other core members of the committee include Evan Kristof (CEE), Melinda Holtzman (ECE), Martin Siderius (ECE), Mark Jones (CS), as well as additional members engaged with specific topics.

You’ve likely heard about PSU’s Academic Program Revitalization, either from university communications or directly from me at the department retreats. A brief recap of the timeline is as follows.
• August 12-14: Summer Data Analysis Team met to design a data-driven conversation about the vitality of the PSU programs
• September 25: Financial Sustainability Town Hall
• September 26-27: Board of Trustees approves Strategic Plan
• October 7: Provost provided financial sustainability targets to guide Deans' reviews of academic programs.
• October 11: Curricular Stewardship Data Workshop for academic unit leadership demonstrated Gray DI tools that assess revenue, instructional costs, and margin by department, program and course.
• October 15: Contractual deadline to send notice to non-tenure track faculty (NTTF) whose positions are being considered for termination. These preliminary notices by necessity cast a wide net, and likely were received by more faculty than will actually be impacted by reductions.
• October 25: Deans submit preliminary plans to Provost

Maseeh College is facing financial challenges, but we're approaching them as a united community. Our target for financial sustainability is $900,000, which we aim to achieve through a balanced approach of growth, improved efficiency, and strategic cost savings. While we haven't implemented a "notice of notice," we are taking proactive steps to ensure our financial health. To foster open communication and gather valuable input, we've scheduled a virtual Town Hall for next week. We encourage all faculty and staff to participate, share their thoughts, and ask questions.

Despite these challenges, Maseeh College stands as one of Portland State University's top-performing units and plays an increasingly crucial role in the institution's overall success. Our commitment to excellence in engineering and computer science education remains unwavering, and as we navigate this period, it's essential to remember that we're all in this together. By combining our collective expertise, creativity, and dedication, we can meet the university's goals while staying true to our core mission.

Our strength lies in our collaborative spirit and innovative approach to problem-solving--qualities that define both our academic programs and our approach to administrative challenges. Together, we can ensure that Maseeh College continues to prepare students for competitive jobs in growing industries. Your ongoing support and engagement are vital as we work towards a sustainable and thriving future for our college and the broader university community.

Best wishes for a productive and enjoyable fall term,
Joe

Maseeh earned a place again in the Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students. Compiled by American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and published in the College Issue of Winds of Change, the list highlights schools that value and actively cultivate diversity. PSU also received the 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, marking its third consecutive year of recognition.
Speaking of Indigenous STEM, Dean Joseph Bull's Op Ed was recently published in the Portland Business Journal. He urges the Portland business community to join PSU in realizing that our region's full technology potential would benefit from strengthening our Indigenous partnerships.
PSU once again received the award for the Professional Chapter of the Year Award thanks to Tim Anderson's (ETM) stewardship (along with Dean Bull's award for Executive Excellence--see below).

Eight Maseeh College students presented at the Oregon Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) Fall Student Symposium last week; all together the school had 10 posters accepted. From left to right, Savannah Bedford, Lev Weingrad, Savannah Krupa, Laura Skinner, Rose Edington, Ria Mahajan, Andrew Greenberg (ECE and Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS) Advisor), Tiffany Wu (OSU), and Zeus Ayala (PCC).

The Maseeh College Fall Student Mixer was an opportunity for student groups to recruit fresh members and for students to start improving their networking skills.

The STEM Transfer Orientation event that Tong Zhang (Assistant Dean for Inclusive Innovation) and Emily Hahn (Student Success and Recruitment Coordinator) organized in conjunction with Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) welcomed new STEM transfer students, connecting them with resources and opportunities and allowing them to connect with each other. STEM faculty joined for lunch, and the Electronics Prototyping Lab (EPL) team created a "wind tunnel" for a parachute activity at the end of the day.
Students of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) on "Computational Modeling Serving Portland," the altREU program to "Design, Program, and Use Computers to Benefit Society" together with teuscher.:Lab interns edited and published a 300-page book on their summer research projects; the book can be ordered on Amazon, with all proceeds going to a good cause, or downloaded for free on PDXScholar.

The newly transformed Vernier Science Center opened recently, and the six-story building is now home to state-of-the-art teaching labs, classrooms and learning spaces that support collaboration, exploratory learning and authentic research experiences; easily accessible student supports; and culturally affirming spaces.
Maseeh welcomed new and returning students from our international partner schools in China, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (NJUPT) and Changchun University of Technology (CCUT). There was even time for a quick visit to Cannon Beach with some NJUPT students.

Dean Joseph Bull stopped by the Portland State Alumni happy hour and Westward Ho! Parade during this year's Pendleton Round-Up. PSU President Ann Cudd cantered on a horse called Nugget and spoke a few words to the attendees.

Speaking of four-legged beasts, many of you were lucky to meet Jack the Alpaca (and Victor E. Viking) as they helped the Maseeh Ambassadors and staff welcome new Maseeh College students to campus; here are some highlights from our IG post about the New Student Welcome.
Maseeh College again hosted the ORTOP FIRSTFare, which is the annual conference held every fall to support FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge teams in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Led by students and mentors from local teams, FIRSTfare features a wide variety of presentations, including sessions on game strategy, machine vision, programming, shop skills, and more.

Dean Joseph Bull also participated in Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair's (CHC) Workforce Roundtable discussion to explore the economic progress and job creation generated by proposed investments through the CHIPS and Science Act. During the event, they will also discuss the role Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have in ensuring Latino students go from the classroom to good-paying chip-manufacturing careers.

A new online resource for PSU students, faculty and staff, PSU's Free Speech Website explains the importance of free speech at Portland State. It centralizes various policies, procedures, tools and resources in one, easy-to-navigate place. Learn about the history of protest at PSU, what rules and policies should guide us when we exercise our right to free speech, and where to find support within our community when speech may be harmful or when one feels their speech has been restricted.

Sirisha Kothuri (CEE) was awarded $90,244 from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for ”Guide for Marked Crosswalk Design, Spacing, Placement, and Safety”
Bob Bass (ECE) was awarded $7,153 from Oregon State University/Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance for “UCM Cybersecurity”
Jason Anderson (CEE) was awarded $175,500 from the Oregon Department of Transportation for “Benefit-Cost Analysis of Roundabouts to Support Long-Range Investment Policy”
Joshua Mendez (ECE) was awarded $15,499 from Mission Support Test Services LLC/Prime DOE for “Triboelectric charging of carbon particles”
Kunpeng Liu (CS) was awarded $290,739 from the National Science Foundation for “Collaborative Research: III: Small: Closing Sim-to-Real Gap in Reinforcement Learning via Randomization, Alignment, and Derivation”
Marly Roncken (CS) was awarded $75,000 from the Mayo Clinic for “Computing systems based on the link-joint paradigm”

Dean Joseph Bull was awarded the 2024 Executive of the Year by AISES.
Dean Joseph Bull was also recognized as Distinguished Scientist of the Year at the 2024 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Awards.

Make sure you're registered for Friday's inclusive teaching symposium, exclusively for Maseeh faculty and staff, focusing on creating an inclusive climate and culture through workshops and conversations focused on seeding systemic change in our units, classrooms, and curriculum. The keynote speech features Dr. Ebony McGee of Johns Hopkins, a Professor of Innovation and Inclusion in the STEM Ecosystem. McGee is an electrical engineer by training and an 11-time NSF investigator awardee.

Maseeh College virtual Town Hall is happening Tuesday October 22nd from 3 to 4 pm. You should have received a Google calendar invite to the event.
Have your graduate students participate in 3-Minute Thesis (3MT), a research communication competition designed to help graduate students develop presentation skills by consolidating and presenting their research succinctly to a non-specialist audience, all in just three minutes. Any master's or doctoral students are eligible to present any research they are conducting for a thesis, dissertation, or culminating project. First Place, Runner Up, and People's Choice prizes will be awarded at the competition on Nov. 14.
New this academic year, dedicated Maseeh College Academic Coaching will be available each Monday in EB 425. Students can also take advantage of other Student Academic Support Services
- One-on-One Academic Coaching: Personalized guidance to improve study habits and academic performance.
- Peer Tutoring at the Learning Center: Support from fellow students in a variety of subjects.
- Faculty Resources webpage offers strategies to enhance student engagement and success. Let’s partner together to create an environment in which every student thrives.
PSU's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) hosts cross-discipline Transportation Seminars that happen every Friday on campus and are free and open to the public. The schedule and more details are available here.

Maseeh alum Ana Tijerina Esquino, BSCE ‘20 won the 2024 Young Engineer of the Year Award from American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (Ana also previously named ASCE's 2022 New Face of Civil Engineering and the 2024 Outstanding Civil Engineer Advocate of the Year.)
Learn about cutting-edge collaboration involving Maseeh College's Agile and Adaptive Robotics Lab (AARL), led by Alex Hunt (MEE) and Liquid Wire, a local startup pushing the boundaries of flexible electronics.
Joshua Mendez (ECE) and Elliott Gall (MME) are working on a wildfire research project that could change how we respond to wildfires. Their approaches rely partially on open-source and low-cost technologies, which means they are available for anyone to use, adapt, and improve. Read the full article here.

A recent PSU Magazine piece highlights the ways in which PSU and Maseeh College are becoming a home for Indigenous STEM.
A new grant will train PSU students to support community resilience in the face of extreme events. The program leverages PSU’s research strengths in climate-related hazards, geohazards and community engagement, bringing together faculty in disciplines as varied as atmospheric science, computer science, communication, environmental social sciences, ethics, geosciences, geotechnical engineering and urban studies and planning. Diane Moug (CEE), Arash Khosravifar (CEE), and Ameeta Agrawal (CS) are among the participating faculty.

If you have any faculty or staff news for the next Faculty Staff Bulletin or suggestions, add them to this document.

If you have any student news or content for the next @MaseehCollege newsletter, share it via email.

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