Launchpad 2024 A glimpse into the Program

Dr. Mohammad Pourhomayoun is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and the founding director of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science Research Lab at California State University Los Angeles. Dr. Pourhomayoun has over 15 years of experience in research and development of Artificial intelligence (AI) systems, predictive analytics, machine learning, deep learning, and big data for science and engineering applications. He has led more than 30 research projects in AI, predictive analytics and machine learning applications. Dr. Pourhomayoun has published more than 120 peer-reviewed conference and journal papers in his research field.

Dr. Manveen Kaur is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science department at California State University, Los Angeles. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in 2012 and 2022 from Ohio State University and Clemson University, respectively. Between her M.S. and Ph.D., she spent over three years working as a Network Analyst in the media streaming industry. Her research expertise is in system engineering for emergent wireless systems, such as drone swarms and autonomous vehicle networks. She is currently designing and testing a framework that would allow a resource-limited drone swarm to cooperatively conduct compute-intensive tasks and “think intelligently” as a group. Outside her work, she enjoys literary fiction, art, running, and gardening.

Chris Bachman graduated from UC Davis with his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2010 and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2012. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a Minor in Education from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017. He has expertise in design and building, energy, vehicles, electrochemistry, and is always looking to learn more. He directs the Makerspace at Cal State LA and advises several racecar teams on campus. He loves spending time with his dog Windy, playing sports, being outdoors, and reading.

Jung Soo Lim (she/her/hers) graduated from Cal State LA with her Bachelor of Science, Master of science, and Ph. D in computer science, emphasizing computer networking in 1997, 2003, and 2012. She began working as a lecturer for Cal State LA, Department of Computer Science, in fall 2016 and became an assistant professor in fall 2020. Her expertise is in the Internet of Things, wireless sensor networking, wired and wireless computer networking, analysis of algorithms, and software engineering. In her role, she teaches various courses, including computer organization and architecture, introduction to programming, and analysis of algorithms. Also, she develops online courses and supervises various senior design capstone projects. She enjoys reading, walking, and coding.

Salvador Rojas is an assistant professor at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is the founder and director of the research group Nature-inspired and AUTonomous robotiCs Lab (NAUTCL) within CSULA College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology. The focus of his research group is on autonomous engineering systems driven by naval exploration. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in the School of Mechanical Engineering as a George Washington Carver Fellow in 2023. His research mainly focused on exploring the interplay between nature and origami for designing novel structures with programmable properties. He characterized the mechanical behavior of bioinspired hybrid robotics with reconfigurable and shape-adaptive properties that can react to its working environment. He received the Indiana Space Grant Consortium Fellowship in three consecutive years, Ward A. Lambert Teaching Fellowship, and was selected as a Trailblazer in Engineering Fellow for broadening the participation of underrepresented minorities in engineering at Purdue. He received his B.S., and M.S., from California State University, Los Angeles in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2016, and 2018, respectively. Salvador pursued his M.S. as an LSAMP-BD Cohort 13 student from 2016 to 2018 prior to pursuing his Ph.D. at Purdue. His research work during his M.S. was primarily focused on the dynamics and control of multibody mobile manipulator systems.

Jung Soo Lim (she/her/hers) graduated from Cal State LA with her Bachelor of Science, Master of science, and Ph. D in computer science, emphasizing computer networking in 1997, 2003, and 2012. She began working as a lecturer for Cal State LA, Department of Computer Science, in fall 2016 and became an assistant professor in fall 2020. Her expertise is in the Internet of Things, wireless sensor networking, wired and wireless computer networking, analysis of algorithms, and software engineering. In her role, she teaches various courses, including computer organization and architecture, introduction to programming, and analysis of algorithms. Also, she develops online courses and supervises various senior design capstone projects. She enjoys reading, walking, and coding.

Dr. Khodayari graduated from Tehran University with her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2004 and from Sharif University of Technology with her Master of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2008. She received her second MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010 and 2013, respectively. She has experience working in the energy and consulting industry and enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with her students. She has expertise in developing sustainable engineering solutions for air and water pollution prevention and control, climate modeling, environmental sustainability, and energy-water-climate nexus. She is the Founding Director of the Environmental Sustainability and Pollution Control (ESPC) research lab and the Society of Woman Engineers (SWE) advisor. She loves spending time with her family, teaching, traveling to new places, and cooking.

Dr. Maryam Nazari is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Cal State LA. She received her Ph.D. in Structural Engineering with a Minor in Engineering Mechanics from Iowa State University in 2016. Prior to joining Cal State LA in Fall 2020, Dr. Nazari worked as a faculty member at a sister CSU, Fresno State, for four years. She has taught a variety of courses in the areas of Engineering Mechanics and Structural Analysis and Design. Her research interests lie in the area of Earthquake Engineering, including techniques that ensure economical, resilient, and sustainable design of civil infrastructures against seismic hazards.

Dr. Wang is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cal State LA. His research areas are in embedded systems, high-performance computing, and biomedical engineering. He is interested in the way mammalian spinal cords perform computation and ways to improve medical therapies, robotics, and computers using inspiration from the spine.

Dr. Mario Medina graduated from Bradley University with his Bachelor of Science in n mechanical engineering in 2015 and received his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2020. Mario started teaching at Cal State LA in August 2020, where he taught courses in fluid dynamics, energy systems, and propulsion systems. is His expertise is in fluid dynamics, including spray physics applied in internal combustion engines. He enjoys learning new things and, most recently is learning how to vermicompost for his balcony garden.