THE CEED VISION

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED)

CEED Mission Work with a

community of partners to ensure equity and parity in the

K-20 pathways that lead to engineering

and computing degrees.

CEED Vision We develop leaders for California’s

diverse technical workforce.

Inside this issue:

MESSAGE FROM CEED DIRECTOR/

GRADUATING CLASS

1

CHEVRON/CEED PARTNERSHIP 2

INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION

MARGARET PAULIN/TAP

3

GRADUATE SPOTLIGHTS 4

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH 5

STUDENT ORGS/

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

6

End of 2014 Issue

1 2014 Issue

CEED Graduating Class of 2014

MESSAGE FROM CEED DIRECTOR RICK AINSWORTH

Impact of Early Research Experience on CEED Students Outcomes

Over a decade ago, E87—The Introduction to Engineering Disciplines Course— was rede-signed as a team-taught course aimed at retaining (CEED) engineering freshmen who ma-triculated from urban and rural high schools that produce few UC-eligible students. A key course objective was to immerse CEED students in a team research experience under direction of HSSEAS Faculty and Graduate Student Mentors. A 2007 Stanford Research Institute (SRI) study titled Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences surveyed

15,000 undergraduate and graduates students, postdocs and faculty who participated in National Science Foundation (NSF) research projects during 2003-2005. Eighty-three percent of the student respondents re-ported that their confidence in their academics and research skills increased, and 73% said their awareness of and motivation towards graduate school increased. “Respondent comments suggest that mentors who are able to combine enthusiasm with interpersonal, organizational, and research skills play a large role in facili-tating positive outcomes.” SRI researchers concluded that “it seems that the inculcation of enthusiasm is the key element—and the earlier the better.” CEED experience with immersing freshmen in research is consistent with the SRI report and, in fact, magnifies their outcomes. Nearly 400 freshmen have participated in E87 research program under the guidance of HSSEAS Faculty. The expected outcome was to intensify freshmen interest in and identification with Engineering and Computer Science Majors by engaging in engineering and computing research at the earliest point—the first freshman quarter. Faculty support of the E87 research teams has resulted in remarkable success of CEED students in HSSEAS. Over the decade 95% of CEED freshman and 85% of sophomores have persisted to enroll in the 3rd year gatekeeper engineering courses. It is important to note, four of the last six winners of the Harry M. Showman Prize for Undergraduate Research were awarded to CEED graduating seniors at the HSSEAS Commencement. Over 90 CEED students have gone on to graduate school in engineering in the last 10 years, with 65% having done so in the last five years. CEED staff attributes these successful outcomes to HSSEAS Faculty’s support and involvement in the E87 freshmen research component.

15 of the

46 CEED

Graduating

Class of

2014

Russell, S., Hancock, M., & McCullough, J. (2007). Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences. Science, VOL 316(NO. 5824), Pp.548-549. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/316/5824/548.full

CEED events gave me the opportuni-ty to build rela-tionships with the Chevron recruiters that eventually hired me. CEED developed me professionally and

helped me improve my soft skills which fundamentally allowed for a successful career with Chevron. I have worked with Chevron since 2006. I started as an Technical Intern and since hiring on full-time have worked as a Designs Engineer and Process Engineer. I am currently an Operations Shift Supervisor for the Diversified Products Division at the El Segundo Refinery.

As a CEED student I was regularly intro-duced to its indus-try partners and exposed to career opportunities that I might not have been otherwise. Through CEED I was able to network

with Chevron recruiting representa-tives and build working relationships that continued through graduation when I received a full time offer as an Instrumentation Engineer at their El Segundo Refinery. During my last six years with Chevron I have held posi-tions in Mechanical Designs and more currently as the Competency & Training Coordinator for Chevron Manufacturing.

RANDY ARIZMENDIZ is a graduated UCLA CEED student with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a current IAB member for Chevron.

Q: How has CEED impacted you and the Chevron Community through our students? A: CEED provided me the direct connection to meet with Chevron. Through this connection, I was able to get to know the company and the people that work there on a personal level. I had known that I wanted to go into the energy in-dustry, and when I got to know the people at Chevron, it was a natural fit. CEED helped bring that relationship together.

Q: Why did Chevron decide to have a partnership with CEED? A: CEED has a number of attributes. They are great at helping students realize and develop their talents; technical talent being one part of their repertoire. For this reason, it's advantageous to recruit talent from CEED but also just being able to participate in this process is re-warding. Chevron is big on talent, development within the company and the surrounding communities, so it's great that we can utilize each other's talents; it's win-win. Q: What are your hopes for the continued development of the partnership? A: I'd like to see strong relationships that extend beyond UCLA and even the "college years". Our talents are constantly improving and it's great to see people who've maintained their networks and are willing to share their talents. From that you see great things happen.

CHEVRON/CEED PARTNERSIP

I saw a pamphlet for a Chevron internship in the CEED Center and I knew I wanted to work there. Rick Ainsworth [CEED Director] intro-duced me to the re-cruiting coordinator and

during a recruiting event when I was a junior, I got the interview and an in-ternship. I had considered switching to a math major, but that internship really changed my mind. I had the time of my life learning and meeting new people and I knew I was in the right spot. My participation in CEED and their corpo-rate connections made my college ex-perience meaningful and helped on the road to a successful career. I have been able to come back and help with CEED events as a Chevron employee and I really appreciate the opportunity.

Our partnership with Chevron has assisted 11 of our CEED students to work full-time for Chevron: Ashly Ainley, ME, NSBE Pres; Randy Arizmendiz, ChemE; Carlos Castrejon, ME, SOLES VP; Filiberto Colon, ME; Asya Hollins, ME, NSBE VP; Elizabeth Lizarzaburu, ChemE, SOLES Pres; Ruben Lopez, ME, SOLES VP; Ricardo Paredes, ME; LisaMarie Quinene, ChemE, AISES VP; Lauren Quiroz, ChemE, SOLES ACES Director; Sarah Vasquez, ME, SOLES Pres And there are more to come!!

Sarah Vasquez Ashly Ainley

Carlos Castrejon

2014 Issue 2

NORTHROP TAP GRANT

IAB SPOTLIGHT: NORTHROP GRUMMAN’S MARGARET PAULIN

Margaret Paulin is a spunky and driven woman radiating her affection for education and a desire to help students from underrepresented backgrounds. She shares a spe-cial place in her heart for the Central Valley, her home region and an area lacking the consistency of education relative to Northern and Southern California. As the Industry Advisory Board representative for Northrop Grumman, she has been a supporter of CEED for an estimated 17 years and fondly states “I have seen Rick [CEED Director] gray over the years.” Though CEED is not her only outreach program, she has seen its value and invested time in it. In the University Relations and Recruiting field for the last 17 years she has observed “CEED students to be bright, articulate, goal orientated and well prepared.” She has helped bring diversity to Northrop Grumman and comments on Northrop Grumman’s partnership with CEED say-ing, “As a Senior level recruiter and IAB member I get an early look to assess the incoming and continuing CEED tal-ent...This is important to our hiring efforts.” Paulin elaborates, speaking on CEED and it’s TAP program (Transfer Alli-ance Program) and how it “provides us [Northrop Grumman] with a pool of diverse and well-prepared students to consider for internships and new grad positions.” Margaret and other IAB members recognize the value of CEED, what it does for its students, and the possibilities it promises for the engineering industry.

3 2014 Issue

The Transfer Alliance Partnership (TAP), funded by Northrop Grumman, is a cooperative effort between the UCLA CEED organization and 12 Commu-nity Colleges (CC). The partnership is aimed at increasing the number of underrepresented engineering and computer science (ECS) transfer stu-dents to UCLA. TAP works jointly with the CC’s in identifying and sup-porting underrepresented students enrolled in STEM. The objective is to build a community of students whose performance in their first transfera-ble math and science courses demonstrates an aptitude for ECS. CEED collaborates with CC TAP counselors to develop student interest and ex-posure to ECS disciplines. The program features visits to UCLA labs, aca-demic excellence workshops, interactions with engineering companies, and opportunities for research experience. TAP provides in depth advise-ment and counseling centered on course preparation for engineering and computing, a resource not always available at CC’s. Northrop Grumman’s investment over the past three years has sustained the TAP project, and expanded the number of students at our three closest CC’s; El Camino Col-lege, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC), and Santa Monica College (SMC). In addition, they have strengthened the relationship with our other nine CC partners. TAP over the past three years has since produced an average of 11 students per year, however, this Fall 2014, 30 TAP students have committed to attend UCLA. It is important to note that underrepresented CC students with intention to complete STEM courses take an average of four years to transfer to a university. TAP provides methods to reduce attrition during the critical transition from the CC semester system to the fast-paced quarter system at UCLA, and the competitive intensity of re-search-oriented teaching in the School of Engineering. Karina Chavarria talking to TAP students

TAP students programming their robot

GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT

matriculated into UCLA in 2009 as a transfer student. The

summer preluding her first quarter at UCLA, she participated

in the Summer Bridge Review for Enhancing Engineering Stu-

dents (BREES), a two-week CEED program giving students an

introduction to key topics to be covered in their engineering

courses. Taking advantage of CEED’s opportunities, she par-

ticipated in Corporate Roundtable (CRT), a highly engaging

program that allows students to network with corporate

representatives. As a result of her learned networking skills,

Karina obtained an internship at the Waste Water Engineer-

ing Division at the Bureau of Sanitation in Los Angeles. She

graduated Cum Laude in

the Spring of 2012 and

went on to graduate

school at the University

of California, Berkeley.

She is now in her 3rd

year pursuing her Doc-

toral degree at UC

Berkeley.

Karina Chavarria

entered UCLA in 2008 as a Civil Engineering major, eventual-

ly switching to Chemical Engineering with an environmental

focus. Participating in CEED’s Freshman Summer Bridge Pro-

gram, she got an early start on her experience at UCLA as an

engineering major. Regan displayed her leadership within

CEED through her involvement as NSBE’s Senator, PR Chair,

and Chapter President. Engaging in extensive research while

at UCLA, she worked with various professors, was involved in

Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC), and CEED’s

RISE-UP Poster Project. She received the Harry M. Showman

Prize for Undergraduate Research at the 2013 HSSEAS Com-

mencement, deeming her the top engineering undergradu-

ate researcher of the

year. Graduating in

2013, Regan gave

class’ commencement

speech and is now in

her 1st year at UC

Berkeley for her doc-

toral degree.

Regan Patterson

Q & A

How did CEED meet your academic and financial goals?

K.C.: “CEED is an organization that gets with you right from the beginning. I got a call from CEED way before any

other school or any other person. Financially they gave me scholarships throughout the time I was at UCLA. I think

through them I got an NSF scholarship. It was definitely something they were helpful with.”

R.P.: “I originally planned on going to USC because it was more affordable. But Rick [CEED Director] called me and

he was able to offer me the Dean’s Scholarship, that paid for my tuition for 4 years making UCLA cheaper. Academ-

ically having their support with the Summer Bridge Program, E87 (intro engineering course) and AEWs, and having

people to talk to and take advice from was a great resource. At one point I was thinking of leaving engineering all

together but talking to Cathy and Rick and having their input and advice I stayed with Chemical Engineering. “

Do you think programs like CEED should be in all Schools of Engineering?

K.C.: “I think they should be because we’re minorities and we need support…When you’re in college, you may not

realize that but once you’re out but not in graduate school or in the industry, you realize how small minority popu-

lation are in engineering and I think just having that support helps you obtain your degree and achieve your educa-

tional goals is really, really important.”

R.P.: “I believe the CEED program helps matriculate minorities in engineering… other schools may or may not have

NSBE, SOLES and AISES chapters but CEED offers more support. I believe the sense of community really contributes

to your potential to succeed because you need that foundation. I believe it is necessary to ensure that not only do

minorities enter the school of Engineering, but they successfully graduate as well and that is what CEED provides.”

2014 Issue 4

RISE– UP POSTER PROJECT

(Front: L-R) Audrey Pool O’Neal—CEED Associate Director, En-

rique (Rick) Ainsworth—CEED Director, (Second Row: L-R)

Rodolfo Barranco, Brook Wander, Marcos Salazar, Jessica Neal,

Justine Figuerres, Ruben Acevedo, Daniel Corona, (Back: L-R) ,

Edward McAboy, Christopher Miller, Salvador Perez, Melissa

Moz, Andrew Allan, Adam Garcia, Yowhannes Russom

OVERVIEW

On August 21, 2014, the UCLA Center for Excellence in

Engineering and Diversity (CEED) held its 10th Annual

Research Intensive Series in Engineering for Un-

derrepresented Populations (RISE-UP) Undergraduate

Research Poster Competition, in the lobby of the Cali-

fornia NanoSystems Institute (CNSI). Fourteen re-

searchers participated in the competition that was

judged by: Dr. Ann Karagozian, Professor Mechanical

& Aerospace Engineering; and Dr. Benjamin Williams,

Professor of Electrical Engineering; Dr. Aditya Kumar,

Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil & Environmental Engineer-

ing.

AWARDS First place was awarded to Adam Garcia (who recently

completed his 2nd year in Mechanical Engineering) for

his work on Characterizing Thin Film Effects on a Re-

flectivity Study sponsored by the NSF-funded Center

for Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic

Systems (TANMS), under the direction of Professor

Gregory Carman. Both the second and third place

awardees were sponsored in research by Intel through

the Semiconductor Research Corporation Education

Alliance (SRCEA). Second place was awarded to Ruben

Acevedo (who recently completed his 3rd year in Me-

chanical Engineering), for his work on Micromagnetic

Modeling and Simulation Using Finite Element Analy-

sis, under the direction of Professor Abdon Sepulveda.

Third place was awarded to Melissa Moz (who recently

completed her 1st year in Materials Engineering) for

her work on Cerium Oxide Inverse Opals for Thermo-

chemical Hydrogen Production. Melissa worked under

the direction of Professor Bruce Dunn.

PURPOSE

The purpose of RISE-UP is to keep engineering and com-

puting students, particularly from underrepresented

groups, interested in the excitement of learning. Re-

search encourages innovation, discovery, and independ-

ent thinking, providing a collaborative experience be-

tween professors, graduate students, and undergraduate

students. RISE-UP provides opportunities for undergrad-

uate students to accomplish this under the direction of

innovative and motivated faculty members, postdoctoral

researchers, and graduate students, who are working in

leading research fields. RISE-UP is a program that is

aimed to both challenge and inspire its students to con-

tinue their persistence in engineering and computing,

giving them a set of skills to use in any situation. The goal

is to encourage young scholars from underrepresented

groups to advance to graduate school through involve-

ment in stimulating research.

PROGRAM IMPACT: Since RISE-UP began in the summer of 2005, there have been 105 RISE-UP Scholars to date. Through the efforts of CEED, 95% of RISE-UP scholars have been retained in their major. Of the 105, there have been 84 RISE-UP graduates, 29 (35%) have gone on to advanced studies and 55 (65%) started their careers working in industry. The program has since been expanded to include the academic year, as well as summer research appointments. Funding came from various grants provided by organizations such as the Na-tional Science Foundation (NSF), Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), Intel, UC LEADS, and URC-CARE. RISE-UP is now funded by Intel through the Semiconductor Re-search Corporation Education Alliance (SRCEA) and the NSF-funded Center for Translational Applications of Na-noscale Multiferroic Systems (TANMS).

Undergraduate Research

5 2014 Issue

AISES - This year, AISES received 3 of the most prestigious

awards at the AISES National Conference: 2013 Outreach & Community Service Award, 2013 Professional & Chapter Devel-

opment Award, and the 2013 Stelvio J. Zanin Chapter of the Year Award. Needless to say, AISES members are passionate about what they do. Using that passion, this year AISES won First Place in the First Nations AISES and Tribal Rocket Launch Competition. AISES members also tutored John Adams Middle School students weekly in STEM subjects and aim to get high school and middle school stu-dents motivated to pursue STEM fields by hosting various engaging workshops during the annual Youth Motivation Day event. However, they never forget to have fun themselves, hosting social events such as Family face off for its members.

NSBE - NSBE had its first Shadow Day Event this year. Stu-

dents from Da Vinci High School were given the opportunity to follow NSBE members, experiencing a taste of being a college student. They had the opportunity to take the People of Color Tour, allowing them to learn of the contributions of people of color on UCLA’s campus. NSBE members also devoted their time throughout the year to tutoring high schools, such as Fairfax and Westchester High School. In addition, NSBE put on the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Day, an event geared towards highlighting women in the STEM fields and getting middle and high school female stu-dents excited about STEM. This years theme was “Powerful Women in STEM” and women like Florence Nightingale, Shirley Jackson, and Marie

Curie were some of the featured women scientists. NSBE members were also able to connect with alumni, hosting an event at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles.

SOLES - Greg Caguimbal, outgoing SOLES Vice President and

incoming President, won first place for Outstanding Achieve-ment in Research at this year’s SHPE National Conference.

SOLES also hosted this year’s CEED Freshman Weekend, where ten potential incoming CEED freshmen met with current students and were able to taste the feeling of being a college student while having loads of fun; Engineers’ In Training (EIT) that involved hosting fun workshops for high school and middle school students to provide a learning experience in STEM; and the annual SHPE Bowl in which SOLES members got to interact with the SHPE chapters at three other schools including USC.

Student Organizations

Brett Lopez has been a

member of CEED for

three years. He is a trans-

fer student from El

Camino College (ECC),

Torrance. He continues

to work closely with

Math, Engineering and

Science Achievement (MESA) and is the

Founding President of the Society for Ad-

vancement of Chicano/Hispanic and Native

Americans in Science (SACNAS) ECC Chapter.

In addition, he participated in UCLA’s Energy

and Population Research Laboratory under

the guidance of Professor Ann Karagoian.

Brett was recently offered the National Sci-

ence Foundation Graduate Research Fellow-

ship Program Award (NSF GRFP). He graduat-

ed with a 4.00 GPA in Aerospace Engineering

this Spring and will begin graduate studies at

MIT this upcoming fall.

Christopher Miller is an

Electrical Engineering

major who entered UCLA

and the CEED program in

the fall of 2009. Chris

joined NSBE as a fresh-

man and has been Alum-

ni Chair, Treasurer, and

President. He graduated in the spring of 2014

with a 3.6 GPA and was a member of Eta Kap-

pa Nu (HKN), the Honor Society for electrical

engineers. Chris has assisted in research un-

der the guidance of Professor William Kaiser,

Professor Xiangun Wu, and Professor Richard

Wesel. He is currently working as a Design

Intern at Northrop Grumman, and in the fall

he will be returning to UCLA for his Master’s

degree in Electrical Engineering with an em-

phasis on Signals and Systems.

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

2014 Issue 6

SMARTS Industry Career Luncheon July 18, 2014

IAB Planning Conference August 14-15, 2014

RISE UP Poster Session August 21, 2014

Summer BREES Program September 14-26, 2014

Freshman Summer Bridge Program September 14-26, 2014

CEED Townhall October 6, 2014

Resume Critique October 13, 2014

Interviewing Techniques Workshop October 14, 2014

Corporate Gamesmanship October 20, 2014

SHPE National Conference November 5 - 9, 2014

AISES National Conference November 13-15, 2014

CEED Scholarship Banquet November 13, 2014

IAB Meeting November 13, 2014

Corporate Round Table Jan 21, 2015

Winter IAB Meeting January 21, 2015

Upcoming CEED Events

Center for Excellence in Engineering and

Diversity (CEED)

405 Hilgard Ave

Boelter Hall 6291

Los Angeles, CA 90095

Phone: (310) 206-6493

Fax: (310) 825-3908

We’re on the Web:

www.ceed.ucla.edu

Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED)

405 Hilgard Ave

Boelter Hall 6291 Los Angeles, CA 90095