Department and Faculty News

Computer Science

Richard Covington has been named the new chair of the Department of Computer Science. Covington, who earned his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University, joined the CECS faculty in 2000 as an assistant professor of computer science. He became an associate professor in 2006. He teaches advanced courses in graphical user interfaces and parallel computer architecture and currently is involved in curriculum development for the new undergraduate program in computer information technology.

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Shahnam Mirzaei, Ramin Roosta and graduate students Alexander Standridge and Calvin Ho recently published an article titled “Efficient Bitcoin Miner System Implemented on Zynq SoC” in Xcell Journal, issue 84 (third quarter 2013), pp. 16-22.

Sembiam R. Rengarajan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, has had a productive year, publishing journal articles in the International Journal of Computer Aided RF and Microwave Engineering, Progress in Electromagnetics Research and IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters (with C. R. White) and presenting papers at the National Radio Science Meeting in Boulder, Colorado; the URSI Electromagnetic Theory Symposium in Hiroshima, Japan; and the IEEE International Antennas and Propagation and USNC URSI Radio Science Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

In addition, Rengarajan has been serving a three-year term as a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, delivering lectures on the design, analysis and applications of waveguide–fed slot arrays all over the world. He was also appointed to the editorial board of the International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer Aided Engineering and continued to serve on the editorial committee of the International Journal of Antennas and Propagation. He has been chairing the Commission on Waves and Fields of the United States National Committee of the International Union Radio Science (USNC/URSI) for the triennium 2012-14.

Civil Engineering & Construction Management

CECM department chair Nazaret Dermendjian has been elected to the 2013-14 board of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Los Angeles Section, as vice president of student activities.

Manufacturing Systems Engineering & Management

Shereazad Jimmy Gandhi is the newly elected advisor to the MSEM department’s Engineering Management Student Association (EMSA). In November 2013, he was a guest speaker on outsourcing at the University of North Texas.

Alireza Kabirian and David Alba, co-founder and president of GRID Logistics, Inc., made a presentation at CSUN’s Art of Innovation Conference on June 21, titled “Green Innovations in San Pedro Bay Ports,” which proposed genuine 21st century freight transportation solutions for the region.

Mark Rajai is editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Modern Engineering (IJME) and International Journal of Engineering Research & Innovation (IJERI). Based on the latest impact factor (IF) calculations, IJME has an IF of 3.0. IJERI has also made a strong showing, with an IF of 1.58. An IF above 1 is considered high, based on the requirements of many top universities, and means a journal is part of an elite group.

Ahmad Sarfaraz co-authored eight journal papers with his graduate students in the areas of knowledge management, risk and reliability. The papers have appeared in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Business Excellence, International Journal of Management and Decision Making, International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IJISE), International Journal of Strategic Decision Sciences (IJSDS), International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences (IJADS), and Benchmarking: An International Journal.

Ileana Costea participated in numerous Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and school network meetings (Glendale Community College, Monroe High School, Santa Clarita High School, College of the Canyons, Monroe High School and Reseda High School) as part of the CSUN STEM Innovations Team. The team, known as ESTEME, is led by Susan Belgrad, a professor from the College of Education, and seeks to map a pipeline to “enhance the ‘E’ in STEM education” to schools as partners from kindergarten to career.

Costea also serves on the engineering advisory board at Moorpark College and has made several invited presentations. In addition, she is part of the organizing committee of the Deming Conference, which will be hosted at CSUN in October 2014. She co-authored two papers presented at the ASEE Annual Conference in Atlanta in June: “Development of a Minor in Sustainable Manufacturing for a Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program” and “Modifications of the Engineering Management Program at Cal State University, Northridge.”