{"id":1327,"date":"2024-06-03T12:28:49","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T19:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsci.laverne.edu\/nsd\/?page_id=1327"},"modified":"2026-03-06T16:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:32:12","slug":"nsd-good-news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/artsci.laverne.edu\/nsd\/nsd-good-news\/","title":{"rendered":"NSD Good News!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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College of Arts & Sciences Good News – Natural Science Division Edition\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Previous<\/a><\/p>\n

Good News 2024<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

January – February 2026<\/h2>\n

Student & Alumni News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

Aileen Niesta (Physics<\/em>)<\/strong> presented her research at the American Geophysical Union\u2019s annual meeting in New Orleans this December. Her poster, titled \u201cCan We Predict the Solar Wind at Earth Using Parker Solar Probe Measurements?,\u201d was based on work she conducted as part of the prestigious Harvard & Smithsonian Solar Physics Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.<\/p>\n

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November – December 2025<\/h2>\n

Math Senior Projects<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Kaelem Walker, Senior math major<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Senior Math major Kaelem Walker presents his senior project presentation Tuesday in the Ludwick Center Sacred Space. His project was an analysis of the statistics of Covid-19 cases in California.<\/span><\/p>\n

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photo by Joseph Nocero<\/p>\n

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NSD-BI-Annual Research Conference & Reception<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

Natural Science Division – hosted the NSD Bi-Annual Research Conference & Reception where poster from CURE courses or mentored research were welcomed.<\/p>\n

NSD also hosted a STEM career Fair on November 20th. The event provided students with the opportunity to meet representatives from graduate programs as well as professionals in their fields. ULV Career Services also offered a photo booth, allowing students to update their LinkedIn profile photos.<\/p>\n

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Faculty News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

Jay Jones<\/strong> (Professor Emeritus of Biology and Biochemistry) attended a lecture and workshop tour in China. Presentations and workshops were made at Pu’er University, Yunnan University, Anhui University, Shanxi Normal University, the Chinese equivalent of our EPA and other venues. The topics centered on various aspects of sustainability, education, and ethics. In addition, he gained direct cultural experience for use in teaching and other endeavors.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Preisler<\/strong> (Physics<\/strong><\/em>) The Physics Program hosted the Southern American Association of Physics Teachers’ Fall meeting. Dr. Preisler gave a presentation on integrating Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion into Physics and STEM teaching. Laurence Stein presented Childhood Physics.<\/p>\n

Student and Alumni News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

Gargi Darade<\/strong>, Adel Ozdem<\/strong>, Reiniery Villatra<\/strong> (Computer Science & Computer Engineering) represented ULV at the 2025 International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC) hosted at the Riverside Community College. ULV was among 75 colleges and universities competing in the prestigious event, marking three years of participation.<\/p>\n

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September – October 2025<\/span><\/h2>\n

Faculty News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

JEDI in STEM\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Victor Carmona\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>(Biology<\/em>)<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Elizaveta Taranenko (Biology)<\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Dr. Casey Griffin<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0in the yearlong\u00a0JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion) in STEM Program<\/b>, a professional learning program centered around cultural competence and equity-mindedness. The program helped faculty develop skills to meet their changing roles that increasingly require faculty to adopt a holistic approach to supporting student success, beyond the traditional focus on the cognitive domain of learning. Faculty participated in professional activities, reflecting on their teaching through reading and writing, discussion of Culturally Sustaining Practices (CSP), learning about inclusive pedagogies, and revising curriculum in faculty learning communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Certification of Completion Awards were presented at the NSD Fall Welcome Back Reception on Friday, September 5, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Student<\/u><\/span> News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Eddie Avellaneda, (Biology) 2020<\/strong>, was accepted into Central Michigan University College of Medicine and started this fall.<\/p>\n

Aileen Niesta\u00a0<\/span><\/b>(Physics) and\u00a0<\/span>Rei Villalta\u00a0<\/span><\/b>(Physics) participated in Undergraduate Research programs last summer.\u00a0<\/span>Aileen\u00a0<\/span><\/b>studied at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and\u00a0<\/span>Rei\u00a0<\/span><\/b>studied at the Center for Space Science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Both projects were related to solar physics and space weather.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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July – August 2025<\/h2>\n

Faculty News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n

New CAS Faculty:<\/p>\n

Alireza Abdoli, Assistant Professor (Computer Science & Engineering)<\/strong>, expert in data mining and machine learning.<\/p>\n

Victoria Lumsargis-Roth, Assistant Professor of Chemistry<\/strong>, expert in physical chemistry and spectroscopic techniques in cultural heritage research<\/p>\n

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Faculty on Sabbatical –<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Gail Tang – Mathematics<\/p>\n

Jud Holiday – Rhetoric Communication Studies<\/p>\n

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Student<\/u><\/span> News<\/u><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Brianna Morris (Chemistry)<\/strong>\u00a0participated in the MacREU program at UCR this summer where she worked in Dr. Jason Cheng\u2019s Lab, specializing in developing advanced biosensors. Her research focused on using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) to compare the binding characteristics of a key protein, alpha-synuclein, from various sources. This work helps advance the lab’s broader goal of creating new detection tools for clinical biomarkers and environmental contaminants.<\/p>\n

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December 2024-May 2025<\/h2>\n

Student News<\/span><\/h3>\n

Brandon Aun<\/strong> (Biology) <\/strong>has been accepted into the following Doctor of Dental Surgery programs:<\/p>\n

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