2022 Spring STEM-NET SoCalGas Student Research Fellowship Recipients Congratulations to our 2022-23 STEM-NET SoCalGas Student Research Fellowship recipients. In partnership with SoCalGas, STEM-NET has awarded three students $2,500 to conduct undergraduate research for the summer 2022 term. These funds support students conducting research under the auspices of a CSU faculty member. Towards the end of their research project, they will participate in a virtual event to present their findings.
Student Name: Cody Nichols
Campus: Cal State Dominguez Hills
College Level: Undergraduate Junior
Major: Physics
Family & Personal Background: “I am the first one in my immediate family to go to college".
Hobbies: “My relaxation strives for the moments I am lounging with my girlfriend and cat, eating some spicy food, and watching a movie"
Research Interest: “I hope to make headway in optical tweezer research, cataloging refractive indices and studying microorganisms".
Future Goals: “Wherever my career path might take me, I hope to be a physics consultant for various media outlets intermediately".
Upcoming Summer Research Project
Title: Optimizing the Therapeutic using High-Resolution Optical Tweezer Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM
Description: “We will build an optical tweezer this summer. The goal is to use laser trapping to determine the amount of radiation to kill single cells and clusters of cells. Trapping a cluster of cells will allow us to look at the relationship between ionization and bulk mass. We hope to find a reduction in threshold radiation when clusters of cancer cells are treated with naturally occurring oligostilbenes. The goal is to propose a better therapeutic index".
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Horace Crogman, Assistant Professor, Physics
Student Name: Connor Bartholomew
Campus: Cal State Fullerton
College Level: Undergraduate Senior
Major: Computer Engineering
Personal Background: “I like learning new things and picking up new skills as I go".
Hobbies: “I enjoy the most include playing video games, drawing, cooking/baking, and gardening"
Research Interest: “My research interest currently is in wildfire detection. Wildfires have been running rampant in California the past few years, so my area of research focuses on detecting them early on in hopes that countermeasures can be quickly taken".
Future Goals: “My future goals at the moment are to continue working on this project thanks to the help and inspiration from SoCalGas and getting my bachelor's degree so I can start working in the industry".
Upcoming Summer Research Project
Title: Wildfire Detection Project
Description: “It is a microcontroller-based project that aims to develop an unmanned device capable of accurately detecting a wildfire during its early stages. By constantly monitoring an area the device can send out an alarm once a wildfire is detected which allows for appropriate countermeasures to be taken to mitigate its impact".
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ankita Mohapatra, Assistant Professor, Computer Engineering
Name: Justin Thomas Self
Campus: Cal Poly
College Level: 2nd year (first year at Cal Poly; transfer from Cuesta Community College)
Major Aerospace Engineering, Concentration in Astronautics
Family and Personal background: “I am a first-generation college student. I am happily married to Jennifer Self (married 9 years), who works as a registered nurse at a local hospital. We moved to the Central Coast of CA for the express purpose of pursuing my bachelor's and master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Cal Poly. We have two boys: Caleb, 6 years old; and Joel, 4 months old".
Hobbies: “I published my first book last year; available on Amazon. I am the owner and founder of the podcast and blog website, UnstoppableBlog.com. I enjoy running, surfing, mountain biking, and doing science projects with my kids".
Research Interest: “Hypersonic boundary layer and wake characteristics of reentry objects," that is, I am interested in developing a high-altitude optical system that will provide high-resolution and scientifically useful infrared imagery of deorbiting objects (satellites, debris, etc.) at hypersonic velocities. I am working with Dr. Nandeesh Hiremath on this research and have presented this work at two conferences this year".
Future goals: “Complete my bachelor's and master's degrees at Cal Poly, then work with NASA in a relevant field. I am considering pursuing a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering. Either way, I plan to contribute to and take part in advancing scientific and engineering endeavors in space exploration".
Upcoming Summer Research Project
Title: Virtual Aperture Multispectral Imaging for Atmospheric Reentry Studies Using High-Altitude Reflective Arrays
Description: “We plan to utilize existing architecture (or a novel, modified version) of the Glitter Belt-inspired Flying Leaf high-altitude long-endurance reflective arrays to capture infrared radiation signals from deorbiting spacecraft and other debris and process this information into scientifically useful images using synthetic aperture".
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nandeesh Hiremath, Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering
2021- 2022 STEM-NET SoCalGas Student Research Fellowship Virtual Research Café, Sept. 16, 2022 Live Event