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College welcomes four new faculty membersFor one it’s been a homecoming. For another it’s meant immersion in a completely new environment. For the othersit’s been like moving into new digs across town.CECS’s new faculty members have brought diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise to their new jobs, but all agree onone thing: joining the CSUN engineering and computer science faculty has been an excellent career move and promises to bepersonally and professionally rewarding.Alireza KabirianGeorge YoussefAbhijit MukherjeeAni NahapetianAssistant ProfessorManufacturing SystemsEngineering & ManagementAssistant ProfessorMechanical EngineeringAssistant ProfessorMechanical EngineeringAssistant ProfessorComputer ScienceAlireza Kabirian, an assistantprofessor in the Departmentof Manufacturing SystemsEngineering and Management andexpert in operations research andapplied statistics, has experiencedmore than his share of cultureshock in his career. After earninghis undergraduate and master’sdegrees in industrial engineeringin Iran, he came to the U.S. topursue a doctorate at Iowa StateUniversity. Following his Ph.D., hetaught at the University of Alaskain Anchorage for two years beforeabandoning the frigid north forSouthern California—a move thatpleased his new wife, who wasnot inclined to endure the harsharctic winters of the 49th state.While he admits that the region’scultural diversity and recreationalopportunities played a part inattracting him to the area, sincearriving at CSUN, Kabirian hasbeen especially impressed with howhelpful and friendly his colleagueshave been. “Everybody here tries tohelp me as a new faculty member,even if I don’t ask for help,” hesays. He also appreciates workingat a teaching university. “CSUNis doing a good job educatingour engineers for industry,” heobserves. “Here students willbe more prepared for real-worldproblem solving. This is what weteach them.”By contrast, George Youssef,an assistant professor in theDepartment of MechanicalEngineering, never really left thecollege. He arrived at CSUN asan undergraduate in 2003, earninghis bachelor’s degree in 2005.While working at his first job inaerospace, he began to pursue amaster’s degree and concurrentlystarted teaching part time atCSUN—something he continuedwhen he went on to UCLA for hisPh.D. While he enjoyed workingin industry, he was eager to focuson academia because he has apassion for teaching and, he notes,“In teaching you have opportunityto switch focus so many timesin your career, you never stoplearning.” As it happened, therewas a job opening at CSUN whenhe completed his doctorate. He washired, and now, he says, he feels asif he’s back home. He especiallyenjoys interacting with students—something they have not failed tonotice. Once, a student bet somefriends 20 that Youssef would stillbe in his office at 11 p.m.—a betthat he won. “The students kind ofpush you as a professor to performbetter, through the questions theyask,” he says.” I really enjoy thata lot.”Abhijit Mukherjee, who earnedhis bachelor’s degree in India andhis master’s at Villanova Universityin Pennsylvania, is no stranger toLos Angeles but, he admits, duringthe five years he spent workingon his Ph.D. at UCLA, he rarelycrossed into the San FernandoValley. So when he arrived atCSUN to interview for a job as anassistant professor of mechanicalengineering, he was pleasantlysurprised by the size and beautyof the campus. Now, as a memberof the faculty, he particularlyappreciates the student diversity,which he finds striking, and thequality of the campus facilities.“They’re the best you can findanywhere,” he says. An expert inheat transfer, fuel cell technologyand microfluidics, Mukherjee wasdrawn to Southern California asmuch for its weather, art, cultureand sports as for the excellentjob opportunity in the College ofEngineering and Computer Science.“LA is a very cosmopolitan place,”he says. ““I want to be successfulin my career as a CSUN facultymember and at the same time enjoylife and give my kids the bestpossible experience. There is nobetter place than LA.”Fall 2011Ani Nahapetian, assistantprofessor of computer science,loves travel and photography andespecially enjoys combining thetwo, but when it comes to hercareer, she hasn’t ventured farfrom home. She grew up in the SanFernando Valley, then earned herbachelor’s, master’s and doctoraldegrees at UCLA. Followingher Ph.D., she taught for a yearat California State University,Dominguez Hills before returningto UCLA as an adjunct professorand simultaneously working in thewireless health industry. “It was agreat opportunity and a springboardfor coming to CSUN,” she explains.An expert in embedded systems,especially hardware-based systemsecurity and sensor systems withhealth applications, Nahapetian hadbeen keeping an eye on CECS forjob openings in computer science.“I knew that I loved to teach andCSUN was a great place to do that,”she says. “I also had very positiveimpressions of faculty membersI had met at local conferences.”Now, only a few months into herfaculty appointment, she hasn’tonce looked back. She has had verypositive experiences with studentsand appreciates the university’ssupportive environment. “From allthese interactions, I can tell this iswhere I want to spend the rest ofmy career,” she says.v3

Medtronic-funded research projects seek to advancediabetes treatmentThe unique synergy between CSUN and the medical device company Medtronic Diabetes, located on the northernmost edge of the campus,regularly finds expression in research collaborations, internships and scholarships. Most recently, it has been manifest in research grantsthat the company (also known as Medtronic MiniMed) awarded to five CECS faculty members to fund one-year projects relevant todiverse aspects of diabetes and the company’s signature insulin pumps. All projects are involving students as integral members of the research team.Testing polymers to coatimplantable sensors. Implantingsensors under the skin tomeasure blood glucoseon a continuing basishas the potential tosimplify insulin regulationin diabetic patients,especially when pairedwith an insulin pump. Butthe technology is currentlyless than ideal becausewhile the insulin pumpslast five to eight years, thesensors, exposed to body fluids, degrade andhave to be replaced every few months, which isexpensive, inconvenient and painful. BehzadBavarian, professor of manufacturing systemsengineering and management, has received agrant to characterize and test different polymersto determine their suitability as coatings toprotect the sensors and their compatibility withthe human body.Developing performance modelsof multi-device body areanetworks and body area to offbody networks. Someday, in the not-too-distant future,medical deviceswill use wirelesstechnology to “talk”to each other andmonitor such thingsas blood glucoselevels in diabeticpatients. Before thatscenario can becomecommonplace,From left, Professors Flynn,however, developersKatz, and Schwartzwill need tocharacterize a complex set of variables relatingto sensor placement on the body and howthe dynamics of movement, activity levels,stature, body contours and position affect datatransmission between devices on and off thebody. Electrical and computer engineeringprofessors Sharlene Katz, James Flynn andDavid Schwartz have received funding todevelop a model of transmission and absorptionpatterns for the radio waves that will transmitthe data wirelessly. “Placing wireless sensors onbodies is a brand-new field,” says Katz. “There’svery little information on it. Wherever you putsensors—on an ankle, for instance—parts of thebody may block signal transmission betweendevices. It’s a very complex problem.” The team4is aiming to develop a set of guidelines for sensor placement, and the model they create may eventually allowMedtronic’s engineers to design systems that can reliably monitor the blood glucose levels of children, forexample, and alert a school- or home-based system when there is a problem that needs attention.Integrating diabetes databases. As the amount of information proliferates,it becomes increasingly challenging to compile and mine relevant data. A team led bycomputer science professor George Wang is laying the groundwork for integratingmultiple diabetes-related databases in ways that can benefit clinicians and patients (aswell as Medtronic researchers). Under Wang’s direction, a student team made up ofgraduate student Justin Peckner and senior Ian Maxon, both in computer science, andKevork Sepetci, an undergraduate in computer engineering, will create a prototype for acomprehensive diabetes database that synthesizes information from internal and externalsources, providing “one-stop shopping” for anyone seeking data about diabetes.Developing a feedback system to alleviate pressure on patients’ soles. As diabetesprogresses, one of the more common—and unfortunate—effects that patients mayexperience is the development of ulcers on the bottoms of their feet. In time, nervesmay be choked off and die, leading to neuropathy; bones may become brittle, andpatients’ arches may fall. Because they lack feeling in their soles, patients may not beaware of the problems, and many no longer walk with normal heel-to-toe flexion; theentire bottom of the foot hits the ground at the same time instead. Aksone Neuvong,D.P.M., at Olive View–UCLA Medical Center has been seeking a feedback systemfor diabetic patients that uses mapping information from the bottoms of their feet todetermine pressure points and then stimulates nerves and leg muscles to change theirgait, taking pressure off the sore spots and restoring normal flexion. Ben Mallard, alecturer in electrical and computer engineering, is working with graduate students tocreate an interface between the commercial mapping unit and the nascent CSUN feedbacksystem using Bluetooth protocol. “The patients will have electrodes in their socks or stockings, with sensorsplaced directly on the skin or proximal to the stimulation point for muscle and passive stimulation,” explainsMallard. “As they walk, the system will automatically stimulate the muscles to change their gait and deflect thepressure.” If successful, the project may also be applicable to other conditions that cause disability.Factoring patient activity into insulin dosage. Up to now, themedical device industry has relied on a model for insulindosage that is predicated on a person’s dietary intake. If apatient monitors his or her current sugar level and anticipateshaving a large meal, for instance, based on that information,he or she will need to inject a certain amount of insulin. Whatis lacking in this model, however, is consideration of thepatient’s physical activity throughout the day. A highly athleticperson’s energy expenditure, for example, isn’t factored intothe calculations, even though that activity is fueled by sugarsin the body, and that person would consequently need lessinsulin. Mechanical engineering professor C.T. Lin’s projectis seeking to develop a mathematical model for measuringand incorporating patient activity into the equation for insulin dosage, based oninformation from sensors that patients could wear to determine how much energyhas been consumed. While the initial phase of the project is a feasibility study, if itis successful, it could eventually lead to smarter insulin pumps and more accurateinsulin dosing. Graduate students Ara Mekhtarian and Craig Euler are assisting Linwith the project. vStudent Craig Euler shows the sensor (above right) andhow it is attached to a human subject to monitor physicalactivity. (Photo by student Ara Mekhtarian)Fall 2011

Northrop Grumman executive exemplifiesspirit of Industry Advisory BoardAbout five years ago, C.T.Lin, professor of mechanicalengineering, was trying to geta new student project under way. To moveforward, his team needed an inertial guidancesystem, an expensive component used innavigation. Because the system was madeby Northrop Grumman, CECS dean S. K.Ramesh approached the college’s man onthe inside, Charles Volk, to see if he couldget it for Lin’s team at a discount. Volk,vice president and chief technologist for thecompany’s Navigation Systems Division,did better than that: he arranged for it to bedonated. And last summer, using the unit,CSUN’s team took first place in the nationalIntell

families to attend college. Imagine the possibilities as these students graduate from CSUN, turning “ideas” into “realities.” Thank you for your generous support of our students and academic programs, and I wish you the very best in the year ahead! S. K. Ramesh. College receives re