Presenting your Project Beyond SSU

Apply for the 2020 CSU Student Research Competition at SSU's InfoReady by February 21, 2020.

The Annual California State University Student Research Competition is a system-wide competition that showcases excellent research conducted by CSU undergraduate and graduate students in the full range of academic programs offered by the CSU. The competition is held to promote excellence in undergraduate and graduate scholarly research and creative activity by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments throughout the twenty-three campuses of the California State University. 

Student participants make oral presentations before juries of professional experts from major corporations, foundations, public agencies, colleges and universities in California. 

The 33rdAnnual CSU Student Research Competition was held on April 26-27, 2019 at CSU Fullerton. Sonoma State held an internal competition to identify 10 projects that represented our campus at this system-wide event, and the following SSU student researchers were awarded travel funding to attend:

Student Researcher: Danyae Spada-Chasse (Graduate level)

Department: Psychology 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laurel McCabe

Title: “The Impact of a Sensory-Based Art Intervention in 6th to 8th-Grade Boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”

Student Researchers: Jorge Bautista Martinez & Skyler Penna

Department: Computer Science

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gurman Gill

Title: “Applications of Convolutional Neural Network Model for classifying Interstitial Lung Disease images from Computed Tomography Scans”

Student Researcher: Jack Dirck

Department: Biology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daniel Crocker

Title: “Factors Influencing Growth Rates of Head-Started Western Pond Turtles (Emys marmorata) and Consequences for Conservation”

Student Researcher: Roman Gallardo

Department: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Matthew Paolucci Callahan

Title: “Not Even Human: The Consequences of Labeling Undocumented Immigrants as “Illegal Aliens”

Student Researchers: David House & David Story (Graduate Level)

Department: Physics and Astronomy

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lynn Cominsky

Title: “Design of Science Payload and Support Subsystems for 1U CubeSat EdgeCube”

Student Researcher: Megan Gaitan

Department: Biology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lisa Patrick Bentley

Title: “Long-term Shifts in Community Dynamics in a Central American Dry Tropical Forest”

Student Researchers:Thanh Blade, Mary Akinmurele, & Stephanie Roa

Department: Chemistry

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Monica Lares

Title: “Determination of the Binding Affinity between RNA Aptamer and B-cell Activating Factor Receptor”

Student Researchers: Nicholas Ivanoff, Hannah Bowman, & Alexander Elkins

Department: Computer Science

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anamary Leal

Title: “Imitating Tangible Craft Practices Online: A Study of Communicating Craft Knowledge on Social Media”

Student Researchers: Joshua Paine, Jesus Gonzalez, Jesus Lopez, & Jonathan Cervantes

Department: Engineering Science

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Farid Farahmand

Title: “BlueSense: A General-Purpose Wireless Controlling and Monitoring Device for Teaching”

Student Researcher: Zackary Tweedy

Department: Physics and Astronomy

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Scott Severson

Title: “Simulating LIGO - Wavefront Sensing Using Interferometry”

The California Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase diversity within the pool of university faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of students in the CSU. In 2017-18, the California Pre-Doctoral Program will award funds to approximately 73 juniors, seniors and graduate students in the CSU. These funds are designed to enable current students to explore and prepare for doctoral programs in their chosen field of study. Recipients of this award will receive funding for participation in a summer research experience program at a doctoral-granting institution, visits to doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study, travel to a national symposium or professional meeting, and graduate school application and test fees.

Awards are based on competitive review of student applications and given to current upper-division undergraduate or graduate students who demonstrate academic excellence, while having experienced economic or educational disadvantage, and are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level. All students enrolled on a CSU campus are eligible to participate. The 2020-21 application cycle will open in December 2019.  Interested candidates must work directly with the SSU campus coordinator, Dr. Daniel Malpica: daniel.malpica@sonoma.edu or (707) 664-2264.

Sonoma State’s Sally Cassanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars