2023 New Faculty

Education

• BSc in Food Science and Technology, 2007
• MSc in Food Biotechnology, 2011
• PhD in Food Science and Technology, 2014

Research Interests

My research covers food processes, plant-based proteins, designed foods, and health promoting functional foods including bioactive compounds generated during fermentation processes and their biological functions. Currently, I am focused on understanding the effect of different processes on the techno-functionality of plant-proteins, their health benefits and consumer acceptability.

Other Languages Spoken

Education

• Ph.D, M.S. and B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering

Research Interests

My research focuses on Sustainable controlled environment agriculture. I develop simulations to understand greenhouse and vertical farm operation and also provide outreach and education in the areas of sustainable energy integration for food production. My creative interests like in developing virtual reality tools for controlled environment agriculture education.

Other Languages Spoken

Education

• TBA

Research Interests

TBA

Other Languages Spoken

TBA

Education

• Ph.D. in Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies From The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Research Interests

Other Languages Spoken

Education

• Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Research Interests

Other Languages Spoken

Education

• PhD in Marketing, University of Maryland

Research Interests

My primary research interest lies in consumer behavior with focus on consumer morality and ethics. I examine questions, such as "How do consumers resolve conflicts when they want to purchase products with unethical attributes?" and "How do consumers respond to companies taking a stance on sociopolitical issues?"

Other Languages Spoken

Korean

Education

• Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University)
• Masters of Science (New York University)
• Bachelor of Science (New York University)

Research Interests

Research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace; identity management; stigmatized identities; and motivation in the workplace. My research is mixed methodology both qualitative and quantitative.

Research has been published in management teaching review (MTR) and has articles currently under review in management journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior (JOB), Journal of Management (JOM), and Academy of Management Journal (AMJ).

My teaching style focuses on experiential learning by bringing real world examples to the topics discussed in class. Having over 15 years of professional experience in hotel management, my teaching style focuses on the practical application of topics discussed in the classroom.

Education

• PhD from Florida International University
• MBA from Washington University in St. Louis
• MS from Stanford University
• BS from University of Hawaii at Manoa

Research Interests

My research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, behavioral finance, and fintech.

Other Languages Spoken

Japanese

Education

• BS Biology (UC San Diego)
• Masters Education (UC Los Angeles)
• PhD Education (Claremont Graduate University)

Research Interests

Anthony Peña is an Assistant Professor of Environmental & Science Education and researcher from North East Los Angeles (Unceded Tongva Land). Before joining the Liberal Studies Department at Cal Poly Pomona he taught for 12 years in alternative high school spaces, supporting youth who had been pushed out of their traditional high schools. He holds a Phd in Education from Claremont Graduate University, a Masters in Education from UC Los Angeles, and a Bachelors of Science in Ecology, Behavior & Evolution from UC San Diego. His research background is in critical pedagogy and science education, developing equitable and critical spaces for youth who have been pushed out of traditional secondary schools, culturally relevant science education, antiracist science education and inclusive secondary science curriculum.

Other Languages Spoken

Education

• Ph. D. in Education from The Claremont Graduate University.
• M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• B.S. in Physiology from University of Southern California

Research Interests

My research looks at K-12 education from multiple angles. I have worked with Culturally and Linguisitically Diverse (CLD) populations for the past 25 years, and my research focuses on academic and behavioral interventions to strengthen the literacy of Native Spanish Speakers. CLD research also includes the lived and learning experiences of newcomers and immigrant student populations. For the past five years, my research has included the learning experiences and socio-emotional make up of high performing and gifted and talented youth of diverse populations. Incorporating the instructional strategies and holistic development of the aforementioned K-12 populations into the preparation our next generation of educators is a personal passion.

Other Languages Spoken

Education

• Ed.D. Educational Leadership, CSU Pomona.
• M.S. Educational Leadership, CSU Fullerton;
• B.A. English, Azusa Pacific University;

Research Interests

I just completed a study involving the educational experiences of Super Diverse Adolescents. I am currently a researcher in the data collection and analysis phase of a mixed methods study investigating high school programming for monitoring and supporting college and career readiness of culturally and linguistically diverse 9th and10th grade students. I was also asked to contribute writing to the Stanford University Graduate School of Education's Public Scholarship Collaborative.

Education

• Ph.D. Claremont Graduate University
• M.A., APU
• B.A., UCSD

Research Interests

STEM Education, Science Education, Teacher Efficacy, Anti-racist/Anti Bias Education, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership for Social Justice (University of Redlands)
• Master's Degree in Education with a Multicultural Emphasis (CSU Dominguez Hills)
• Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines)

Research Interests

My research focuses on international studies, global literacy, Asian American studies, Dual Language Education, and transnational comparative studies.

Other Languages Spoken

Tagalog (Filipino)

Education

• Ph.D. from University of Utah in Education, Culture, and Society
• M.A. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Educational Policy Studies
• B.A. from UCLA in Psychology

Research Interests

As a teacher-scholar, I am interested in educational equity pathways for Chicana/x students in k12. More specifically, the racialized and gendered experiences in schools of Chicana/x communities.

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• Ph.D. (USC)
• B.A. (UCR)

Research Interests

I am an environmental historian. My research also incorporates Indigenous studies and disaster studies. I work on the history of extremes in weather and water in the North American West. My dissertation was on the history of atmospheric rivers and of "The Big Wnter of 1862."

Other Languages Spoken

Sadly not fluently, but I have basic Spanish skills and am learning Uchinaguchi, one of the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands. 

Education

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering; all from UC Irvine
• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering

Research Interests

My research is about clean energy systems with a focus on electrolysis and fuel cell systems. 

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• TBA

Research Interests

TBA

Other Languages Spoken

TBA

Education

• PhD: North Carolina State University

Research Interests

My research interests lie in improving construction workforce using the latest technological advances; I am a construction data enthusiast and a IBM certified data scientist. Simultaneously, focusing on construction education because the students from the classroom are the future of the construction industry. I also like to be involved with various activities such as student competitions that stimulate and showcase students learning from the classroom and affords a chance to apply their skills in real life scenarios.

Other Languages Spoken

Hindi, Bengali, Telugu

Education

• PhD in Architecture, UCLA
• Master of Architecture, Norwich University
• B.S in Architectural Studies, Norwich University

Research Interests

My research, teaching, and service work focuses on the history and theory of architecture firms, the profession of architecture, labor, and political economies. I am currently finishing my first book about the rise of large corporate architecture firms in the US during the 20th century.

Education

• Master of Fine Arts in Art and Technology from San Francisco State University

Research Interests

Practicing, researching, and learning 3D and 4D design (motion graphics), sound art, creative coding, music compositions, drawing, painting and documentary films. I have been creating mixed media fine art with an architecture theme for the past 13 years. 

Education

• Master in Landscape Architecture from Cal Poly Pomona

Research Interests

My professional work involves landscape design with expertise in Japanese garden design and construction. My recently completed projects include the Roosevelt High School Garden of Peace, Coachella Valley History Museum’s Japanese Memorial Garden renovations, and ongoing expansion work at the Japanese Friendship Garden San Diego in Balboa Park.

Other Languages Spoken

Japanese

Education

• Master in Landscape Architecture (Polytechnic University of Madrid)
• Majored in Forest Engineering (University of Santiago de Compostela)

Research Interests

My research and interests are related to the application of the fundamentals of design into ecological systems, the address of climate issues, and the exploration of the junctions between art and ecology. I have explored mostly the Mediterranean Climate Region and, in the future, I would like to go in-depth comparing the social and cultural effects of the climate emergency in different areas and countries of the Mediterranean Climate territory. 

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• PhD from UCLA
• Master in Architecture (MArch) from Yale University
• BA from Binghamton University

Research Interests

Nicole's research documents the work of planners, engineers, designers, ecologists, and everyday urban dwellers in adapting to and mitigating climate impacts, and explores the values and spatial imaginaries that drive their efforts. She is the founder of the tinkercraft: Design & Advocacy Group, an urban design and climate research studio focused on working with communities and neighborhoods facing climate risks. Nicole is an architect, urban designer, and researcher with experience in designing and building initiatives for public space, and her current research looks at exposure, social vulnerability, and adaptive capacity of populations facing wildfire risk in California.

Other Languages Spoken

Greek

Education

• PhD in Mass Communication from Syracuse University
• Master of Arts in Communication Studies from Cal State LA
• Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Cal Poly Pomona

Research Interests

My research is area is media effects with a focus on gender, health, and social justice. My primary research goal is to understand how social media messages may influence audience’s perceptions of health-related issues. My secondary goal is to use strategic communication methods to design health campaigns and interventions aimed at preventing and correcting harmful health-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. I use both qualitative and quantitative methods such as surveys, content analyses, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. My research has been published in various communication and public health journals.

Education

• Phd in Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico
• Master’s in Marketing Communications, University of Azuay
• Bachelor in Social Communication, University of Azuay

Research Interests

I have worked in Public Relations research, Science and Health Communication around health prevention and public engagement.

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• DMA in Choral Music, University of Southern California
• MM in Choral Conducting, University of Missouri
• BA in Vocal Performance, Auburn University
• BA in English, Tuskegee University

Research Interests

My degree field is choral music with a specific focus in choral conducting, choral pedagogy, vocal pedagogy, rehearsal technique, Sacred music and music of the African Diaspora. My research is grounded in the music of the African Diaspora specifically the negro spiritual, Gospel, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. My academic pursuits revolve around music and social justice, activism through music, Inclusivity, equity, and, community building in the choral space, highlighting and elevating marginalized voices, and fighting for equal representation for the non-westernized high art traditional music that has played a significant roll in shaping the musical identity of our world. I am also the music director of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.

Education

• Ph.D., UC Irvine
• B.A., UC Santa Barbara

Research Interests

My research and teaching interests are in political and legal philosophy. I explore questions regarding the nature of law enforcement authority.

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish (fluent)

Education

• PhD, Doctor of Music from UC San Diego
• Master of Music from Cal State Los Angeles
• Bachelor of Music Education from Jackson State University

Research Interests

I started playing as a child because I could hear melodies in my head and I loved the sound of instruments. Music, sound, and the individual or group behaviors of music makers and consumers are like puzzles that I like to figure out, via study and performance, learning through creation, or by reading and talking to other musicians about their experiences. Requirements and facets of the American music industry, music teaching practices, and the lived reality of working musicians and sound manipulators are not always aligned.Trying to understand work through these dissonances, on the local and global level, is what drives my research, scholarship, teaching, and creative activities. 

Education

• PhD in Political Science from U.C., Irvine

Research Interests

My research lies at the intersection of International Relations and colonial legacies. This research agenda leads towards two parallel concentrations. On one side, I study intersectional legacies of colonialism in the foreign policy of the USA towards Latin America. How are issues of racism, patriarchy, sexism, and ecology related to USA foreign policy in the region? On the other side, I study movements that aim to overcome and/or resist these legacies and ongoing forms of oppression. How do Indigenous movements struggle against colonial legacies?

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• Ed.D. Columbia University/Teachers College
• Master of Music Manhattan School of Music
• Bachelor of Music Virginia Commonwealth Universityh

Research Interests

My scholarly interests center around the role of the psychobiological needs of human beings, with a
particular emphasis on the sense of belonging and play in the music classroom of young children and youth focusing on exploring a community of infants as agents of their own learning within a musical space.

Some highlights:
I've documented infant musical behaviors, creatively imagining them as narratives. Examining infants during play, I interpreted the music-making of children as acts in a narrative musical stage performance.

I've studied what issues of power are raised when studying children at play in contemporary societies, specifically in terms of race, gender, class, ability, and age.

For my dissertation, I continued my observation of young children’s music behaviors and their functions for 7 infants (6-20 months) in home, school, and music class. My aims were to investigate the ways in which infants are musical, how the musical behaviors of infants compare in different settings, and the possible functions that the behaviors serve.

Invited by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, I and my colleagues conducted research on
Bambin-O, an opera for babies, that combines art, live performance, and infants and their caregivers.

My colleague (in Cyprus) and I currently work with young children and their caregivers and we are currently analyzing data where we are identifying the routines and music making practices that families engage in with their children in the different cultures.

I'm currently involved in curriculum development for Colburn School's Early Childhood Creative Arts Program, as well as LA Philharmonic's Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles program where I am a member of the curriculum task force.

As my instrument is a Full Lyric Soprano voice, I continue to perform when I can.

Education

• PhD in geography from University of South Carolina
• Master of Public Policy from Goldman School at University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
• Master of Disaster management from University of Tehran
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Research Interests

My research is focused on communities response and capacities to cope with natural hazard events, and working on hazard mitigation strategies and policies, in addition to recovery planning by incorporating social inequities and physical characteristics.
In my last project we used cell phone data and social vulnerability metrics to evaluate people's use of heat-mitigation strategies, such as cooling centers, parks, and shade in Los Angeles County during heat events. Also, our work on quantifying community resilience in relation to natural hazards have been adopted by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for their National Risk Index.

Other Languages Spoken

Persian (Farsi), French

Education

• Graduate Certificate in Physical Theatre at Dell Arte International
• MA @ Central School of Speech and Drama in UK
• BFA @ California Institute of the Arts

Research Interests

Research and writing focus is on voice and identity, the integration of voice and movement, and decolonizing actor training and pedagogy.

Other Languages Spoken

Spanish

Education

• PhD in Applied Linguistics, Northern Arizona University, 2018
• MA Secondary Education, TESOL, German in 2009

Research Interests

My scholarship focuses on language acquisition, teaching English as second language, teaching materials development, etc.

Other Languages Spoken

Russian

Education

• TBA

Research Interests

TBA

Other Languages Spoken

TBA

Education

• Ph.D in Mathematics Education at Arizona State University

Research Interests

My research is about how math teachers convey their ideas to their students so that their students build coherent understandings.

Other Languages Spoken

Korean

Education

• PhD from Yale University
• BA and BS from Marist College

Research Interests

I’m really interested in research revolving around energy science. I want to get students involved in research so they can go to grad school or a job in industry!