Research News and Stories
October 26, 2022
This week, researchers from the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC) at San Jos茅 State University conducted an unparalleled experiment to study extreme fire behavior and fast-moving fire spread in steep canyons. It is the first time a canyon wildfire study of this magnitude has been undertaken anywhere in the world.
September 23, 2022
San Jos茅 State University launched its first business incubator, SpartUp, on Thursday, Sept. 22, in front of an estimated 200 students and prospective partners at 91吃瓜鈥檚 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
June 21, 2022
San Jos茅 State University is making an impact in crucial areas of research, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) has recognized three faculty members with the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for their outstanding work.
June 13, 2022
San Jos茅 State University鈥檚 Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering received an important funding award from the U.S. Department of Energy this spring that will allow the college to play a substantive technical role in Silicon Valley鈥檚 green energy arena.
May 11, 2022
Justise Wattree, 鈥�23 Humanities, has always wanted to be a researcher, and his recent first-place finish at the 2022 California State University (CSU) Research Competition solidified that on April 29鈥�30. The competition showed him that he has not only the skills to successfully pursue research as a career but also that his research has an impact 鈥� 鈥渨hich is what matters to me the most,鈥� he said.
April 18, 2022
From digital art installations to wildfire tornadoes to eco-friendly chemical reactions, San Jos茅 State University honored an array of research, scholarship and creative activity on April 14.
April 18, 2022
It鈥檚 that time of year again, when spring has sprung and San Jos茅 State University鈥檚 brightest minds tackled some of the world鈥檚 toughest problems in three minutes.
February 21, 2022
As part of its strategic plan, San Jos茅 State University is investing time and resources to help faculty secure funding for cutting-edge research. Recently, three faculty members in the College of Science secured grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
February 9, 2022
How can artists in San Jos茅 partner with San Jos茅 State University faculty members and community members to bring ideas to life?
February 9, 2022
San Jos茅 State University and the California State University鈥檚 (CSU) efforts in stem cell research has earned the CSU a spot on the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) governing board. Earlier this week, 91吃瓜 Vice President for Research and Innovation Mohamed Abousalem was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to represent the CSU on the Independent Citizens鈥� Oversight Committee of the CIRM.
January 18, 2022
Raising children during the pandemic isn鈥檛 easy. Combine that with the effects of alcohol, and it could lead to a more punitive approach to parenting, according to one San Jos茅 State University researcher. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Jennifer Price Wolf, associate professor of social work at 91吃瓜, has studied just how these factors play a role in the way parents address child misbehavior. Her work was published in two research journals in 2021.
December 1, 2021
How exactly do we experience touch, temperature and pain? It鈥檚 a riddle that鈥檚 puzzled humans throughout history. In October, the Nobel Prize was awarded to two scientists who answered that very question. But they might not have been able to do so without the expertise of Katie Wilkinson, associate professor of biology at San Jos茅 State University.
Jessica Castillo Vardaro: Uplifting Latino/a Students
November 9, 2021
Jessica Castillo Vardaro, assistant professor of biology at San Jos茅 State University, remembers the summer she fell in love with nature. She was just 5 years old.
October 5, 2021
How does space travel impact the human body? That鈥檚 a question scientists are still trying to answer. This summer, they got a little closer to the answer, thanks to some extra help from San Jos茅 State University students.
September 1, 2021
Wildfire research at San Jos茅 State University is about to move faster than ever before 鈥� and in partnership with key industry and government stakeholders 鈥� thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
August 11, 2021
Data has the power to transform communities.
Just ask Saritha Podali, 鈥�22 MS Data Analytics, and Fengling Zhou, 鈥�22 MS Data Analytics. As part of a new partnership with San Jos茅 State and the City of San Jos茅 鈥� supported by the Knight Foundation 鈥� the pair played a key role in gathering, interpreting and presenting data that can help the city provide resources to those who need it most.
August 3, 2021
There鈥檚 a new art exhibit opening this week in San Jose 鈥� but you won鈥檛 find it in a gallery. Instead, look up.
Starting August 2 and lasting through the month, billboards throughout the city are featuring art installations created by Robin Lasser, professor of art at San Jos茅 State, and her longtime collaborator and former student Adrienne Pao, 鈥�05 MFA Photography.
The message behind the art? Celebrate a safe, vaccinated emergence as a community from our 鈥淐OVID bubbles.鈥�
July 22, 2021
What makes diamonds so valuable? Most of us would point to their brilliance, clarity and beauty. But Christopher Smallwood, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at San Jos茅 State, has a different answer: He looks to diamonds as the key to unearthing the secrets of quantum physics.
91吃瓜 Assistant Professor Awarded Spencer Foundation Grant to Support Her Fight for Minority PK-12 Students with Disabilities
July 19, 2021
Saili Kulkarni, Assistant Professor of Special Education at San Jos茅 State University, has been awarded a racial equity grant from the Spencer Foundation for her research studying the intersections of disability and race and the implications for PK-12 education, justice studies and educators.
The grant supports education research projects aimed at understanding and improving racial inequality in education. Kulkarni and her team will receive $75,000 to pursue their project, 鈥淧laying Together: Using Learning Labs to Reduce Exclusionary Disciplinary Practices for Young Children of Color with Disabilities.鈥�
July 13, 2021
Last month, temperatures in the Pacific Northwest reached historic and dangerous levels, like nothing the region has ever experienced before. In fact, more than 100 Oregon residents died from heat-related illnesses during the record-shattering heat wave, which drove temperatures up to 117 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of the state. Compare that to 12 hyperthermia deaths reported statewide between 2017 and 2019, according to CNN.
July 8, 2021
California is in the middle of a severe drought that keeps getting worse. Last month, the Santa Clara Valley Water district board declared a water shortage emergency, urging the community to conserve water by 15 percent compared to 2019 levels. In May, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency in 41 counties.
91吃瓜 Assistant Professor Awarded CSU STEM-NET Faculty Fellowship
June 14, 2021
Wencen Wu, Assistant Professor of Engineering at San Jos茅 State, has been selected to serve as a California State University (CSU) STEM-NET Faculty Fellow and as a result, received the CSU Interagency Grant Award for the 2021-2022 academic year.
June 14, 2021
Most in-person gatherings went virtual when the pandemic hit in March 2020 鈥� including substance abuse prevention groups. Turns out, virtual meetings like these can still yield positive outcomes for the participants.
June 1, 2021
San Jos茅 State Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Carolina Prado and Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Advisor of Chicana and Chicano Studies Jonathan D. Gomez have been awarded funded fellowships for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Assistant Professor Who Attended University Grants Academy Awarded NIH Grant for Streptococcus Pneumoniae Research
May 24, 2021
Walter Adams, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at San Jos茅 State, and his team have been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant for $439,500 for his research that addresses fundamental questions about streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacterium that is the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia.
91吃瓜 Undergrad Wins at Annual CSU Research Competition
May 12, 2021
Muhammad Khan, 鈥�22 Biological Sciences, earned first place at the 35th Annual CSU Student Research Competition in the Biological & Agricultural Sciences Undergraduate category.
May 12, 2021
Turning months 鈥� even years 鈥� of in-depth research into a concise, engaging presentation isn鈥檛 easy. Yet two San Jos茅 State students were triumphant at two recent California State University system-wide competitions that required them to do just that. Lupe Franco, 鈥�21 MS Environmental Studies, received the Audience Choice Award at the first-ever CSU Grad Slam on May 6, which was hosted by San Jos茅 State.
May 3, 2021
Thomas Madura studies the lives of massive stars 鈥� from how they鈥檙e born to how they die a giant, explosive death. He also investigates ways to teach young blind or visually impaired students about astronomy, which Madura, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at San Jos茅 State, says is usually thought of as a 鈥渧isual science.鈥� By 3D printing models of nebulae, planets, star clusters and the like, Madura鈥檚 work lets those students hold pieces of the galaxies in their hands.
April 29, 2021
When your password on an account is compromised, you change it. But what happens when your password is your fingerprint? Facial recognition, fingerprint Touch ID, iris scanning and even voice commands to Alexa or Siri are all examples of technology that use our biometric data to access personal information. Nima Karimian, assistant professor of computer engineering at San Jos茅 State, recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to better understand how to keep that data as safe as possible.
April 21, 2021
We鈥檙e big fans of Earth Day here at San Jos茅 State. After all, the founder of the annual celebration is a Spartan. So we鈥檙e looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint on April 22 and beyond.
Eugene Cordero鈥�91吃瓜 professor of meteorology and climate science and fellow Earth advocate has some great ideas for how we can all make a difference in protecting our environment. Whether it鈥檚 opting for chicken instead of carne asada on his burrito or choosing a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation, Cordero stresses that even the smallest changes can make a difference.
April 14, 2021
Twice a month, San Jos茅 State researchers collect samples from local vegetation, or 鈥渇uels鈥濃�攁nd what they found for April was foreboding: Craig Clements, director of the 91吃瓜 Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, told KPIX 5 News last week. 鈥淭his is the time of year when the fuels should have the most moisture content of the season, and they鈥檙e actually the lowest we鈥檝e ever measured for April,鈥� he said in the news report.
But there鈥檚 hope: Fire prediction and tracking tools are advancing鈥攁 key takeaway from 91吃瓜鈥檚 Fire Weather Research Workshop held April 8-9鈥攁nd the university is leading the effort in providing fire management agencies with state-of-the-art resources to help curb the spread of wildfires.
April 7, 2021
It鈥檚 known that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning+ (LGBTQ+) community face health disparities driven by social stigma and discrimination. But what happens when you introduce a global pandemic? Laurie Drabble, associate dean for research and faculty with the San Jos茅 State University College of Health and Human Sciences, explored the impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ+ community by serving as co-editor of a special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality, which was published earlier this year.
April 5, 2021
Ten years ago, two female geologists went for a hike in the Coachella Valley desert along a southern portion of the San Andreas Fault. One of them was Kimberly Blisniuk, now an associate professor of geology at San Jos茅 State University. The pair spent days in the desert, traversing the landscape, studying its ridges and formations.
They weren鈥檛 sure what they were looking for. The San Andreas is a well-studied fault: The roughly 750-mile geographical rift running the length of most of California is positioned to set off what鈥檚 known as the next 鈥淏ig One鈥濃�攁 massive earthquake predicted to strike Southern California, devastating the Los Angeles area, in particular.
March 10, 2021
Researchers from San Jos茅 State University have developed a first-of-its-kind online tool to help Silicon Valley businesses. The COVID-19 Economic Dashboard for Silicon Valley provides visual insight into key economic indicators for the San Jos茅 Metro area, including employment trends, housing supply and demand, and business closures due to COVID-19 restrictions.
March 10, 2021
91吃瓜 Assistant Professors of Teacher Education Luis Poza, Eduardo Mu帽oz-Mu帽oz and Tammie Visintainer partnered with Watsonville High School鈥檚 ECHO Academy to create a case study on broadband access during COVID-19 for California Assemblymember Robert Rivas, 鈥�11 MPA.
March 3, 2021
91吃瓜 Biological Sciences Professor Scott Shaffer and an international team of researchers tracked the movements of seabirds across the globe and found albatrosses and petrels (the world鈥檚 most threatened group of birds) spend 39% of their time in international waters where no single country has jurisdiction, so countries need to work together to protect these highly threatened seabirds. They published a paper about their research in the scientific journal Science Advances in March 2021.
February 18, 2021
Hiu-Yung Wong, assistant professor of electrical engineering at San Jos茅 State University, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award, a prestigious honor bestowed by the National Science Foundation. The award supports his research of cryogenic electronics鈥攅lectrical systems that operate at extremely cold temperatures鈥攁s well as his project to expand education and research opportunities while building a diverse workforce in the field.
November 10, 2020
Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Ahoura Zandiatashbar scoured publicly available data and found that although we have limited our visits to stores, Americans are still visiting parks and beaches at near pre-pandemic rates.
September 1, 2020
San Jos茅 State University has established the largest academic Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC) in the United States with five new tenure-track faculty members and millions of dollars in new technology.
