Azadi, Burrus, Claussen, Golterman, Kased, Parangan-Smith, Teh awarded grants

Mojitaba Azadi, associate professor of Engineering: $200,000 from National Science Foundation for “ERI: Understanding the Fallopian Tube's Shape and Physical Environment to Improve Embryo Culture for Fertility Treatment.” This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) project establishes a quantitative, model-ready foundation for studying human Fallopian tube (FT) biomechanics. Two integrated goals drive the work:  

1. processing of nine human FT micro-CT datasets to build the first finite-element–ready models and morphometry atlas of the FT and its lumen, including centerline tortuosity, cross-sectional area and perimeter, hydraulic diameter, minimum inscribed radius and fold statistics 
2. identification of critical time- and frequency-dependent mechanical properties of the FT mucosal surface using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with large spherical probes at cellular depths. The team will also train eight undergraduates in image analysis, computational morphometry, AFM experimentation and constitutive modeling.  

The team will also train eight undergraduates in image analysis, computational morphometry, AFM experimentation, and constitutive modeling. 

Kai Burrus, professor of Biology: $7,000 from San Francisco Rotary Foundation for “Planting Climate Resilience: SF Rotary and SFSU Climate HQ.” The goal of this work is to bring together SFSU students and Rotary Club members to do restoration work along the San Francisco Bay shoreline, including:  

1. a fall 2026 shoreline restoration service day at Baylands Nature Preserve in Menlo Park 
2. a spring 2027 shoreline restoration service day at Heron’s Head Park in Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco 
3. an indoor educational event at a San Francisco Rotary Club lunch meeting, coordinated with the Heron’s Head Park service day. 

Stephanie Claussen, associate professor of Engineering: $8,000 from American Society for Engineering Education for “Equipping Columbian Engineering Students with Sociotechnical thinking for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” In this engineering education project, Claussen works with Colombian collaborators to develop, disseminate and assess new sociotechnical teaching modules to integrate into introductory undergraduate electrical engineering courses. The instructional modules are focused on sociotechnical issues and contexts that are related to the United Nations sustainable development goals and relevant to Colombian students and professional engineers, including topics such as the circular economy for electronics and electrification in post‐conflict regions. 

Maarten Golterman, professor of Physics and Astronomy: $49,820 supplement from Stanford/ U.S. Department of Engineering for “Dark Sector Science with Electron Beams and Rubin Observatory.” On this subaward with Stanford, Golterman performs analysis and testing of a Trigger Scintillator subsystem for the Light Dark Matter eXperiment. Using GEANT4-based simulations and data collected from the December 2025 test beam run at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s End Station A, he analyzes detector performance and compares measured and simulated results to demonstrate the detector’s ability to accurately reconstruct electrons. 

Rama Kased, associate professor of Race and Resistance Studies: $10,000 from FirstGen Forward for “Metro Student Leadership.” Metro Student Leadership is an employment initiative that positions student employment as a high-impact practice for leadership development, identity affirmation, sense of belonging and long-term academic success. Alumni of the Metro College Success Program come back and serve as peer mentors and navigators to help first- and second-year students understand the college process, including registering, joining a club, picking courses and accessing other resources on campus. 

Audrey Parangan-Smith, director of SF BUILD: $70,000 supplement from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), for “SF BUILD Sustainability.” The SF BUILD partnership for workforce diversity between SFSU and UCSF was established through a 10-year National Institutes of Health grant that ended in 2024. SF BUILD aimed to eliminate structural barriers to success for historically excluded students while equipping these students with tools to combat toxic teaching and research environments. This work is ongoing and part of the SF BUILD Strategic Work Plan for Sustainability, which guides collective efforts to develop the cross-institutional infrastructure for systemically bridging SFSU and UCSF. The overall objective is to sustain, expand and evaluate SF BUILD programming with the goal of increasing opportunities for SFSU students and increasing workforce diversity at UCSF. 

Kwok-Siong Teh, professor and chair of Engineering: $149,963 from CSU Northridge for “FUTURE STARS: Fostering Underrepresented Talent Using Real-World Experiences — STEAM Talent Academy for Resilient Success.” FUTURE STARS is a science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) program to support first-generation students in achieving professional success through applied research, financial literacy and career and leadership development training. 

Kwok-Siong Teh, professor and chair of Engineering: $80,000 supplement from the University of California Office of the President for “MESA Engineering Program FY 23 – 25.” The MESA University Program is a student success program aimed to support first-generation SFSU science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students with academic/peer mentoring, career counseling and leadership development opportunities to enable future career success. 

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