NSME welcomes new faculty members

Get to know the four new instructors

By California State University, Bakersfield

August 25^th, 2023

This academic year, California State University, Bakersfield welcomes four new assistant professors to the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering faculty. Learn more about each of them below!

Dr. Chia Thao, Public Health

California State University, Bakersfield’s new public health program continues to grow, with Dr. Chia Thao joining its faculty this fall. The program’s third faculty member, Dr. Thao will teach classes on health communication and health equity as well as the freshman seminar.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to expand on the public health program at CSUB,” Dr. Thao said. “When I visited the campus, I enjoyed talking to the students, faculty, administrators and dean. I wanted to be in a career where I would enjoy coming to work, and I found that environment and support at CSUB.”

Born and raised in a refugee camp in Thailand, Dr. Thao’s family came to the United States when she was 13 and settled in Fresno. She earned her bachelor’s degree in health science from CSU Fresno and her Ph.D. in public health from the University of California, Merced. Dr. Thao’s research interests involve improving minority health disparities and promoting wellbeing.

Dr. Thao’s research at UC Merced explored how environmental factors like pesticide use affect underserved populations in the Central Valley. For more than six years, she studied the impact of pesticide use and poor health outcomes on a group of Southeast Asian farmers. She looks forward to continuing her work on environmental health at CSUB and collaborating with her new colleagues, students and community.

“I intend to foster an atmosphere where I can train undergraduate students on the importance of this topic and train undergraduate students to be engaged in environmental health projects,” Dr. Thao said. “I hope to receive the community's support and plan to collaborate with community-based organizations and partners on this much-needed topic.”

When not at work, Dr. Thao enjoys reading, watching movies and spending quality time with her husband and kids. She mentioned her gratitude to her whole family for their support and inspiration along her educational and career journey. She also thanked the CSUB hiring committee.

“I appreciate their trust in selecting me as the final candidate and allowing this opportunity for me to ground my research agenda at CSUB,” she said. “I look forward to being a part of the CSUB community.”

Dr. Anjana Yatawara, Mathematics

Statistician Dr. Anjana Yatawara is the newest member of the Mathematics Department at California State University, Bakersfield. Originally from Sri Lanka, Dr. Yatawara earned his bachelor’s degree in statistics from the University of Peradeniya and completed his Ph.D. in mathematics from Missouri University of Science and Technology earlier this year.

Dr. Yatawara said he was drawn to CSUB for a few reasons. When meeting some of his future colleagues in the Mathematics Department during the interview process, he found them to be welcoming and helpful. The university’s emphasis on teaching and research also appealed to him.

“I love teaching,” he said. “Even during my Ph.D., I was teaching my own classes totaling about 90 students per semester. So I was glad I found a university that values teaching while allowing me to continue my own research.”

Dr. Yatawara’s research focuses primarily on time series analysis and its applications to economics, specifically the modeling of financial volatility. His models also have direct applications in areas like biology and environmental sciences, he said. After a recent collaboration analyzing air pollution data and medical data, Dr. Yatawara realized he enjoys collaborative work across scientific disciplines.

“CSUB is a perfect place for me as it has a variety of departments doing quality research,” he said. “I would like to get to know (other faculty members) and engage in collaborative research. My eventual goal is to further develop my skill set in data science methodologies and be a part of the CSUB research community.”

Dr. Yatawara is married to fellow scientist Varuni Abhayaratne, who is earning her Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Missouri S&T. The two have a feisty Chihuahua mix rescue named Tabasco. Dr. Yatawara enjoys hiking, graphic designing and playing video games and has more recently become interested in looking for fossils and nice rocks, as well as metal detecting.

Dr. Gyeong Sung Kim, Physics and Engineering

Dr. Gyeong Sung Kim will bring his years of mechanical and civil engineering expertise to CSUB when he joins the Department of Physics and Engineering as an assistant professor this fall. Dr. Kim earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Korea Maritime and Ocean University, his master's degree in civil engineering from Korea University and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. For about 19 years, Dr. Kim worked at Korea Water Resources Corporation.

“As a mechanical and civil engineer, I am delighted to be able to teach students and conduct research at CSU Bakersfield based on the knowledge I have acquired in the field of engineering,” Dr. Kim said. “It is a great honor and pleasure to join the CSUB faculty. In particular, working with the dean, Dr. Jane Dong, and other great professors from the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering will have a great impact on my career development.”

Dr. Kim’s research focuses on a topic quite relevant to Kern County: the development of alternative water resources, water efficiency and water-based energy systems. On his first visit to Bakersfield, Dr. Kim saw vast farmlands and the large amount of water needed to irrigate the arid region’s agriculture. His work could have a direct impact on the community here, and he’s looking forward to bringing students into his research lab.

“As we all feel, and as Californians in particular experience every day, climate change-induced water scarcity is a huge challenge for us,” Dr. Kim said. “Therefore, the development of alternative water resource technologies such as seawater desalination is very important. However, developing and using alternative water resources requires more energy than expected and can affect the surrounding environment, so much research is still needed.”

As a new Californian, Dr. Kim is excited to travel to national parks with his wife and son and try new foods.

Dr. Sina Jahandari, Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Electrical engineer Dr. Sina Jahandari will join CSUB’s Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the spring 2024 semester. Originally from Tehran, Iran, Dr. Jahandari earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, his master’s degree in mechatronics engineering from the University of Tehran and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Dr. Jahandari’s background is in control systems and his current research focuses on data-driven modeling and decision-making in uncertain and dynamic environments. In his free time, Dr. Jahandari enjoys hiking.