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Research students and first-time authors at CSUB celebrate jobs well-done

Students and professors share research findings and process in published articles

By California State University, Bakersfield

December 10^th, 2020

The research conducted on campus at California State University, Bakersfield is unlike many others, as it allows undergraduate students opportunities that most universities wait to offer for graduate students.

The students at CSUB have a chance to build impressive resumés in their field before they even graduate.

The following students are just a few of the many, who have recently been published for the first time and are paving the way for others, each with a unique experience.

Fernando Gomez

Psychology professor Luis Vega, currently serving as interim associate dean for graduate and undergraduate studies, invited Fernando Gomez, psychology major, to participate in research aiming to publish an article. The research pair held weekly meetings, sometimes on weekends, to discuss findings and analyze the information gathered.

Gomez’s research focused on categorizing stigma labels used to discriminate against native populations and minorities across geographical regions and historical periods. Each label was then classified on how it contributed to humanizing victims, likelihood of leading to genocide, dehumanize those who are vulnerable or oppressing people who fit a stigmatized social category.

“Each term was further classified depending on what type of characteristic the term described based on physical attributes, such as skin color or socially-constructed like being labeled lazy or criminal. In both circumstances, the aim is to keep individuals oppressed,” said Fernando Gomez.

Through the research performed and analyzed, Gomez said he and Dr. Vega found that mainly internal or physical labels were used to oppress and dehumanize others, such as devaluing a person’s skin color or facial features.

Mainly external or socially created labels were used to target a group of people for genocide, labeling them as inferior, amoral, or savage.

External labels can also be used for good to humanize people they discovered. Gomez said, “For example, attributing positive labels in order to change the perception of the persecuted group,” like using ‘industrious’ instead of ‘lazy.’

“Once we started writing the article, we decided to submit the article to the Universal Journal of Psychology, because we believe the journal’s aim and scope best fitted with the purpose of the article and could have a larger outreach,” said Gomez.

“I feel proud of myself -- It feels good to know that something that I worked on, other people will be able to read it and hopefully find it interesting. This motivates me to continue working hard, knowing that my work is being recognized,” said Gomez.

Gomez emphasized the importance of professors reaching out to students and encouraging them to participate in a research project. He said he would not have had the opportunity to publish an article on his own.

“I learned the importance of stepping out of my comfort zone. Also, being enthusiastic and believing in my abilities. Honestly, in the beginning, I wasn’t confident about the possibility of publishing the article. However, Dr. Vega’s enthusiasm and positivity motivated me to continue working hard,” said Gomez.

Terry Potter

In the past, Dr. Acharya’s research showed how solid deposits were formed inside a pipeline, trying to bring out oil from the ground or sea. He has now been using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to quantify multiphase fluid-structure interactions in petroleum production equipment.

Student Terry Potter was looking for opportunities, such as an internship or something he could gain experience from, when he crossed paths with Dr. Acharya.

“I was very happy to offer him a research position,” said Dr. Acharya.

Together they were able to build on the project Dr. Acharya had been working on with his past research students who had graduated and gone on to work in the community using skills acquired from their classes at CSUB.

Potter’s work narrowed in on trying to increase the efficiency of the horizontal separator and building a two-dimensional model of their design.

It was the first time Potter had done anything like that, but he watched videos and learned as much as he could as he went.

Throughout the research, Potter also learned a lot from Dr. Acharya, from learning a new program to how to be in a professional setting. He learned how to talk to Ph.D’s in their field, as well as going to a conference - what it means to be prepared and knowing enough about your research to be able to explain it on the spot.

The research that Dr. Acharya and Potter worked on was recently published and Potter presented it himself via Zoom.

“This is the first time we have a student publishing a conference paper at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) from the CSUB Department of Engineering,” said Dr. Tat Acharya, assistant professor, Flow Assurance/Upstream Petroleum Engineering.

What did it mean to Potter to now be published and to present his work?

“It means quite a lot to me, to be honest. I never expected to have this opportunity,” said Potter. “It makes you feel a sense of accomplishment. You’ve done all this work for all this time. You either finished or continue on the process with the research.”

Potter put a lot of time and effort into his research, while also working and fulfilling other duties as a student.

However, “the research isn’t well and truly done, because research is never like that,” Dr. Acharya said of their work.

Potter added a similar sentiment, adding that the research isn’t necessarily over as it will continue with Dr. Acharya and another student moving forward.

Potter has since graduated and is now working as an engineer.

Potter encourages other students to seek out professors on campus to let them know they’re interested in conducting research, even if it isn’t a professor they have for class.

“Having that opportunity is just one more door,” Potter said. “Take as much experience as you can and learn from your professors. Ask them questions – see what they’re working on, see what they’re doing.”

Javier Contreras

Javier Contreras hadn’t conducted much research before he started working with Dr. Jeroen Gillard, assistant professor, department of biology, besides the REVS-UP program he’d attended at CSUB. It gave him a taste but wasn’t quite as extensive or as hands-on as his current work.

Fast forward to now, Contreras’ research focuses on cell biology, specifically diatoms, which are a group of unicellular algae found in virtually all sunlit bodies of water and are responsible for 25 percent of global primary production.

“His devotion is just really amazing,” said Dr. Jeroen Gillard. “I’ve never seen another student putting so much effort into it and I think it’s because he’s very clear about what his goals were.”

During the second semester of his freshmen year, Dr. Gillard asked if Contreras wanted to work in his lab.

“The experience was definitely intimidating at first, but over time I got more accustomed to the teachers and the lab work,” said student researcher, Javier Contreras.

When Contreras came to CSUB, he was afraid he wouldn’t have any research opportunities when he started CSUB.

Now that he’s seen the possibilities and has experienced it, he understands the overwhelming sense that incoming students have when engaging with campus research. However, once you get into, it’s something you grow accustomed to, he explained.

“The way he interacts with other students in the lab – he’s taken more of a leadership role,” said Dr. Gillard, explaining that Contreras does a great job of explaining procedures to those students who are just coming in.

“He’s really good at mentoring other students and giving advice on how to do things,” added Dr. Gillard.

Dr. Gillard was an undergraduate at one point himself and said he doesn’t think he would’ve been able to balance getting good scores and an excellent GPA on top of the research – the way Contreras has been able to.

Contreras’ assistance with Dr. Gillard’s research has helped support his hypothesis that amino acids present in the world’s oceans, can have important roles in diatom biology. Dr. Gillard said even when things didn’t work out the first time or didn’t seem promising, Contreras kept the faith.

Now that he’s a published author, Contreras says he’s very grateful he actually had the opportunity to do so.

“I understand that this is something not every student has,” said Contreras. “I’m glad that after all these years of work, I have something to show for it,” Contreras added.

Contreras is currently finishing his undergrad, working towards his bachelor’s degree and plans to continue his education by going into a Ph.D. program for molecular and cellular biology.

“I see this as a very massive achievement for me as a first-generation American. I do feel I’m supporting my family and I want to make them proud by taking advantage of the education we currently have in the United States,” said Contreras.