By Faughn Education • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

CSUB professor helps create eco friendly way to fill potholes

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Doctor ZhongZhe Liu is an Assistant Engineering Professor at Cal State Bakersfield, but that’s not all he does. He’s on a research team that is developing a new, cost-efficient road patch material. “I think we’ve found another way to reuse this material because this byproduct, wastewater grit, has never been studied before,” said Liu.

According to the American Chemical Society, the asphalt currently used to fill potholes can pollute the environment. Liu said the material his team created, called GAP, or Grit Assisted Patch, is an inexpensive, eco-friendly alternative.

Grit is the remnants leftover after wastewater is processed at a treatment plant. It’s mostly sand and gravel. Usually grit is buried in a landfill, but now Liu’s team is re-purposing it. “So, we add some water,” said Liu.

These are the steps taken to turn grit into road patch material. They use chemicals that usually treat hazardous or radioactive waste to kill unhealthy pathogens. “And then, the first step, we need to add some calcium oxide,” said Liu. Add in magnesium oxide and a weak acid too, and the pathogens are killed using inexpensive components that are non-toxic to people. “Now we fill the pothole right away, and after a couple minutes, this material will be solidified and the pothole will be repaired,” said Liu.

The rest of Liu’s team resides in Wisconsin where he was originally a research assistant. They will field-test the material on real roads this winter. and if it can withstand the harsh weather on actual pavement, Liu says they hope to introduce this product to the real world. “We’re very excited. I mean we made it,” said Liu. Liu said right now his team has filed a patent and they’re working on strengthening the material’s durability even more. He said they are excited to see where the next steps lead them.

https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/csub-professor-helps-create-eco-friendly-way-to-fill-potholes#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20American%20Chemical,processed%20at%20a%20treatment%20plant.

By Faughn Education • Health/Medical 0 Comments

Central Valley students start journey to become physicians at UCSF Fresno

By Shayla Girardin

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A dozen motivated Central Valley students are starting their medical school journey at UCSF Fresno, with plans to return and serve as physicians in the community they call home.
First-year medical student Vanessa Mora knew from an early age she wanted to be a doctor. “My parents were migrant farmworkers, so I got to see a lot of the inequities they faced being uninsured and low-income,” said Mora. Born and raised in Fowler, she knew her medical journey wouldn’t be complete without serving in the Central Valley. “If I run away from this and I don’t go back to make a difference. How can I expect others to do the same?” said Mora. That’s when she set her sights on the UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education or SJV Prime. “The goal is to bring students like myself, who have connections to the Valley back so we can help our community,” explained Mora.

It wasn’t easy. Mora says she applied to medical school three times before finally being accepted at her dream school. “It was a match made in heaven because UCSF was already the dream institution where I wanted to go, and the program that aligned with my values was there,” added Mora. SJV Prime trains students for a medical career right here in the valley. “There’s really an impending health crisis in the Valley,” explained Dr. Leticia Rolon, Associate Director of SJV Prime. “There’s a very low patient to M.D. ratio.” “We have a lot of doctors that are retiring, a lot of doctors who are leaving the area, and we don’t have a lot of doctors coming in,” continued Rolon.

A dozen students are part of this year’s cohorts, learning their trade mostly from a laptop due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We have things like simulations and videos, but it’s not the same,” said Rolon. “This is not how I expected to start medical school, but this is just for now, and I’ll be in school for a very long time,” said Mora. As for Mora, she hopes her medical career will take her full circle, and she may one day work for UCSF Fresno.

By Faughn E-Commerce • Economy • Education 0 Comments

Webinar : Increase Your Company Revenue with Exporting Opportunities

About the Webinar
Did you know 95% of consumers reside outside of the United States?

Please join this webinar with the Tulare Chamber of Commerce, US Commercial Service, US Small Business Administration (SBA), and Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to provide you with overviews for proven strategies to grow your revenues through exporting opportunities.

Discussions Will Include:
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Discover export loans from SBA and updates about COVID-19 incentives for small businesses
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By Faughn Education 0 Comments

The Central Valley’s Madera Community College becomes California’s newest community college

California has its newest college: Madera Community College. The college, located in California’s Central Valley north of Fresno, was recognized Monday by the California community college system’s Board of Governors as the 116th college in the system. Previously, the campus was Madera Community College Center and operated as a satellite campus of Reedley College. “This accomplishment is something that our community has been waiting for a long time and much needed,” Angel Reyna, president of the college, said in a statement. The new college’s goals include becoming “student and community centered,” and providing “equitable outcomes for each of our students, and to that end we commit towards transforming ourselves into an anti-racist institution while producing the future workforce our community needs,” Reyna added.

As a college rather than an educational center, Madera Community College will receive more state funding that will go toward additional programs and staffing. The college will also be eligible to have athletic programs in the California Community College Athletic Association. The campus enrolls about 5,600 students and opened in 1996.  The college will now operate independently within the State Center Community College District, the district that also includes Clovis College, Fresno City College and Reedley College.  Monday’s unanimous vote by the Board of Governors came after the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) voted in June to grant Madera its accreditation. The ACCJC is the commission responsible for accrediting all of California’s community colleges.

Assemblymember Jose Medina, who is chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, in a statement said that Madera Community College “will help fill a great need in the Central Valley and increase access to quality educational and career opportunities for local students.” Monday marked the first time the system has recognized a new college since establishing Calbright College, a fully online college, last year. Before Calbright, Compton College became the 114th college in the system in June of last year when it regained its independence after operating for years as a satellite campus of the El Camino Community College District.

Tom Epstein, president of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, said in a statement that the system is “proud to welcome Madera Community College to the family of California community colleges. We congratulate the dedicated faculty and district leadership for providing this underserved area of the Central Valley with expanded learning opportunities to help more students achieve their educational goals.”

https://edsource.org/2020/the-central-valleys-madera-community-college-becomes-californias-newest-community-college/636810

By Faughn Education • Health/Medical • Manufacturing • Top Stories 0 Comments

Fresno State engineering students help make protective gear for health workers

Engineering students, faculty and alumni from Fresno State’s Lyles College of Engineering have been working up to 10 hours a day in recent weeks to design and produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for Central Valley health care workers. They plan to donate about 1,000 face shields to Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno. Last week during Fresno State’s spring break, the team completed the final design and began production of the face shields — the first part of a three-phase, innovative project to support the community at a time when protective equipment is scarce for doctors, nurses and other health care providers.

https://files.constantcontact.com/2cb20f61601/682ecac7-bbb8-4d8e-80e1-8808a64214e8.pdf

By Faughn Economy • Education • Manufacturing 0 Comments

VALLEY VENTURES COMPANY RAISES $6M IN NEW FUNDING

https://thebusinessjournal.com/valley-ventures-company-raises-6m-in-new-funding/?utm_source=Daily+Update&utm_campaign=7345966575-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_11_08_04&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fb834d017b-7345966575-78934409&mc_cid=7345966575&mc_eid=a126ded657

By Faughn Economy • Education 0 Comments

CSUB ranked nationally for affordability, return on investment

California State University, Bakersfield was recently ranked in two national publications for its affordability and return on investment for students. CSUB was recognized in the top 10 percent of LendEDU’s Fifth Annual College Risk-Reward Indicator Study and ranked no. 26 on the Top 100 Most Affordable Public Schools with the Highest Return on Investments for Great Value Colleges.

https://www.turnto23.com/community/csub-ranked-nationally-for-affordability-return-on-investment

By Faughn Education 0 Comments

Hundreds attend groundbreaking ceremony for new Fresno State student union, including couple who donated $10 million

Hundreds of people gathered at Fresno State on Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of a large new facility designed to serve students. This ceremony marked a monumental moment for the university as it builds a new 84,000 square foot student union. Student Body President Omar Hernandez says, “The current union was built for a campus population of 10,000 students. Fresno State’s current population is one of 25,000 bold students.” The new facility is named after Lynda and Stewart Resnick. They are the founders of The Wonderful Company, which is known for many popular products, including Pom Wonderful juice and pistachios. The couple donated $10 million toward the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the new building.

https://abc30.com/education/hundreds-attend-groundbreaking-ceremony-for-new-fresno-state-student-union/5953449/
By Faughn Education • New Location 0 Comments

Community Gets Preview of New $25M Oakhurst College Center

The community got a preview of the new $25 million Oakhurst Community College Center at a public forum this week in Oakhurst. Darin Soukup, Oakhurst Community College Center director, and project architect Paul Halajian were both on hand at the meeting to provide updates and answer questions from community members about progress on the project. Halajian also brought a scale model of the proposed 21,450-square-foot building to show around at the meeting. “This is what it’s going to look like, he said. “But it’s still a bit of a work in progress.” The current design features seven classrooms —  one for biology/chemistry lab plus a “prep” room, one art studio/classroom, one computer lab classroom and four general education classrooms that will also allow for 2-way simultaneous broadcast of courses from other locations in the District.
By Faughn Economy • Education • Health/Medical • New Developments 0 Comments

Plans for Valley medical program moving closer to fruition, says Assemblyman Gray

Assembly member Adam Gray, D-Merced, this week convened the San Joaquin Valley Coalition for Medical Education at UC Merced to discuss burgeoning plans of a San Joaquin Valley medical school. The program’s plans have been on the drawing board for decades, but until recently they’ve been largely conceptual. Gray and other program proponents were recently given a boost of $15 million from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who included those funds as part of his proposed 2020-21 state budget.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/plans-for-valley-medical-program-moving-closer-to-fruition-says-assemblyman-gray/ar-BB103IYh