Director of Emotive Robotic Lab, trained as an architect, Behnaz Farahi is an award winning designer and critical maker based in Los Angeles. She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Media Arts and Practice from USC School of Cinematic Arts. Currently she is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Design, California State University, Long Beach. She explores how to foster an empathetic relationship between the human body and the space around it using computational systems. Her work addresses critical issues such as feminism, emotion, perception and social interaction.

Farahi has won several awards including the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Digital Design Award, Innovation By Design Fast Company Award, World Technology Award. She is a co-editor of an issue of AD, ‘3D Printed Body Architecture’ (2017) and ‘Interactive Design: Towards a Responsive Environment’ (2023).

My lab studies the developmental physiology of marine invertebrates. By learning critical techniques in organismal physiology and biochemistry, students discover adaptive strategies employed by larval organisms for surviving in heterogeneous environments. We are a large research group that utilizes a “team approach” to studying how organisms work.

Dr. Siavash Ahrar joined the CSULB Department of Biomedical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2020. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine, in 2015, worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Irvine Department of Physics from 2015-17 and as a Science and Engineering Education Fellow (SEEF) with the Stanford University Department of Bioengineering from 2017-20. His work as a SEEF focused on realizing an active, effective, inclusive, and accessible curriculum for the bioengineering discipline.

Dr. Ahrar’s research focuses on developing automation tools and their application to bioengineering. These tools include mili and microfluidics and simple autonomous machines. During his graduate studies, he developed autonomous microfluidics (i.e., pneumatic computers) that could lead to the independent operation of laboratory tools and point of care diagnostics. His lab will extend the application of these tools to synthetic biology. Added to his laboratory research, Dr. Ahrar seeks to continue his efforts in studying and developing an active and accessible STEM education for all learners.

Martha Carter studied theatrical design with an emphasis in lighting at the University of Florida. Since her graduation from the University of Florida she has worked professionally as a lighting designer, master electrician, drafts person, and as an assistant on lighting for both entertainment and architectural designs. She continued her dream by obtaining her MFA in Lighting Design from the University of California at Irvine. Martha enjoys working in a wide array of theatrical entertainments including theme parks, live events, dance, theatre and art installations. She has designed and assisted in many theatres on the east and west coasts, some of which include Romeo and Juliet at Great River Shakespeare Festival, The Why at The Blank Theater, The Chance Theater, Pygmalion at Long Beach Playhouse, and Marry me a Little at Theater Out. She works with a number of choreographers as their lighting designer and collaborates with them throughout their creative process. She focuses on teaching her students about lighting composition and how color, beam angle, and the brush strokes of light can aid in storytelling. Martha enjoys collaborating with ensemble companies to create new work that addresses the current political and social issues of today to incite positive change within communities.

Tsiambwom “T” Akuchu is a hip-hop, theatre, and performance artist and Assistant Professor of Dance at CSULB. He teaches multiple street dance styles including Bboy and House dance. He works to incorporate a historical and cultural understanding of these dance forms and has a specialized focus on improvised movement and physical theatre.