Attila Elteto Hired to Teach Astronomy, Physics

Attila Elteto has been hired as a new full-time faculty member in the Science & Technology Division. He will teach astronomy and physics.

Most recently, Elteto has been teaching astronomy at the University of Connecticut and Naugatuck Valley Community College. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Astronomy at Cornell University and earned a PhD in Astrophysical and Planetary Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After deciding his real passion was in education, Elteto returned to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of New Haven.

Elteto said he’s been passionate about teaching astronomy for over a decade, much of it in public outreach, but in recent years has also started teaching formal astronomy classes at the collegiate level.

“I am especially excited when I have some powerful tools I can use, because most of the public gets very excited and awed when they look through a telescope, even just a small one, or see the ‘sky’ rotate in a planetarium,” he said.

Elteto said he was attracted to the job at Cañada because it emphasized the need for teaching astronomy labs. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to teach astronomy hands-on,” he said. “In addition, (Cañada College) President (Larry) Buckley assured me that the college is looking to expand its STEM disciplines in coming years, and he was excited to learn my interest in expanding on the astronomy curriculum, and possibly conducting astronomy outreach at the college.”

Buckley said Elteto’s approach to teaching will make him an asset to Cañada’s faculty. “Attila went back to school to earn a master’s degree to become a better teacher,” Buckley said. “He understands that students today learn differently than they did even 10 years ago. They are going to enjoy his classes.”

Elteto said that even at the 101 level, astronomy is an exciting way to draw students towards science. “Many students enter my classes thinking it may just be straight lectures with lots of pretty pictures,” he said. “Instead, my mission is to use the context of astronomy to teach student the skills and tools of science in general. I expect active participation from my students, and encourage peer-to-peer learning. By the end of the semester, I expect students to be able to formulate their own questions, use the tools they’ve learned to seek the answers for themselves, and present what they have learned in a thorough, professional manner.”

Outside of teaching, Elteto said he enjoys singing and is usually a member of a choir. He also enjoys hiking.

Cañada Professor Earns Best Paper Award at Engineering Conference

The presentation outlined a successful summer research internship at the school

In 2011, Professor Enriquez (fourth from left) was honored by President Obama for his mentoring activities.

Cañada College Professor Amelito Enriquez was honored last month at the American Society for Engineering Education Conference for his presentation detailing a partnership between the college, San Francisco State University, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center that provides internship opportunities for Cañada students

The paper, titled “Promoting Academic Excellence Among Underrepresented Community College Engineering Students through a Summer Research Internship Program,” received the Best Paper Award from the ASEE Two-Year College Division. The annual conference was held June 23-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The partnership between the two schools and NASA was developed through a three-year grant funded by the NASA Curriculum Improvements Partnership Award for the Integration of Research (CIPAIR) program. The 10-week summer internship provides opportunities for freshmen and sophomore students at Cañada to participate in engineering research under the supervision of SFSU faculty and a graduate student mentor. 

Research topics include performance-based earthquake engineering, circuit design for biomedical applications, embedded system design, and transistor reliability issues in nano-scale circuits. 

Enriquez said the program was developed to help improve student retention. “A recent report prepared by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, indicates that the United States needs to produce one million additional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals in the next decade to retain its historical preeminence in science and technology,” Enriquez said. “The report indicated that retaining students in the first two years of college is the most promising and cost-effective strategy to address this need.”

John Paulino, a former Aragon High School graduate, spent two summers in the internship program while studying at Cañada. He is now studying mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley and has been named a NASA Student Ambassador mentoring other engineering students.

“Being a NASA Student Ambassador connects me with a network of great professionals," he said. In addition, Paulino credits the ambassador program with connecting him to peers, preparing him to enter the STEM workforce, and allowing him to represent NASA toinsprie and engage future scientists and engineers. Paulino said it was all made possible through the 10-week internship program at Cañada.

Jesus Garcia spent his summer internship at SFSU learning how to conduct research and work with groups of researchers. "These are two very important skills for engineers," he said. "The internship also helped me become a better analyst, critical thinker, and problem solver. It's a perfect opportunity for students who have no previous experience to gain real-world knowledge in the field of engineering."

Garcia studied under SFSU Professor Cheng Chen, investigating a phenomenon called Soft Oxide Breakdown in the performance of integrated circuits. He later presented his findings at a regional ASEE conference. 

“In the first two years, the program has generated high quality research from participating students,” Enriquez said. He said post-program surveys indicate participating students strengthen their identity as engineers, increase their interest in research, and become more motivated to transfer to a four-year university, complete their bachelor's degree in engineering, a pursue a graduate degree.

Gregory Anderson Joins Cañada as the New Vice President of Instruction

Anderson comes to Cañada from De Anza College where he served as a dean

Dr. Gregory Anderson, formerly the Dean of Learning Resources at De Anza College in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, has been hired as the new Vice President of Instruction at Cañada College.

“We are all simply thrilled that he has joined our team and I’m certain he will be a key player in Cañada’s continuing growth and development as one of the state’s premier academic and career training institutions,” said Cañada College President Larry Buckley.

Prior to becoming a dean at De Anza, Anderson served for five years as director of the college’s academic support programs. He also taught English as a Second Language courses, directed the campus Basic Skills Initiative, led grants, and served as immediate past president of the Academic Senate.

Before arriving in the Bay Area, Anderson held several positions at the University of Southern California, including the director of testing and assessment and senior lecturer at the university’s American Language Institute.

“I’m very excited to join Cañada,” Anderson said. “I’m eager to begin working with our faculty and staff to develop academic programs that serve the needs of our community.”

Anderson is multilingual and has lived around the world. While teaching in Lesotho as a Peace Corp. volunteer, he co-founded a night school for women. In Venezuela he worked in the petroleum industry and in Guatemala, he studied the history and cultures of indigenous people. He facilitated seminars on human rights while teaching English and training teachers at colleges and universities in Japan.

Anderson holds a master’s degree in teaching from the School for International Training and a doctorate in higher education from USC.

“My primary role is to support the mission of the college through our academic offerings,” Anderson said. “In doing so, I want to increase our ability to reach those who can most benefit from a community college education.”