California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, CA June 29, 2010 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) received a $417, 231 grant award from the National Science Foundation as a Faculty Early Career (CAREER) Development grant for Dr. Kathryn Leonard, Assistant Professor of Mathematics. Within the last two years, this is the second CAREER award that a faculty member at CI has received.

This is the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the institution’s mission. The program is designed to promote integration of education and research to encourage the process of discovery to stimulate learning for students.

Leonard’s efforts will focus on engaging talented but disadvantaged undergraduate and graduate students in original research early in their college careers. Her research will concentrate on developing mathematical shape modeling. Recent advances in imaging technology in the field of surveillance, astronomy and medical diagnosis have increased a demand for appropriate imaging mathematical models. The students’ efforts will also involve industrial collaboration; this collaborative experience will benefit students with applications of mathematical models to the real world problems to advance the shape-based technology forward.

Leonard’s work will also be devoted to developing course modules based on applications of mathematics for image analysis. These course modules will be designed for use by college sophomores nationwide.

“Our primary goals for this project are to engage students in activity-based learning in mathematics and helping students learn about the applications of mathematical models to the real world problems, and thereby better preparing our students for 21st century jobs and to pursue graduate degrees,” stated Leonard. Student researchers at CI will be working in teams on projects, and they will be mentored by Leonard as they progress in their research. These students will also receive stipend for their participation in the year long program.

The second area of Leonard’s project will connect with the community through outreach, mentoring of high school students from underrepresented groups, and through collaboration between student researchers and future teachers at CI. This collaboration will result in designing activity-based learning platforms for use in local schools.

Dr. Sadiq Shah, Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs at CI, stated, “This is yet another example of CI faculty members implementing innovative approaches to engage students in hands-on activities to enhance their learning experiences. This experience will also help CI student researchers to connect theory with solving real world problems, and to develop additional learning tools that can be implemented in regional schools and beyond to advance the learning process about mathematical sciences.”

For further information on this program, please contact Dr. Kathryn Leonard at kathryn.leonard@csuci.edu or Dr. Sadiq Shah at sadiq.shah@csuci.edu.

CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.