Cal State LA kicked off the academic year on August 18 with its annual University Convocation and Investiture, honoring six faculty members for their exceptional achievements in education.
The event marked a significant milestone as Dr. Berenecea Johnson Eanes was inaugurated as the university’s ninth president.
Professor Anureet Kaur, chair of the Outstanding Professor Awards Selection Committee, introduced the faculty awards during the ceremony, alongside President Eanes, Provost Heather Lattimer, and Academic Senate Chair Jessica DeShazo.
This year, four faculty members received the Outstanding Professor Award, while one individual was honored with the Outstanding Lecturer Award.
These accolades recognize significant contributions to scholarly inquiry, creative work, professional endeavors, and community service.
Additionally, the President’s Distinguished Professor Award was presented to a previous Outstanding Professor Award recipient, celebrating outstanding teaching, unwavering dedication to students, and sustained professional excellence.
**President’s Distinguished Professor: David Blekhman**
David Blekhman, a professor of technology within the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology, was recognized as the President’s Distinguished Professor.
An internationally acknowledged expert in hydrogen technology, clean energy, and advanced transportation systems, Blekhman has been a key figure at Cal State LA since 2007.
His commitment to academic excellence, student success, and community engagement is evident in his work as the founding technical director of the university’s Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility (HRFF), which was commissioned in 2011.
The HRFF not only produces hydrogen through electrolysis but also serves as a vital hub for education, research, and innovation in zero-emission transportation.
Blekhman has garnered significant recognition, including the 2023 CSU Wang Family Excellence Award for Outstanding Scholarship, the highest faculty recognition across the 22-campus CSU system, and Cal State LA’s Outstanding Professor Award in 2022.
Furthermore, he was honored as a 2019-20 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Alternative Energy Technology at Chalmers University in Sweden.
He has successfully secured over $36 million in grant funding as a principal investigator, co-investigator, and senior personnel.
His recent awards include $7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, $2.2 million from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for hydrogen infrastructure, and $500,000 from the California Energy Commission for workforce development.
Just in 2025, he received three grants totaling more than $600,000.
As a result of his leadership at the HRFF, Blekhman has trained hundreds of students and has hosted over 12,000 visitors, including first responders and industry leaders.
His role in developing the Sustainable Energy and Transportation academic concentration has guided it to accreditation while integrating real-world experiences through campus “Living Labs.”
From 2011 to 2018, Blekhman directed Cal State LA’s EcoCAR teams, reengineering vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Camaro into plug-in hybrids.
These efforts earned multiple national awards, including the Green Leadership Award from Los Angeles County and the Clean Air Award from the South Coast AQMD.
Additionally, he co-leads Cal State LA’s Battery Workforce Challenge student team.
On an international level, Blekhman has mentored students from Europe and has cultivated research collaborations with institutions in Sweden, Belgium, and Italy.
His thought leadership extends to industry media, where he contributes articles on hydrogen transportation as a Forbes online contributor, attracting over 60,000 views.
Residing in South Pasadena, Blekhman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in thermal physics from Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from SUNY Buffalo.
**Outstanding Professors**
**Eun-Young (Elaine) Kang**
Eun-Young (Elaine) Kang serves as a computer science professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (ECST) since 2019.
Kang is a passionate advocate for inclusive computing education and has secured more than $5.5 million in external funding as a principal or co-principal investigator to support equity-focused initiatives.
Her current projects include the National Science Foundation-funded Broadening Participation in Computing grant that promotes Latinx student retention through socially responsible computing and early community engagement.
In addition, she holds oversight of the Center for Inclusive Computing Transfer Pathway Project, which aims to eliminate barriers for transfer students in computing.
Her efforts also led to the launch and ongoing direction of the Computer Science Supplementary Authorization program, aimed at training K–12 teachers—especially in underserved districts—to teach computer science.
Kang’s teaching encompasses artificial intelligence, machine learning, multimedia data, and game development.
She has supervised numerous senior design capstone projects in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Mozilla, facilitating students in translating classroom learning into practical applications.
As department chair, Kang has overseen substantial revisions to both undergraduate and graduate programs, guided a successful ABET reaccreditation, and expanded industry partnerships while increasing faculty diversity through strategic hiring.
Kang represents her department in the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions and created an online community to support Latinx students in computer science.
Her contributions have been recognized with the Cal State LA Distinguished Women Award, and she served as a grand marshal for the College of ECST during the university’s Commencement.
Moreover, Kang frequently engages in university-wide committees and reviews for the National Science Foundation, CSU computer science programs, and various professional journals and conferences.
A resident of Los Angeles, she earned her Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Southern California.
**Devika Hazra**
Devika Hazra, a professor of economics and statistics in the College of Business and Economics, focuses her scholarship on gender-based violence, economic inequality, and structural injustice.
Her goal is to inform both academic inquiry and practical solutions through her work as an educator and advocate.
Trained as an applied microeconomist, Hazra leads interdisciplinary research that investigates the economic and institutional roots of violence against women and marginalized communities.
Her projects are supported by respected organizations including the Haynes Foundation, Gates Foundation, Bank of America, and the Center for California Studies.
In addition to her research, Hazra is a committed educator teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, monetary policy, and development economics.
She employs innovative teaching practices and supports career readiness curriculum alignment as a faculty fellow at the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning.
Hazra dedicates her time to mentoring students at Cal State LA and through national associations, particularly the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, an initiative of the American Economic Association.
Beyond her campus commitments, Hazra plays a vital role in university governance as the vice chair of the Academic Senate and has previously served as the executive secretary.
She co-directed the college’s Financial Fitness Program and was instrumental in leading the Gateway to Employment initiative while supporting faculty scholarship as the college’s research coordinator.
Her outreach efforts extend to state policymaking, where she serves as a research fellow with the California Research Bureau and collaborates with the Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship to address inequalities statewide.
Hazra actively volunteers as a certified domestic violence counselor and prevention specialist with local non-profits, including Peace Over Violence and the East L.A. Women’s Center, and serves as a mediator with the Neighborhood Justice Panel under the L.A. City Attorney’s Office.
Residing in Pasadena, Hazra obtained her Ph.D. in economics from Texas A&M University.
**Rupa Purasinghe**
Rupa Purasinghe serves as a professor of civil engineering in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (ECST).
He has also chaired two departments—civil engineering and technology—where he spearheaded academic initiatives aligned with industry demands, fostering applied learning and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Since joining Cal State LA, Purasinghe has built a reputation as a dedicated educator, scholar, and leader in engineering education.
His focus is on integrating traditional engineering disciplines with emerging technologies to prepare students for the modern infrastructure landscape and industrial sector demands.
Under his leadership, the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Technology have expanded curricula and industry partnerships, with a strong emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and real-world problem-solving.
A proponent of experiential learning, Purasinghe has significantly contributed to hands-on lab experiences, project-based learning, and capstone design in both civil engineering and technology programs.
He is involved in accreditation efforts, program assessments, and continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring a rigorous and relevant education for students.
Purasinghe has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on several grants pertaining to curriculum development, workforce training, and STEM research.
His research interests span engineering materials, infrastructure sustainability, engineering education, and digital technology applications in engineering.
He has widely published and presented on these topics while maintaining strong ties with industry and professional organizations to align his students’ academic training with career opportunities.
As department chair, Purasinghe has led initiatives to modernize facilities, recruit diverse faculty, and enhance collaborations across ECST as well as with community college partners.
He is particularly committed to expanding access to high-demand engineering and technology fields for first-generation and underrepresented students.
Known for his student-centered approach, Purasinghe has mentored countless undergraduate and graduate students, guiding their academic, research, and career development.
He regularly advises student teams participating in national engineering competitions and projects sponsored by industry.
Holding a Ph.D. in civil engineering, Purasinghe brings a global perspective to his work, enriched by academic and professional experience in both the United States and internationally.
He resides in Alhambra.
**Patrick Sharp**
Patrick Sharp is a professor of liberal arts in the College of Arts and Letters and has been a faculty leader since 2001.
He co-led the development of the Liberal Studies program’s interdisciplinary curriculum, achieving department status in 2004.
Sharp has held multiple leadership positions, including associate chair, head of curriculum, head of advisement, and he became the first chair of the department.
His leadership contributions extend to serving as interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters, special assistant to the dean, and faculty athletics representative.
Sharp has notably supported the Honors College through various transitions and was foundational in launching two significant campus initiatives: EagleCon, a convention focused on speculative media, and the Prison Graduation Initiative.
Currently, he leads the Liberal Studies Program at the California Institution for Women in Chino, where he teaches and mentors faculty who work with incarcerated students.
An award-winning scholar, Sharp is recognized for his book “Savage Perils,” which has been cited across multiple disciplines and regarded as foundational in indigenous futurism.
His co-edited anthology, “Sisters of Tomorrow,” received acclaim as the feminist anthology of the year from the Popular Culture Association.
Additionally, his monograph “Darwinian Feminism and Early Science Fiction” was chosen as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title, while his recent research on Indigenous science fiction is featured in The Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms.
Sharp co-edits the New Dimensions in Science Fiction series and serves on the editorial board of “Science Fiction Studies.”
In 2024, he co-founded the nonprofit Speculative Fiction Across Media, where he holds the position of executive director.
He also contributed to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ Cyberpunk exhibition and the related publication.
Sharp’s teaching has developed essential courses focused on interdisciplinary investigation, gender and science, and speculative fiction.
His writing guide, now in its third edition, is widely used by students and educators alike.
Continuing to mentor students across a broad range of educational and research experiences, Sharp resides in Los Angeles.
**Outstanding Lecturer: Dinur Blum**
Dinur Blum is an instructor in sociology within the College of Natural and Social Sciences.
His research covers various critical areas, including the challenges faced by student-athletes in academia, the social causes of mass shootings in the United States, the dissemination of misinformation, and the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in the U.S.
Blum has conducted research and presented at numerous conferences and workshops on these topics, while also participating in various news interviews to share his expertise.
A dedicated educator, Blum devotes substantial hours to mentoring students, helping them excel academically and professionally.
His effort and enthusiasm for sociology and criminology have contributed to the success of many of his students.
He is actively engaged with the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), contributing to workshops that enhance the learning experience.
Blum was part of CETL’s inaugural Career-Engaged Departments program, which focuses on integrating professional relevance into sociology courses, and he has earned ACUE’s certificate in effective college instruction.
Additionally, he co-hosted “Learning Made Easier” with Dr. Adam G. Sanford, a podcast designed to assist students and faculty in thriving within the classroom.
Before joining Cal State LA, Blum had experience tutoring K-12 students and teaching various sociology courses at several institutions, including the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Connecticut.
His teaching excellence has earned him multiple awards, including recognition from UC Riverside and the Pacific Sociological Association.
His impactful research on mass shootings allowed him to participate in a select group of faculty members nationwide invited by RAND’s Pardee Graduate School of Public Policy.
Blum earned his Ph.D. in sociology, specializing in criminology, socio-legal studies, and institutions and organizations from UC Riverside.
He also holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from UC Davis.
A resident of Ontario, Blum continues to inspire students and colleagues alike through his commitment to education and mentorship.
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