All Things STEM

All Things STEM

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All Things STEM episodes

  • Rethinking Engineering Education: Workload, Equity, and Student Success

    In This Episode:

    • Understanding engineering education research and its role in addressing systemic inequities.
    • The impact of faculty workload and research expectations on student success.
    • Moving from a traditional “factory model” of education to a more inclusive “ecosystem model.”
    • Empowering undergraduate students through meaningful, student-driven research.
    • Exploring the Eco-STEM initiative and its approach to institutional change.
    • Integrating ethics, social responsibility, and interdisciplinary learning into engineering education.
    • Addressing institutional barriers to research funding, mentorship, and student opportunities.
    • Rethinking how universities can better support both faculty and students.

    Episode Chapters:

    • 00:00 – Introduction to Dr. Corin “Corey” L. Bowen
    • 01:47 – What Is Engineering Education Research?
    • 05:55 – Finding Purpose and Addressing Inequity in Engineering
    • 09:11 – Empowering Students Through Research
    • 12:39 – The Purpose of Higher Education
    • 15:34 – Faculty Workload, Burnout, and Student Success
    • 22:01 – How Educational Barriers Affect Students and Communities
    • 27:53 – Transforming STEM Education Through Eco-STEM
    • 33:12 – Research Projects Advancing Equity and Institutional Change
    • 37:34 – Practical Solutions for Supporting Faculty and Students
    • 41:49 – Defending Higher Education and Institutional Values
    • 44:18 – Closing Reflections

    Featured Guest

    Dr. Corin “Corey” L. Bowen
    Assistant Professor of Engineering Education
    California State University, Los Angeles

    Host

    Dr. Frank A. Gomez
    All Things STEM | Executive Director, CSU STEM-NET

    About All Things STEM

    All Things STEM explores research, education, innovation, and the people shaping the future of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics across the California State University system and beyond.

    Episode Credits

    Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

    Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

    Music licensed by Premium Beat

    46 min
  • Cracks in the System: Bob Brown on the Future of Research Universities

    Guest: Dr. Robert A. Brown, President Emeritus of Boston University
    Host: Dr. Frank A. Gomez
    Podcast: All Things STEM

    Topics discussed:

    • The foundation of the U.S. research university system: How federal investment in university research helped connect scientific discovery, graduate education, undergraduate learning, and economic growth. 
    • The growing cost of research: Brown explains that R1 universities are now contributing roughly 46 cents of institutional resources for every federal research dollar received, creating increasing financial pressure. 
    • What R1 status means today: The discussion examines whether the expanding number of R1 institutions accurately represents research intensity, competitiveness, and quality. 
    • Balancing STEM and other disciplines: Brown stresses that institutional excellence can also exist in the humanities, social sciences, arts, allied health fields, and other areas that may attract less external research funding. 
    • The future research workforce: Funding instability may discourage students, postdocs, early-career researchers, and international scholars from pursuing U.S.-based research careers. 
    • Making strategic choices: Universities may need to determine where they can maintain strong research programs while directing faculty talent toward undergraduate education in other areas. 
    • Undergraduate research matters: Research exposes students to unanswered questions and encourages them to become more creative and intellectually independent. 
    • Collaboration instead of duplication: Shared equipment, research computing, joint doctoral programs, and cross-institution partnerships could help universities maintain strong research capacity with limited resources. 
    • A more focused future: Brown envisions institutions identifying a manageable number of areas where they can remain highly competitive rather than trying to achieve research distinction everywhere. 
    • Protecting U.S. research leadership: Maintaining a broad network of world-class research universities and continuing to attract exceptional talent will be essential to America's future scientific and economic competitiveness.

      • Episode Credits

      Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

      Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

      Music licensed by Premium Beat

      42 min
    • The Quiet Crisis: Student Mental Health, Social Anxiety, and the Future of College Success
      The Quiet Crisis: Student Mental Health, Social Anxiety, and the Future of College Success

      Host: Dr. Frank A. Gomez
      Guest: Dr. Amanda Morrison, Professor of Psychology at California State University, East Bay
      Runtime: Approximately 38 minutes

      About This Episode

      Student mental health challenges are not always loud or visible. They may appear through withdrawal, missed classes, limited participation, loneliness, avoidance, or a student’s hesitation to ask for help.

      In this episode of the All Things STEM Podcast, Dr. Frank A. Gomez speaks with clinical psychologist and psychology professor Dr. Amanda Morrison about depression, anxiety, social anxiety, self-diagnosis, and the pressures affecting today’s college students.

      Dr. Morrison explains how faculty can recognize students who may be silently struggling while creating classroom environments that encourage connection, healthy risk-taking, and personal growth. The conversation also explores the complicated influence of social media, the importance of distinguishing normal discomfort from a clinical disorder, and how kindness, belonging, and human connection can support student success.

      In This Episode

      Listeners will learn about:

      • Why many mental health struggles are internal and difficult to recognize
      • How depression and social anxiety can both cause withdrawal for different reasons
      • The subtle signs that may indicate a student is struggling
      • The benefits and risks of mental health awareness and online self-diagnosis
      • Why not every distressing experience should be treated as a disorder
      • How avoidance can provide temporary relief while maintaining anxiety over time
      • Ways faculty can structure courses to build confidence and reduce discouragement
      • How low-pressure classroom interactions can strengthen belonging
      • The role small talk plays in developing trust and relationships
      • How kindness and technology may help create healthier learning environments
        • Episode Chapters

        00:00 — Introduction

        An overview of student mental health and the quiet challenges students may experience.

        01:03 — Dr. Morrison’s Career Journey

        How an influential high school psychology teacher inspired her interest in research, clinical psychology, and anxiety disorders.

        06:22 — Recognizing Quiet Mental Health Struggles

        How depression, anxiety, and social anxiety may appear through withdrawal, avoidance, limited eye contact, or reluctance to ask for help.

        10:12 — Depression, Anxiety, and Social Anxiety

        The differences between low mood, lack of motivation, fear of judgment, and worry about the future.

        13:45 — Supporting Students Through Course Design

        The effects of high-stakes assignments and the value of smaller opportunities that allow students to build confidence and stamina.

        18:29 — Social Media and Self-Diagnosis

        The benefits of greater mental health awareness and the risks of turning ordinary stress, sadness, or shyness into a diagnostic identity.

        24:47 — Are Students Experiencing More Distress?

        Why increased reporting reflects both greater awareness and real increases in the challenges students face.

        27:49 — Loneliness and Campus Connection

        How repeated, low-pressure interactions can help students develop relationships and feel a stronger sense of belonging.

        33:43 — The Value of Small Talk

        Why simple conversations can create familiarity, safety, and trust.

        34:41 — Kindness, STEM Learning, and Technology

        Dr. Morrison discusses research on engagement, classroom kindness, and using technology to support rather than replace human learning.

        37:23 — Closing Reflections

        A reminder that student well-being depends on empathy, community, resilience, and meaningful human connection.

        Key Takeaways

        Mental health challenges may be easy to miss because students who are struggling often become quieter rather than more disruptive.

        Faculty do not need to become therapists, but they can create learning environments where students feel safe asking questions, making mistakes, and connecting with others.

        Students’ distress should be taken seriously, while recognizing that anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and discomfort are also universal human experiences.

        Avoiding uncomfortable situations may reduce anxiety temporarily, but gradually facing manageable challenges can help students build confidence.

        Community does not always develop automatically. Instructors can create opportunities for relationships through stable groups, paired discussions, icebreakers, and meaningful classroom interactions.

        Technology can help students overcome barriers, but it should strengthen human potential rather than replace learning, mentorship, or connection.

        Featured Quote

        “The confidence follows the experience. It doesn’t precede it.”

        — Dr. Amanda Morrison

        About the Guest

        Dr. Amanda Morrison is a Professor of Psychology at California State University, East Bay. She is a clinical psychologist whose teaching, research, and clinical work focus on anxiety disorders and their treatment. Her work explores how people can move from avoidance toward engagement and how classrooms can cultivate kindness, belonging, confidence, and student well-being.

        Listen and Subscribe

        Listen to this episode and explore past conversations at calstate.edu/allthingsstempodcast.

        Subscribe through Simplecast, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        39 min
      • Humanizing STEM Pathways Through Pláticas

        Featured Guest:

        Dr. Katherine Arias Garcia, Chancellor’s and NSF STEM Education Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Irvine

        Host:

        Dr. Frank Gomez, Executive Director, CSU STEM-NET

        Main Topic:

        Centering Latinx students’ voices and experiences in STEM education research through pláticas methodology.

        Key Themes Discussed:

        Pláticas as a research method

        Dr. Arias Garcia describes pláticas as relational conversations grounded in trust, lived experience, and co-constructed knowledge. Unlike traditional interviews, pláticas are not one-directional or extractive. They allow students to share openly and participate in the knowledge-building process.

        Microaggressions and belonging in STEM

        The episode highlights how Latinx students may experience subtle but repeated messages that question their competence, identity, or place in STEM. These experiences can lead students to feel both highly visible and invisible, affecting their sense of belonging and persistence.

        The human side of STEM learning

        Dr. Arias Garcia explains that STEM environments often prioritize performance, productivity, and efficiency, leaving little room for reflection, emotion, or identity development. Pláticas help reveal what students are carrying and what institutions may overlook.

        Moving away from deficit framing

        Rather than asking what students lack, Dr. Arias Garcia encourages researchers and institutions to ask what strengths students bring. For example, students who work while attending school may be demonstrating responsibility, persistence, and time management, rather than simply facing a barrier.

        HSI servingness and accountability

        The conversation distinguishes between simply being designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and actually serving students. True servingness requires campuses to listen to student experiences, allocate resources intentionally, develop culturally relevant programming, and act on what students share.

        Mentorship with structure and purpose

        Dr. Arias Garcia discusses mentorship as relational, reciprocal, and intentional. She notes that mentorship should not be left to chance or personality fit. Campuses should create structured mentorship systems that support students early and consistently.

        Expanding how STEM defines rigor

        The episode pushes back on the idea that culturally responsive methods weaken STEM education. Instead, Dr. Arias Garcia argues that they expand rigor by capturing dimensions of student experience that traditional methods may miss.

        Reciprocity in research

        Dr. Arias Garcia explains that research should give back to students and communities. Examples include paid research roles, student co-authorship, conference participation, and culturally relevant advising tools such as the Latinx pre-med guide she co-created with students.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        35 min
      • Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): Learning from the Past, Preparing for The Future

        In this episode of All Things STEM, Dr. Frank A. Gomez welcomes Dr. Rick Sperling, who brings thoughtful insight into how Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) support students through the lenses of culture, identity, and institutional practice. Together, they reflect on how “servingness” is about more than enrollment numbers—it’s also about the day-to-day choices and structures that shape student experiences.

        They also discuss how shifts in research funding can influence institutional priorities and decision-making, and what that can mean for accountability and whose voices are included. Along the way, they explore common challenges in grant narratives, the difference between representation and shared influence, and why self-determination can be a powerful driver of long-term, meaningful progress.

        In this episode, you’ll hear about:

        • Why HSIs benefit from pairing key metrics with deeper measures of impact and student experience
        • How funding uncertainty can shape priorities—and why including students, families, and communities matters
        • How deficit narratives get rewarded in proposals—and what gets lost because of it
        • The difference between representation and shared influence (including who shapes curriculum, rewards, and opportunity pathways)

        About the guest:
        Dr. Rick Sperling is Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Community-Based Research at St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, TX). He earned a PhD in Educational Psychology from UT Austin and brings quantitative expertise to questions of race, culture, power, and institutional behavior in HSIs—especially around hiring, tenure, assimilation, deficit mindset, and systemic racism.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        43 min
      • The Plastic Illusion: What We’re Not Being Told

        In this episode of All Things STEM, host Dr. Frank Gomez speaks with Susan Keefe, California Director of Beyond Plastics and former Oracle executive, about one of the most misunderstood issues in environmental policy: the belief that plastic recycling works as intended.

        After nearly 30 years in the technology sector, Susan shifted her career toward environmental advocacy following a personal reckoning tied to chemical contamination and childhood cancer cases in her hometown of Toms River, New Jersey. That experience led her to examine the connections between plastics, fossil fuels, public health, and corporate accountability.

        Throughout the conversation, Susan explains why plastic recycling was never designed to function at scale, how decades of industry messaging shaped public behavior, and what actually happens to plastic once it enters the waste stream. She draws on policy research, waste-tracking investigations, and on-the-ground advocacy to illustrate where systems fail—and where meaningful change can still occur.

        Listeners will also hear insights on:

        The health risks associated with plastics and their chemical additives

        Why “recyclable” labels are often misleading

        Gaps in enforcement of California’s plastic reduction laws

        Practical steps individuals, communities, and institutions can take now

        This episode offers a clear look at the realities behind plastic use and recycling, and challenges listeners to rethink convenience, demand transparency, and consider solutions that protect public health and the environment.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        50 min
      • Part III: Surviving the Existential Threat to Higher Education

        In this episode of All Things STEM, host Dr. Frank Gomez welcomes Dr. Christopher Meyer, Dean of Science and Mathematics at Fresno State, and Dr. Lynn Cominsky, Physics Professor at Sonoma State University. Together, they discuss the escalating threats to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in education, the sweeping cuts to federal grant funding, and the profound impacts these changes have on students, faculty, and institutions.

        The conversation dives into:

        • The termination of billions in federal grants and its toll on campus research, innovation, and student opportunities.
        • The dismantling of evidence-based programs like the What Works Clearinghouse, and what that means for education and accountability.
        • How faculty and universities are adapting—turning to state initiatives, philanthropy, and industry partnerships for support.
        • The broader consequences of policy shifts on DEI, Pell Grants, TRIO programs, and access for low-income and DACA students.
        • Resistance from higher education institutions, including lawsuits and campus advocacy, and why leadership and solidarity are more critical than ever.

        Dr. Meyer and Dr. Cominsky highlight the human stories behind these policy changes, emphasizing the resilience of students, the responsibility of educators, and the urgent need to safeguard equity and innovation in STEM.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        47 min
      • Part II: Surviving the Existential Threat to Higher Education

        In this timely episode of All Things STEM, Dr. Frank Gomez is joined by Dr. Carmen Domingo and Dr. Leticia Márquez-Magaña of San Francisco State University for a candid conversation on the shifting landscape of higher education. They delve into the real-world impact of sweeping federal budget cuts, the chilling effect on DEI efforts, and the personal and professional toll on students, faculty, and researchers. Grounded in experience and driven by a commitment to justice, this episode explores how leadership, collaboration, and community can push back against systemic setbacks. Tune in for a bold discussion on what it means to lead, resist, and reimagine during uncertain times.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        52 min
      • Part I: Surviving the Existential Threat to Higher Education

        In this urgent and thought-provoking episode, host Dr. Frank Gomez is joined by Dr. Amy Sprowles, Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Cal Poly Humboldt, and Dr. Heather Macías, Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Cal State Long Beach. Each of our guests has distinguished themselves as scholars, teachers, and leaders, dedicated to promoting excellence, diversity, and harmony in education.

        Together, they confront the growing existential threats to higher education—ranging from sweeping cuts to NSF and NEH grant funding, to the dismantling of DEI efforts under current political pressures. The conversation dives deep into how these changes are affecting faculty, students, and campuses, and explores how public institutions can resist, adapt, and continue advancing inclusive and innovative teaching and research.

        This is Part I of a powerful two-part series that highlights the need for community, courage, and clarity in a time of unprecedented uncertainty.

        🔗 Listen now to hear how California State University faculty are standing strong and reimagining what it means to educate, advocate, and endure.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        48 min
      • Strength Beyond the Gym: Dr. Guillermo Escalante on Bodybuilding, Leadership, and Resilience

        In this powerful episode of All Things STEM, Dr. Frank Gomez sits down with Dr. Guillermo Escalante—bodybuilder, educator, and Interim Associate Dean at CSU San Bernardino—to explore how the discipline of fitness fuels leadership in higher education. From his roots in Costa Rica to balancing fatherhood and academia, Dr. Escalante shares how resilience and vision can create real impact. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on overcoming adversity, building structure, and shaping student success.

        Episode Credits

        Produced, edited, and mixed by Monica Alarcon

        Hosted by Dr. Frank A. Gomez

        Music licensed by Premium Beat

        39 min

      About All Things STEM

      From the publisher's feed

      On this show we will explore all things STEM. Most importantly we will highlight the incredible CSU STEM faculty, students, staff and administrators that bring us the best STEM research and the best…