Garbralle Conroe (Counselor Education and Rehabilitation) will be honored with the Spotlight on Success! Rise! Women award at the Rise Award Gala and Fundraiser in Sacramento on Oct. 20. The award is given to individuals who contribute to disadvantaged communities through mentorship.

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The Department of Physical Therapy was well-represented by faculty and students at the California Physical Therapy Association's annual conference this past week. Bhupinder Singh was the recipient of the CPTA's 2018 Faculty Research Publication award for his article “Do fitness and fatigue affect gait biomechanics in overweight and obese children?” Faculty that presented included Deborah Walker, Jennifer Roos, Cheryl Hickey, Monica Rivera and Nupur Hajela. 

This summer, Dr. Brissa Quiroz (Lyles College of Engineering) participated in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program (HSINP) E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program. Quiroz serves as the Director for the Valley Industry Partnership (VIP) for Cooperative Education program in the Lyles College where she works to place students in full-time industry internships during their junior or senior year. She also serves as a part-time faculty member in the Civil and Geomatics Engineering Department where she teaches construction engineering.

During her E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship experience, Quiroz was joined by 18 other recipients from around the nation and visited USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C. where they learned about opportunities available with the USDA and other federal agencies. Upon return, the Fellows shared their experience with their respective institutions and students, motivating them to pursue careers in agriculture, science, research, technology, and other related fields of study.

Pictured: 2018 E. Kika De La Garza Fellows [Quiroz located in top right] — in order of appearance:
• Julieta Aguilar, Los Angeles Trade Tech College
• Lourdes C. Alba, St. Philip’s College
• Shu-Yuan Cheng, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York
• Jose Escamilla, La Joya East Academy
• Adrian Gonzalez, PSJA Thomas Jefferson Early College High School
• Mar Huertas, Texas State University
• Denise M. Kingman, Pima Community College
• Katie Maiorino, Washington Union High School
• Crystal McKenna, Central Arizona College
• Nyakundi M. Michieka, California State University, Bakersfield
• Brissa Quiroz, California State University, Fresno
• Alexis E. Racelis, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Tim Sears, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• R. Charlie Shultz, Santa Fe Community College
• Robert Torres, The University of Arizona
• Angel J. Velez-Perez, EDP University of Puerto Rico, Inc.
• Francisco Villa, Northern Arizona University – Yuma Branch Campus
• Tianying Wu, San Diego State University, School of Public Health
• Jing Zhao, California

Cordie Qualle (left) and Dr. Kimberly Stillmaker

Lyles College of Engineering faculty-alumni lead the way for student success. Cordie Qualle, Civil Engineering Industry Faculty Fellow in the Lyles College of Engineering, recently received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) San Francisco Section for his great contributions to the civil engineering profession. Qualle earned his M.S. in Structural Engineering from Norwich University, and B.S. in Civil Engineering from Fresno State. Throughout his career, he worked on numerous water resources planning projects, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of watersheds and hydraulic modeling of structures and channels. He served as Project Manager/Engineer for Blair, Church & Flynn Consulting Engineers in Clovis, CA for 35-years. Prior to this role, he worked as a Project Engineer for Lars Andersen & Associates in Fresno, CA and as a Civil Engineer for the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District.

Dr. Kimberly Stillmaker, assistant professor of Civil Engineering, also a Fresno State graduate, received the ‘Outstanding Section Faculty Advisor Award’ from ASCE. Dr. Stillmaker received her M.S. degree and Ph.D. at UC Davis, where her research focused on fracture-mechanics based analyses of welded connections in steel moment frames. Prior to attending UC Davis, she taught as a lecturer at California State University, Sacramento and worked as a structural engineering EIT at Taylor Teter Partnership in Fresno. Stillmaker attended Fresno State as a member of the Smittcamp Family Honors College and graduated with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Lyles College where she also received the Deans Medalist Award.

ASCE’s ‘Outstanding Civil Engineering Student Award’ was given to Nicole Mahoney, 2018 Lyles College alumna.