About - Calbridge

Our Mission

The mission of the Cal-Bridge program is to increase diversity in STEM PhD programs and the STEM professoriate in California and nationwide. Cal-Bridge utilizes an innovative and successful new model of multi-institutional partnership between all three segments of the California higher education system: the 23 campuses of the California State University (CSU) where many low-income, underrepresented students earn Bachelor’s degrees, the 116 California Community Colleges (CCC) where half of all CSU undergraduates begin their college education, and the 10 campuses of the University of California (UC), where PhDs are awarded. We propose to fulfill this mission through the creation of a comprehensive, end-to-end pathway for the diverse undergraduates of California to successfully matriculate to PhD programs, achieve their PhD, and then join the STEM professoriate in California and nationally.

Our Pathway to Success

There are multiple pathways for our scholars, through the systems of the CA Community Colleges, CSUs, & UCs into the Cal-Bridge program. Cal-Bridge provides comprehensive end to end support from undergraduate to the professoriate.

Our Vision

The long-term vision of the Cal-Bridge program is to transform and diversify the makeup of the California professoriate. Among California public university STEM faculty ranks, underrepresentation is severe: for example, while 48% of the state’s population belongs to underrepresented minority (URM) groups, currently only 4.6% of UC domestic STEM faculty and only 9.2% of CSU STEM faculty are from URM groups (internal UC and CSU data). Women and other historically underrepresented groups (e.g., LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities) are also underrepresented in California’s public university faculty and in the STEM workforce.

This lack of diversity in the California public university faculty has multiple negative impacts, including being a key factor leading students from Historically Underrepresented (HU) groups to exit STEM educational pathways due to a lack of faculty who reflect their backgrounds.

Increasing the diversity of the professoriate will therefore increase retention of these students in STEM majors leading to an increase in their participation in the California science and technology workforce.

CA CSU & UC STEM Faculty does not match CA's minority demographics

Leadership

Dr. Alexander Rudolph

Executive Director, Cal-Bridge
Professor, School Of Physical Sciences, UC Irvine
Adjunct Professor, Physics, UCSC

Dr. Carol Hood

Director, Cal-Bridge Undergraduate Program
Interim Assoc. Dean, College of Natural Sciences
Professor, Physics and Astronomy, CSUSB

Dr. Bruce Schumm

Director, Cal-Bridge Doctoral Program
Professor, Physics, UCSC

Dr. Sara Callori

Associate Director, Undergraduate Program
CSU P&A Co-Director

Dr. Amy Furniss

Director, Cal-Bridge Summer

Dr. Katy Wimberly

Mentorship and Alumni Council Chair

Co-Directors

Dr. Mu-Chun Chen

UC P&A Undergrad Co-Director

Dr. Aaron Romanowsky

CSU P&A Undergrad Co-Director

Dr. Suzanne Sindi

UC Math Undergrad Co-Director

Dr. Oscar Vega

CSU Math Undergrad Co-Director

Dr. Mariam Salloum

UC CSE Undergrad Co-Director

Dr. Mohammad Husain

CSU CSE Undergrad Co-Director

Staff

Beka Douglas

Assistant Director, Cal-Bridge

Michelle DiPasquale

Events Manager

Carrie Aiu

Budget Analyst

Jeremy Jurgens

Undergraduate Program Coordinator

Sonia Chen

Doctoral Program Coordinator

Mentors: CSU

Computer Science & Engineering
Dr. Zachary Peterson
Dr. Theresa Migler
Dr. Hao Ji
Dr. Mohamed Aly
Dr. Daisy Tang
Dr. Mingyan Xiao
Dr. Amar Raheja
Dr. Megan Thomas
Dr. Bin Tang
Dr. Alireza Addoost
Dr. Ali Jalooli
Dr. Sanaz Rahimi Moosavi
Dr. Lynne Grewe
Dr. L. Christianson
Dr. Muhammad Abdul Basit Ur Rahim
Dr. Josh Gross
Dr. Maryamsadat Jalalitabar
Dr. Abhishek Verma
Dr. Sherry Sun
Dr. Anna Baynes
Dr. Fadi Muheidat
Dr. Yan Zhang
Dr. Youwen Ouyang
Dr. Thomas Carter
Dr. Kyu Koh
Dr. Xuejun Liang
Dr. Isabel Song
Dr. Qun Wang
Dr. Abeer Aljarrah
Dr. Wendy Lee
Dr. Navrati Saxena
Dr. Ben Reed
Dr. Mark Gondree

Mathematics
Dr. Vincent Bonini
Dr. Adam King
Dr. Lily Silverstein
Dr. Carmen Caprau
Dr. Oscar Vega
Dr. Ryan Blair
Dr. Mark Schilling
Dr. Lynn Scow
Dr. Kimberly Ayers
Dr. Jessica De Silva
Dr. Cash Bortner
Dr. Lynda Wynn
Dr. David Martin
Dr. Riley Casper
Dr. Walden Freedman
Dr. Martha Shott
Dr. Ben Ford
Dr. Martha Byrne

Physics & Astronomy
Dr. Bob Echols
Dr. Hilary Jacks
Dr. Matt Beekman
Dr. Laura Rios
Dr. Stamatis Vokos
Dr. Vardha Bennert
Dr. Colleen Marleau
Dr. Jennifer Klay
Dr. Coral Wheeler
Dr. Krishna Sigdel
Dr. Matt Povich
Dr. Jorge Botana Alcalde
Dr. Horace Crogman
Dr. Arran Phipps
Dr. Erik Helgren
Dr. Katy Grimm
Dr. Derek Kimball
Dr. Ryan Smith
Dr. Pei-Chun Ho
Dr. Michael Bishop
Dr. Alex Klotz
Dr. Anna Bezryadina
Dr. Say-Peng Lim
Dr. Alex Pettit
Dr. Rodolfo Barniol Duran
Dr. Vera Margoniner
Dr. Matteo Crismani
Dr. Sara Callori
Dr. Laura Woodney
Dr. Youngmin Kim
Dr. Ed Price
Dr. Wing To
Dr. Jason Veatch
Dr. Brian Morsony
Dr. Susan Mokhtari
Dr. Wes Bliven
Dr. C.D. Hoyle
Dr. Tamara Barriquand
Dr. Monty Mola
Dr. Doug Singleton
Dr. Mihai Gherase
Dr. Ken Nollett
Dr. Eric Sandquist
Dr. Fridolin Weber
Dr. Jerry Orosz
Dr. Kate Rubin
Dr. Sanjay Bahura
Dr. Charli Sakari
Dr. Akm Newaz
Dr. Huizhong Xu
Dr. Maarten Golterman
Dr. Joe Barranco
Dr. John Brewer
Dr. Kim Coble
Dr. Neil Switz
Dr. Chris Smallwood
Dr. Hilary Hurst
Dr. Aaron Romanowsky
Dr. Curtis Asplund
Dr. Peter Beyersdorf
Dr. Cassandra Paul
Dr. Gina Quan
Dr. Alex Miller
Dr. Hongtao Shi
Dr. Scott Severson
Dr. Tom Targett
Dr. Lynn Cominsky
Dr. Laura Peticolas

Mentors: UC

Computer Science & Engineering
Dr. Ahmed Eldawy
Dr. Alvaro Cardenas
Dr. Ambuj Singh
Dr. Amit Roy-Chowdhury
Dr. Arpit Gupta
Dr. Chen Li
Dr. Chen Qian
Dr. Christine Alvarado
Dr. Elaheh Sadredini
Dr. Fabien Scalzo
Dr. Jennifer Wong-Ma
Dr. Jisheen Zhao
Dr. Jonathan Balkind
Dr. Jose Renau
Dr. Kanishka Misra
Dr. Katia Obraczka
Dr. Kristen Vaccaro
Dr. Kwan-Liu Ma
Dr. Magy Seif El-Nasr
Dr. Marek Chrobak
Dr. Mia Minnes
Dr. Michael Beyeler
Dr. Nadia Polikarpova
Dr. Nael Abu-Ghazaleh
Dr. Pat Pannuto
Dr. Ryan Kastner
Dr. Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi
Dr. Stefano Lonardi
Dr. Tim Sherwood
Dr. Yan Gu
Dr. Yue Dong
Dr. Zhijia Zhao

Mathematics
Dr. Alessandra Pantano
Dr. Alex Cloninger
Dr. Bob Guy
Dr. Changho Kim
Dr. Chris Miles
Dr. Daniele Venturi
Dr. Dongwook Lee
Dr. Francois Blanchette
Dr. James Flegal
Dr. Javier Arsuaga
Dr. Kiran Kedlaya
Dr. Marcella Gomez
Dr. Maribel Bueno Cachadina
Dr. Patrick Guidotti
Dr. Subir Gosh
Dr. Suzanne Sindi
Dr. Weitao Chen

Physics & Astronomy
Dr. Aaron Barth
Dr. Aiming Yan
Dr. Albert Siryaporn
Dr. Alex Fraño
Dr. Alex Thomson
Dr. Alexander Sher
Dr. Alp Sipahigil
Dr. Amy Furniss
Dr. Andrew Wetzel
Dr. Andy Skemer
Dr. Anna Nierenberg
Dr. Borge Hemmerling
Dr. Brian Siana
Dr. Chris Theissen
Dr. Chunhui Du
Dr. Connie Rockosi
Dr. Courtney Dressing
Dr. Cristina Marchetti
Dr. Dan Kasen
Dr. Dan Stamper-Kurn
Dr. David Lederman
Dr. David Smith
Dr. David Strubbe
Dr. David Williams
Dr. David Wittman
Dr. Deborah Fygenson
Dr. Eddie Schwieterman
Dr. Edgar Shaghoulian
Dr. Gibor Basri
Dr. Haichen Wang
Dr. Hartmut Häffner
Dr. Heather Gray
Dr. Hernan Garcia
Dr. Jairo Velasco
Dr. Javier Duarte
Dr. Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi
Dr. Jay Sharping
Dr. John Conway
Dr. Jonathan Fortney
Dr. Juan Pedro Ochoa Ricoux
Dr. Julio Barreiro
Dr. Karin Sandstrom
Dr. Kevork Abazajian
Dr. Laura Sales
Dr. Laura Tucker
Dr. Liang Dai
Dr. Luis Jauregui
Dr. Marjorie Shapiro
Dr. Matthew Citron
Dr. Max Chertok
Dr. Michael Ratz
Dr. Michael Zaletel
Dr. Monica Allen
Dr. Mu-Chun Chen
Dr. Na Ji
Dr. Nick Curro
Dr. Omar Saleh
Dr. Ori Ganor
Dr. Oskar Hallatschek
Dr. Raffaella Margutti
Dr. Robert Johnson
Dr. Ruth Murray-Clay
Dr. Ryan Foley
Dr. Sarah Loebman
Dr. Sathya Guruswamy
Dr. Sergey Syzranov
Dr. Shawn Newsam
Dr. Shirley Li
Dr. Smadar Naoz
Dr. Stefano Profumo
Dr. Steph Sallum
Dr. Steve Ritz
Dr. Tesla Jeltema
Dr. Tommaso Treu
Dr. Tucker Jones
Dr. Uros Seljak
Dr. Vivek Sharma
Dr. Wolfgang Altmannshofer
Dr. Zvonimir Dogic

Become a Faculty Mentor

CSU and UC faculty can become mentors in the Cal-Bridge program. Each Cal-Bridge undergraduate scholar is assigned two mentors: a CSU faculty member at their home institution and a UC faculty member. Mentors are assigned such that at least one mentor, and often both, have a research background in the scholar’s proposed research area (physics, astronomy, computer science/engineering, or math). In most cases, at least one mentor is of the same gender as the scholar; less frequently, but whenever possible, at least one mentor is assigned from the same racial, ethnic, or cultural background as the scholar. Some of the key elements of mentorship include:

Mentorship takes place via twice-monthly meetings between each scholar and their two mentors.
The CSU faculty mentor gives academic advice on course selection and study habits, guides students toward research opportunities, and helps them apply to graduate school.
The UC mentor performs similar functions and is also uniquely qualified to provide guidance towards readiness for graduate school. UC mentors are also commonly summer research mentors.
Mentors in the undergraduate program commit to work with the scholar for two years.Are you a Faculty member that is Interested in becoming a Cal-Bridge undergraduate mentor? Please contact us!
The CSU mentor also obtains monthly feedback from each scholar’s instructors to track academic progress and catch problems early, which allows for intervention when necessary (e.g., advice on improving a student’s study habits).
In cases where more intensive academic support in particular courses is needed, mentors may recommend tutoring; in such cases, qualified graduate student tutors are identified by Cal-Bridge faculty and these tutors are hired by the program.

Mentors are given access to training and guidance to provide culturally aware mentorship for scholars to feel comfortable talking about not only academic issues but also other concerns that might be impacting their academic success, including mental health issues, home or family issues, or other personal matters. Cal-Bridge mentors are supported in this highly engaged mentorship practice in 3 ways:

A Mentorship Handbook written by experienced mentors and alumni scholars from within the Cal-Bridge program to address both mentor and scholar responsibilities and best practices
A series of professional development workshops on best practices in mentorship, including mentoring students from backgrounds different from that of the mentor
Additional mentorship workshops led by national experts in mentoring, including the National Academy of Science workshops “The Science of Effective Mentoring” and “Mentoring for Wellbeing”

Core Values

Welcoming

We create an inviting and collaborative atmosphere. We are inclusive in our words and actions. We embrace people of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, and treat them with respect. We actively listen, learn, and engage with compassion, validation, and intention. We work to make STEM undergraduate and doctoral programs as welcoming as possible for everyone. We bring together historically underrepresented scholars, established faculty mentors, and PhD admission decision-makers to increase the inclusivity of STEM disciplines, especially PhD programs.

Personal

We are invested in the individual stories, backgrounds, real-life struggles, and drive to succeed of our scholars. We recognize that our primary responsibility is to support and engage with each scholar throughout their entire academic journey. We match each scholar with trained mentors to provide personalized support at every step of their pathway to the PhD and through the years of postgraduate study. We schedule time and integrate cohort building into each event and workshop to foster relationships and networking. We encourage our scholars to share their stories, fostering a culture of openness and inspiration. We share our success stories with each other and through Cal-Bridge media.

Empowering

We are a program that works to empower the remarkable scholars we support as well as all those who help us deliver on the Cal-Bridge mission. We strive to equip our scholars to become STEM leaders and effect change, by giving them the tools and resources they need to thrive academically. We work to help all Cal-Bridge community members feel the possibility, excitement, and confidence that they can be part of the changing face of STEM leadership through their support for each step in the scholars’ journeys.

Academic

We are a higher education academic support program that provides formal training, research opportunities, course guidance, mentorship, and tutoring to our scholars. We built the program around summer research experiences, professional development, and workshops that give structured professional advice and admissions support from experienced statewide faculty leadership. We bridge the transitions between the California CC, CSU, and UC systems. We facilitate connections between undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs. We are intersegmental and help scholars navigate between institutions while removing barriers of access. We present ourselves from this knowledgeable academic standpoint while remaining approachable to all levels and members of our community.