Episode 43 - A semester as an engineering student (Week 1)

In this episode, Paul continues his semester-long journey following two engineering students (Michael Frial and Michael Espinoza) throughout the Fall 2026 semester at Cal Poly Pomona. During the interview, both students share their workload and state of mind in Week 9 of the semester. Paul will check back with them in Week 11. Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson.  Recorded on October 19, 2026 at Cal Poly Pomona. 

In this episode, Paul continues his semester-long journey following two engineering students (Michael Frial and Michael Espinoza) throughout the Fall 2026 semester at Cal Poly Pomona. During the interview, both students share their workload and state of mind in Week 7 of the semester. Paul will check back with them in Week 9. Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson.  Recorded on October 5, 2026 at Cal Poly Pomona. 

In this episode, Paul continues his semester-long journey following two engineering students (Michael Frial and Michael Espinoza) throughout the Fall 2026 semester at Cal Poly Pomona. During the interview, both students share their workload and state of mind in Week 5 of the semester. Paul will check back with them in Week 7. Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson.  Recorded on September 21, 2026 at Cal Poly Pomona. 

In this episode, Paul continues his semester-long journey following two engineering students (Michael Frial and Michael Espinoza) throughout the Fall 2026 semester at Cal Poly Pomona. During the interview, both students share their workload and state of mind in Week 3 of the semester. Paul will check back with them in Week 5. Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson.  Recorded on September 7, 2026 on Zoom. 

Have you ever wondered what a semester is really like for engineering students? In this episode, Paul begins a semester-long journey where he follows two engineering students (Michael Frial and Michael Espinoza) throughout the Fall 2026 semester at Cal Poly Pomona. During the interview, both students share their workload and state of mind in Week 1 of the semester. Paul will check back with them in Week 3. Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson.  Recorded on August 24, 2026 at Cal Poly Pomona. 

Note: This episode was released about a week before it was announced that Dr. Gomez was appointed President of Cal State University San Bernadino. We wish her luck in her new role. In this episode, Paul tries to demystify the role of "Provost" of a university by interviewing the Provost & VP of Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona, Dr. Terri Gomez. During the conversation, Provost Gomez describes the responsibilities of a Provost, shares her experiences of being a Provost, and explains how a Provost impacts all facets of the academic side of a university.  Organizational chart for Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona: https://www.cpp.edu/academic-affairs/org-chart/index.shtml   Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson. Richard Garippo assisted with recording.  Recorded on June 30, 2026 at Cal Poly Pomona. 

In this episode, Paul explores the field of materials engineering by interviewing two faculty members in the Chemical & Materials Engineering Department at Cal Poly Pomona. Dr. Vilupanur Ravi is a Professor specializing in advanced materials, coatings, and corrosion, and Dr. Jonathan Puthoff is a Professor specializing in materials characterization and modeling. During the interview, Professors Ravi and Puthoff describe what the field of materials engineering is all about, the types of courses materials engineering students take, the types of jobs available for materials engineers in industry and government, as well as the importance of getting advanced degrees in their field. Cal Poly Pomona Chemical & Materials Engineering Department: https://www.cpp.edu/engineering/cme/index.shtml Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson. Recorded on February 17, 2026 at Cal Poly Pomona.

In this episode, Paul learns what it's like to work at an energy company with Justin Valencia and Brittany Williams, both of whom work for Chevron at their refinery in El Segundo, CA. Justin has a background in mechanical engineering, and is the Technology & Innovation Manager for Downstream, Midstream, and Chemicals. Brittany has a background in chemical engineering, and is a Short Range Process Engineer. During the interview, Justin and Brittany describe what their day-to-day work is like at a refinery. They discuss the various activities engineers are engaged in at the refinery and throughout Chevron’s many other operations. And finally, Justin and Brittany discuss how engineering students can better prepare themselves for a career at an energy company like Chevron. Chevron's website: www.chevron.com  Chevron's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/chevron  Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson. Recorded on August 21, 2025 at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, CA.

In this episode, Paul explores the field of industrial engineering by interviewing two faculty members in the Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Department at Cal Poly Pomona. Dr. Shokoufeh Mirzaei is Professor and Chair of the department, specializing in applied optimization and artificial intelligence, and Dr. Payam Parsa is an Associate Professor specializing in supply chains and logistics.   During the interview, Shokoufeh and Payam describe the differences between industrial engineering and other engineering disciplines. They also discuss the types of courses industrial engineering students take, the types of jobs available for industrial engineers in industry and government, the importance of getting advanced degrees and certifications, and many other topics. Cal Poly Pomona Industrial & Manufacturing Department’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/imecpp  Cal Poly Pomona Industrial & Manufacturing Department’s website: https://www.cpp.edu/engineering/ime/index.shtml    “I, Pencil” essay by Leonard Reed: https://fee.org/ebooks/i-pencil  Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson. Recorded on June 10, 2025 at Cal Poly Pomona. 

In this episode, Paul explores the field of engineering technology by interviewing two faculty members in the Electromechanical Engineering Technology Department at Cal Poly Pomona. Dr. Farhana Abedin is an Associate Professor and Chair of the department, specializing in structural mechanics and materials, and Gerald Herder is a Professor specializing in industrial electronics, instrumentation, radio frequency systems, and microwave systems.  During the interview, Farhana and Gerald describe the differences between traditional engineering programs (e.g., mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, etc.) and engineering technology programs. They discuss the types of courses engineering technology students take, the types of jobs available to engineering technology students in both industry and government, and many other topics. Map of Engineering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQgxiQAMTTo  You can read more about the Cal Poly Pomona's engineering technology programs here: https://www.cpp.edu/engineering/et/index.shtml Have comments about this episode? Send your feedback to [email protected] and Paul will personally read your email. Episode produced and edited by Paul Nissenson. Thanks to Trevor Henderson for helping set up the sound recording equipment used during the interview. Recorded on May 29, 2025 at Cal Poly Pomona.