Five Faculty Receive Professional Achievement Honors

Five Chico State faculty members are being celebrated as recipients of the University’s Professional Achievement Honors, which recognize exemplary teacher-scholar achievement on our campus.

This year’s Professional Achievement Honors recipients, as selected by the University’s Faculty Recognition and Support Committee, are:

David Alexander—Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Alexander is a scholar of thermodynamics with an emphasis in several areas including renewable energy systems, engineering and design pedagogy, entrepreneurship, and STEM education. Since arriving at Chico State in 2014, he has worked hard to build a crossroads between engineering and business on campus, and to foster new thinking for both students and faculty. Alexander holds four patents for innovations in electrical circuitry and has contributed to numerous refereed conference proceedings across the country covering a variety of topics including cross-disciplinary teaching and collaboration, thermodynamic principles, and vehicle performance and energy use. Alexander has worked on numerous funded projects to benefit the University, including as co-PI on a $2.2 million grant for 2019–24 from the National Science Foundation on cultivating a culture of entrepreneurial mindset and undergraduate research, and as PI on a $75,000 grant for 2015–2020 that developed the Collegiate Wind Competition. He has served as vice chair for the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing and as faculty mentor for Raising Educational Achievement in Collaborative Hubs (REACH), and he is currently a member of the Faculty Development Board and the Outstanding Thesis/Project Committee. He also serves as an undergraduate advisor for 126 students.

Josephine Blagrave—Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology

Blagrave has cultivated an incredible record of teaching and service that showcases a deep commitment to creating more accessible and inclusive spaces and practices for neurologically diverse students and community members. Blagrave currently serves as program director of the Autism Clinic, program coordinator for the Neurodiversity and Disability Symposium, and she is on the board of The Yellow Door, a local, nonprofit organization that offers support to individuals with autism and their families. Blagrave has published leading articles in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Autism in Adulthood, Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and the Journal of Physical Education, as well as two pieces for Autism Parenting Magazine and a book chapter for Creative Arts and Disability, published in 2021 by Austin Macaulay Publishers. Blagrave frequently presents neurodiversity-centered papers and posters at various prominent national and international conferences devoted to autism research, diversity and disability, and adapted physical activity, and in addition to teaching classes in the adaptive physical education and kinesiology programs, she serves often as a faculty mentor, advisor, and thesis committee and comprehensive exam chair for countless students across her department. Adding to a long list of generous research grants awarded to Blagrave throughout her tenure, in 2021 she and a colleague received over $1 million dollars from the US Department of Education to fund the “High Intensity and Adapted Physical Education (HIAPE) Project.” Blagrave was named the 2018 College of Communication and Education Inclusive Educator in recognition of her work, and she recently served as a College of Communication and Education’s EdXChico speaker.

Kurtis B. Kredo II— Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Kredo is the newest O’Connell Endowed Chair recipient (2021–2023) in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management, in recognition of his commitment to research and funding that concerns high-impact simulations done by engineers using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)—this research works toward allowing non-experts to run simulations in FPGAs at an accelerated rate compared to normal computer systems. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has awarded Kredo, as PI, two grants totaling over $1 million dollars toward both basic and applied research in high-speed, cost-effective simulation and design techniques for the Power Electronic Power Distribution System (PEPDS), a project that will include opportunities for students to perform their own undergraduate research. Because of this work, Kredo was also given the Outstanding New Project Investigator award from the University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs in 2019. Additionally, he has published numerous peer-reviewed papers for a range of prominent conferences, symposiums, and workshops both nationally and internationally, as well as articles in leading journals including the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges and Computer Networks. Kredo currently serves as the Computer Engineering Program coordinator, is on the Council for Promoting Academic Integrity, and is a member of the University Writing Committee and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Personnel Committee.

Marie Lippmann—Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department

Lippmann’s impressive record as teacher and scholar is an enduring reflection of the University’s priorities of civic and global engagement, creating transformative student experiences, and fostering prominent scholarship and innovation. Since arriving at Chico State in 2017, she has led a research group each semester for both undergraduate and graduate students in the psychology department. This is a unique, hands-on experience in which each student completes a research study of their own design, allowing participants to learn more about the discipline and the role of research in the field. Lippmann also received an ERASMUS+ International Exchange grant to support an academic exchange cooperation between Chico State and the Dresden University of Technology, Germany, for select faculty and students from 2017–2019. Lippmann is a prolific researcher, and has published numerous articles in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, as well as a book chapter in the International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching, published in 2022 by Springer International Handbooks of Education. She also frequently presents peer-reviewed papers and posters at leading regional, national, and international conferences on topics ranging from culture and language to instructional design, digital communication, and online learning. Lippmann is active on campus as a student mentor and advisor, and she currently serves on a variety of committees within the psychology department, including undergraduate curriculum and assessment, psychological science, and student awards.

Garrett Liles—Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture

Garrett Liles is a remarkable teacher, scholar, and researcher with an interest in soil, carbon, and resource assessment with a specific focus on soil health and regenerative management practices. Liles has a strong record of securing grant funding—in 2018 he received nearly $400,000 from the Natural Resources Conservation Service as co-PI for a conservation innovation grant, and in 2020 he was awarded $150,000 from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture as PI for a grant to develop a regenerative agriculture demonstration laboratory program for undergraduate research experiences in soil science. Liles is now director of the Regenerative Agriculture Demonstration Lab (RAD Lab) on campus and a co-founding member of the Chico State Regenerative Agriculture Initiative. He has published a number of articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences and the Journal of Food Science, and he contributed a book chapter to the Development in Soil Science book series, Vol 36, published by Elsevier Science in 2019. Liles presents regularly at various national and international conferences, focusing on soil health, forest ecosystems, and regenerative management strategies. He also serves broadly throughout campus—he is a mentor to both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the Chico STEM Connections Collaborative summer research program, as well as a graduate coordinator for the MS in Interdisciplinary Studies: Regenerative Agriculture, program lead for the College of Agriculture Plant and Soil Science, and leader of the Chico State Soil Judging Team.