1st Place
Ryutaro Ichihara
Kinesiology
2nd Place
Timothy Rupiper
Secondary Education
3rd Place
Catania Calavitta
Mathematics
Ryutaro Ichihara
Ryutaro Ichihara, the 2024 Titan Grad Slam champion, earned acclaim for his phenomenological research on bodily perception and mind-body relationships in human movement, inspired by his brother with cerebral palsy. Hailing from Japan, he joined Cal State Fullerton in 2016 as a collegiate soccer athlete, later earning an M.S. and B.S. in Kinesiology with a Philosophy minor, alongside the CSUF Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Selected for the Lemelson Research Center Fellowship Program, Ryutaro is preparing to translate his research into practical applications in Washington, D.C. Formerly a CSUF lecturer, he now serves as a Performance Analyst for the Fullerton College Men’s Soccer team, fostering a winning mindset in their pursuit of a state championship, and as a Personal Trainer, guiding clients to achieve their ideal body and lifestyle through mental and physical training.
Dr. Alexandra Terrones
Dr. Alexandra Terrones is the Senior Program Coordinator for CSUF’s Graduate Studies Center. She joined the staff at CSUF from UCLA where she received her B.A. in psychology and her M.A. and Ph.D. in higher education. Dr. Terrones’ prior experience in higher education includes positions in residential life and academic advising. Prior to coming to CSUF, she was an instructor for UCLA’s advising initiative called University Studies where she led seminars for freshmen, transfers, first generation college students, and students in the humanities and social sciences.
Dr. Volker Janssen
Volker Janssen grew up in Germany and came to the U.S. as a graduate student with a Fulbright scholarship in 1999. In 2005, he joined CSUF after earning his Ph.D. in American History at UC San Diego. Since then, he has taught economic, environmental, constitutional, and military history as well as the history of California. He specializes in the history of incarceration and is currently writing a new resource guide on Alcatraz island for the National Park Service. He has served as his program’s graduate advisor, supervised dozens of theses and projects, and currently directs ELEVAR, a Dept of Education Title V, HIS-Division grant supporting graduate student success at CSUF. Before his academic career, Janssen worked as a comedian, general office lackey, engineering-project administrator, newspaper editor, and radio reporter.