DISC Leadership & Staff

Dr. Goforth joined the chemistry faculty at Portland State University in August of 2008 after a joint post-doctoral appointment with the Departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. She is a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Careers at the Scientific Interface award recipient and an Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) Signature Research Fellow. Dr. Goforth also has interests in solid-state and materials chemistry, and the application of inorganic nanoparticles for technological applications, e.g., device minaturization.

Dr. Zhang is the Assistant Dean for Inclusive Innovation in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University. She supports student success & retention programs for Maseeh College and STEM students across campus, including in LSAMP. She also works on developing inclusive workforce strategies with local industries and nonprofits. Her research interests are in STEM education, cancer biology, and virology. She has a Ph.D. in Immunology from The Johns Hopkins University-School of Medicine and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington.

Professor Teuscher's research goal is to develop disruptive new computing paradigms and machines that will allow for lasting breakthroughs and open new application domains in the next 5-20 years. His team uses an interdisciplinary approach and applies tools from computer science, computer engineering, physics, biology, complex systems science, and cognitive science to the study and the design of next generation computing models and architectures. Dr. Teuscher obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree in computer science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) in 2000 and 2004 respectively. In 2004 he became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in 2005 a distinguished Director's Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and in 2007 a Technical Staff Member.

Vikki Espinosa, CPC is a Career Strategist, leadership transformation coach, and internationally recognized career development instructor. With over twenty years of experience in people development, she has a passion for empowering individuals to craft meaningful careers. Vikki is the new Program Coordinator for the Discover Internships for Semiconductor Careers (DISC) at Portland State University, where she is also pursuing her Master's in Education. She also teaches the Essential Skills curriculum in the Seminconductor Essentials Training (SET) workshop at Portland Community College, drawing from her rich background in career coaching, leadership development, and workforce innovation.

Vikki holds a degree in International Business and Marketing from Northeastern University and has received numerous accolades, including the Society of Women Engineers Spark Award for promoting diversity and mentorship.

Cassandra Ramirez is the CIMR Student Services Manager. In this role, they coordinate CIMR's services across programs (placement matching, summer programming, recruitment, financial support, etc.). They also work on the early stages of implementation for new programs. This can include getting programs set up in the CIMR infrastructure, sharing program coordination materials with programs, supporting program administration across CIMR programs, and more. 

Their main goals include helping the programs work well for the students and providing support to students in tandem with the CIMR team. 

They have lived in Portland most of their life, were recently learned she is neurodiverse (ADHD/Autism) and has a dog (Robin).