HSU Professor Arne Jacobson (far right) of the Schatz Energy Research Center leads a team of researchers in national energy efficiency. / Humboldt State University

Starting in the spring of 2008, Schatz faculty Arne Jacobson and Charles Chamberlin and graduate students Colin Sheppard and Meg Harper developed a new statistical measure of residential electrical consumption that is a component of the scorecard compiled by a non-profit green watchdog, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The council’s third annual report, which was issued Oct. 21 and listed California as the number one state in energy efficiency, incorporated the Schatz Center’s research for the first time.

Jacobson and his colleagues carried out the milestone project with about $100,000 in financing from the Natural Resources Defense Council, in partnership with the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. “It’s a performance-based metric, using data on different states’ energy consumption,” Jacobson said. “ACEEE’s scorecard is policy-based, our metric is performance-based. They’re different measures, but they’re complementary.”

The Schatz metric is a chapter in the report card and it is slated to become an ongoing contribution. The Natural Resources Defense Council proposed the measurement, HSU researchers did the technical work and now it has passed through the proof-of-concept stage.

The metric is based on total energy consumption in each state’s residential sector. The data are adjusted for weather, which allows researchers to measure trends year-to-year. Each state is evaluated relative to its own baseline and over, say, a five-year period, upward and downward shifts can be plotted. Jacobson and his colleagues started with residential efficiency data because their quality is high and their inconsistencies are few. The ACEEE scorecard ranks states in six efficiency categories, including utilities, transportation and appliances.

Now the Schatz team is working with the Department of Energy to standardize its data collection so that the metric can be applied more broadly. “A lot of our work has centered on establishing that this type of metric is an effective way of tracking [efficiency],” Jacobson explained. “In conjunction with that, we’ve been working with the appropriate data collection agencies in the government to persuade them to invest in collecting data in a standardized way that would allow this to be done across multiple sectors. It’s mainly the utilities in the states that would need to standardize the definitions.”

The Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Department of Energy is strongly interested in the concept, Jacobson said, and data availability-getting the collection right-has been identified as a crucial issue in fine-tuning the performance approach. The Schatz Center and the department are examining strategies to improve collection. “We’re also in the process of doing what we’re calling some ‘ground-truthing’ analyses, where we’re comparing on a state-by-state basis the ACEEE’s policy-based approach with the data-based approach that we’re using. Where do they link up and where are things that are unexpected?” Jacobson added.

If the nation is to meet the targets necessary to address global climate change, he said, energy efficiency is by far the least expensive approach, hence the federal government’s interest in it. The challenge is that energy efficiency is largely a state responsibility and Washington does not have that much influence over it. California has been a leader in the drive for decades and if other states are to follow its model, “then we have to be able to track how well states are doing and then beyond that, create a framework of incentives for states to do well. First we have to figure out how to measure it, then figure out what policies to devise to give rewards to those who do well,” he said.

Professor and director David Scheerer reviews a scene with actress Theresa Ireland, who plays Michelle, during the filming of “The Music Inside.” The film will be screened at HSU’s Van Duzer Theatre on Nov. 13 and 14. / Humboldt State University

The Music Inside is an independent feature film directed by HSU professor David Scheerer, which the public will see for the first time in two sneak preview screenings on Nov. 13 and 14 at the Van Duzer Theatre.

About a third of the movie was filmed at HSU and on the North Coast, and it was completed with the participation of HSU students and faculty. “These scenes comprise the part of the story that takes place in the present,” director Scheerer explained, “but like movies such as Slum Dog Millionaire, much of the story is told in flashbacks to the past.”

The flashback scenes star Amy Redford, daughter of Robert Redford, who has acted in a number of independent films as well as television series episodes. The scenes shot here star Theresa Ireland, known on the North Coast for community theatre and local commercials. Award-winning San Francisco actor Kurt Kroesche stars in both time periods as a young mental patient who becomes the middle-aged professor.

“Thematically, this film deals with the stigma and prejudice associated with mental illness,” Scheerer said, “and how love can be a source of strength in overcoming that stigma.”

The HSU Connection

When his HSU faculty colleagues in the Theatre, Film & Dance department said they wanted to include a film screening in the year’s production schedule, Scheerer saw it as a way to take care of some unfinished business, as well as to provide some unique opportunities for HSU students.

Theater, Film and Dance student Elizabeth Cruz, left, along with Professor David Scheerer and student Sandra Grimm review production notes before resuming filming on “The Music Inside.” / Humboldt State University

The unfinished business was a feature film, shot in 2005 when Scheerer taught film at Montana State University. Using professional actors, some of whom he’d met during his years working on what became the Sundance Film Festival, he directed the script of a former screenwriting student, Michael Van Wagenen. But test screenings revealed some problems, and the project was shelved.

Scheerer and Van Wagenen discussed a solution—a different way to frame the story of a mentally ill young man and his relationship with a young woman who was interning as a social worker. But the new version required a new character, and new scenes amounting to about a third of the complete film.

So Scheerer asked his HSU colleagues “if they would be willing to support me in shooting these new scenes. Much to my joy, the season selection committee agreed.”

So last fall, students who took a pre-production workshop became involved in making what essentially is a new movie. “They looked at the first cut, and helped me identify what worked and what didn’t work. They helped me in rewriting the script, casting the new scenes, and doing all the pre-production work.”

Students helped build the set, which eventually became something of a community effort. “Since our professor’s field is theology, we wanted to have artifacts from all religions in his office, so a lot of people across the campus helped to collect them,” Scheerer said. “These artifacts are important to the story, because part of his mental illness had been his belief that he was a prophet.”

Students returned between first and second semesters to work as the crew on the January shoot. Among guests on the set was HSU president Rollin Richmond, who “directed” a scene. “He called ‘Action!’” Scheerer said, “and ‘Cut!’”

“To do the shoot, I brought in Brian Wilcox, a professional cinematographer and a friend of mine,” Scheerer said. “And Panavision gave us the Super 16 film package, so our students got experience working with a high-end professional film package, and with a professional cinematographer.”

Other interior and exterior scenes were also shot on the HSU campus (“though we never say in the script what university it is”), and the crew journeyed up U.S. 101 to Trinidad to film a key sequence—in fact, the first scene of the movie.

“We were going to shoot the opening on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, because of its iconic quality,” Scheerer said. “But Luffenholtz Beach in Trinidad turned out to be so beautiful and so appropriate. We filmed at sunset on a gorgeous January day—it’s such a striking and impressive opening sequence that it won out over the bridge.”

HSU students then helped edit and finish the film in a post-production workshop last spring.

Theatre, Film & Dance faculty also participated in the new scenes: Jody Sekas designed the set, Rae Robison designed the costumes, and James McHugh worked on the lighting with cinematographer Wilcox.

Scheerer also enlisted Music Department professor J. Brian Post to write new score elements. Art Department Professor Wayne Knight created the storyboards for the new scenes, and designed the titles and poster elements. Knight died in October of complications from the H1N1 virus. “We’ve added a title to the film,” Scheerer said, “dedicating the screenings at HSU to Wayne.”

HSU Students Have a Piece of the Action

The participation of HSU students and faculty who worked on the film doesn’t necessarily end with the sneak preview screenings. While in Montana in 2005, Scheerer had created a cooperative ownership of The Music Inside, with the help of lawyer John Frohnmayer, former director of the National Endowment of the Arts. Essentially, everyone who worked on the film owns a piece of it, and shares in any future profits.

“The reason I’m pioneering the cooperative approach is because of my background at Sundance,” Scheerer said. “I really believed in the independent film movement in the 80s, and I could never find a way that the producers didn’t end up owning the work and making all the money. We’d rather divide the profits with the people who made the film.” Because of the North Coast shoot, HSU students are now among those people.

Profits could come from television and DVDs, perhaps after a tour of international film festivals. “If it works,” Scheerer said, “it could change the way independent films are made.”

The two sneak preview screenings at the Van Duzer Theatre are part of the process of getting The Music Inside ready for its future. “This is still a work in progress,” Scheerer said. “Since we are still able to change things, we are eager for audience feedback.” Those who attend the screenings will be asked to fill out questionnaires.

The Sneak Previews of The Music Inside are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14 in the Van Duzer Theatre on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $10, $8 students and seniors, with a limited number of free seats to HSU students for each performance, from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. http://HSUStage.blogspot.com.

The Apollo 14 Lunar Module, seen from the Command Module after undocking and separation. / Courtesy NASA

The truth is that these mystical plants do exist, and they’re all over Humboldt State’s campus.

On January 31, 1971, NASA launched the Apollo 14 lunar module and the ship’s three astronauts were allocated a certain amount of weight for personal items. Stuart Roosa, a former smoke jumper for the U.S. Forest Service, brought aboard some 500 seeds from five tree species, including redwoods. Alan Shepard famously brought along three golf balls and a makeshift club to later tee off on the surface of the moon.

Five days later Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while Roosa remained in orbit in the command module. Roosa and his canister of seeds circled the moon 34 times as Shepard and Mitchell left their footprints in the lunar dust.

When the space shuttle returned, the seeds were gathered up by the U.S. Forest Service and NASA to be studied. “It was part science, part publicity stunt,” Stan Krugmen, a former U.S. Forest Service geneticist, told Science@NASA, the agency’s online news service.

The scientists were eager to test the germination of these seeds and record the effects of space travel on the plants, as at the time there were few studies on the effects of space on botanicals.

As a surprise to nearly everyone, almost all the seeds germinated successfully, and after a few years the Forest Service had close to 450 seedlings (some from cuttings). Some were planted with their earth-bound counterparts as controls, (as would be expected, after over 20 years there is no discernible difference) but most were given away in 1975 and 1976 to state forestry organizations to be planted as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration.

Some of the seedlings arrived at HSU around 1976, according to retired HSU forestry professor Bill Sise. “There were hundreds of them just sitting in our greenhouse, and none of us knew what they were. We just thought they were regular trees and we didn’t know what to do with them all. I actually gave two of them away to a professor friend of mine from Sacramento State who needed seedlings. Neither of us knew until after they had been planted in Sutter
Creek that those two trees were moon trees.”

When asked what happened to all the moon trees that were given to HSU, Sise said, “They’re all over the place.” Actually, they can be found alongside the Theatre Arts building, behind Plant Operations, near CCAT and next to the forestry and natural resources buildings. There’s no way to know exactly which trees orbited the moon, as they’re growing alongside traditional redwoods and trees of other species. Sise continued, “We planted them all over campus, and since then, some have been ripped up for building purposes, with people not knowing what they are.”

HSU’s moon trees are found at various locations around campus. Clockwise from upper left, three moon trees were planted outside the Theatre Arts Building. A few moon trees also made their way to the landscaping behind the Natural Resources Building. The wooded area behind the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology was home to many moon trees, some of which were moved to make room for CCAT’s relocation. Finally, HSU’s Plant Operation’s yard is also dotted with moon trees.

Download a map of the campus moon trees

Back in 1975 and ’76, with a few exceptions, no record was kept of where these trees were sent. Scientists do know that a loblolly pine was planted at the White House, and trees were planted in Brazil, Switzerland, and presented to the Emperor of Japan, among others. Trees have also been planted in Washington Square in Philadelphia, at Valley Forge, Pa., in Kansas’ International Forest of Friendship, and at various universities and NASA centers.

Over the last several years, Dave Williams of NASA has been collecting records of where the “moon trees” are now located. So far his count is incomplete, and HSU is listed as having only three trees—when in fact the campus is home to dozens. And Humboldt State is one of the few universities even listed as having been given the trees.

Sise reminisced about a plaque that used to sit on the three trees next to the Theatre Arts building. “We did have a plaque so that people would know where some of the moon trees were located, but kids living in the dorms kept stealing it and hanging it like a prize in their rooms. We finally just gave up trying to put it back up, and it’s been at least fifteen years since we’ve had that plaque there.”

Second-year art student Rose Ellis said, “I think it’s fantastic that we have something like this here on campus. It makes HSU that much more unique, and shouldn’t be such a secret to the students. The majority of people I know have no idea what they are or that we even have them.”

Construction on the College Creek Apartments is expected to wrap up in time for the fall 2010 semester. / Humboldt State University

This year, more than ever, students and parents are feeling the pinch as a growing number of students seek on-campus housing.

This year’s freshman class included nearly 1,400 new students, capping three years of expanding enrollment. The increase represents a victory for the university as it tries to keep up with enrollment requirements set by the California State University system, but it also means potential headaches for students who need places to live.

“In the last four years, because of increased demand, on-campus housing has been an issue and that’s why we’re building more. Having adequate on-campus housing is critical in attracting students to HSU,” said John Capaccio, director of Housing.

A view of the College Creek Apartments construction site. / Submitted Photo

The College Creek housing complex, which includes nearly 100 apartments designed to house 430 students, is funded through system-wide Revenue Bonds and comes with a $48 million price tag. The space also includes an all-season soccer field and a 15,000 square foot community center that will serve as a social hub for the south end of campus.

Work began in Nov. 2008 with the building closest to L.K. Wood Boulevard and has been moving clockwise around the job site, where the final building, the community center, is receiving its initial framing.

“On some of the buildings the lath is on the outside and it’s ready to be plastered. Then all the way around to College Walk, the last building is just in the final stages of being framed. The community center has some steel, and is just beginning to get the wood framing,” said Richard Carlson, associate director of Housing.

Sacramento’s Brown Construction is on schedule to have the project, designed by architectural firm RSK Associates, ready for occupancy by fall 2010.

Each room comes with amenities students have come to expect in college housing: Ethernet and wireless internet access, complete kitchen units with ranges, refrigerators and dishwashers and, of course, plenty of laundry facilities.

The complex’s location has resulted in the loss of some on-campus parking. Capaccio explains that locating the apartments on the southern end of campus was necessary to take advantage of the limited flat ground on campus. But it’s the location that offers a bonus to students by putting them closer to Arcata’s downtown, making it easier to get around on foot and bicycle, hopefully reducing the overall number of cars traveling to campus.

In 2010, the Redwood Manor Apartments, located next to the Mai Kai Parking Lot, are expected to come down, freeing up space for additional parking.

For more information, visit: http://www.humboldt.edu/housing/collegecreek/

The Veterans Entrollment Transition Services, housed in the HSU Library basement, provides extensive services for returning military veterans. / Humboldt State University

Military life and combat survival produce uniquely close friendships that make readjustment to civilian life a major hurdle for many veterans, who deeply miss their service buddies. The V.E.T.S Office, located in the Library basement, is expressly designed to smooth the transition and provide them with new relationships based on the common experiences gained from serving their country.

“V.E.T.S is a huge help,” says former Marine infantryman Scott Gliosca, who put in two tough tours in Iraq. He was wounded in often-lethal combat patrols in 2004-2005 in the city of Fallujah between Baghdad and Ramadi in the notorious Sunni triangle. “In fact, I wouldn’t be attending HSU this semester if it weren’t for the program,” Gliosca emphasizes. “The college I transferred from near Buffalo, NY, had exactly one person staffing the vets program, a guy I never got to see, and all he did was certify our benefits claim each month.”

Former Marine infantryman Scott Gliosca, right, transferred to Humboldt State after attending school in Buffalo, NY. / Submitted Photo

With an assist from HSU alumni and a fellow Marine, Gliosca emailed V.E.T.S. chief Kim Hall. “Kim got me accepted here and I was just dumbfounded how helpful everybody in the office was, it was just surreal to me after my experiences in Buffalo. For example, they helped me choose a better route to follow for my benefits. But it’s a lot more than that. It’s a place to go chat with other veterans, likeminded people. It’s a different connection from civilian life that you need every so often.”

Ex-Army MP Brenna Kathleen Toel, California born and bred and one of the V.E.T.S. staff, explains why transition services are crucial. “It’s a very big need, because a lot of the [civilian] people we see don’t know we’re vets. That’s fine, but many of us don’t know how to reach out for help when we get home. The Army has the highest suicide rate for returning troops.”

An MP for five years with lengthy postings in South Korea and Germany, Toel says she still finds civilian culture difficult at times, in part because it is so much more relaxed than the military, where soldiers are expected to be highly disciplined and obedience to authority is absolute. So occasionally she is frustrated when students are 10 minutes late for class and she arrives 10 minutes early. Nor does she feel free to speak out vociferously in the classroom, considering it rude. Her feelings were reinforced by her service in South Korea, where the people “taught me a great deal about respect for one’s elders. I thought I had it—and to some extent I did—but the Koreans have reverence for their elders. That really impressed me and stuck with me.”

Like Gliosca, Toel says the camaraderie she finds at the V.E.T.S. Office is just the thing for the kind of friendships she came to cherish in the Army. “Those were people who went out with me every day. They put on a vest and they put on a gun, and said, ‘OK, I’ll step up.’ I knew there were some of them who’d do anything for me.” She served in South Korea during a time when North Korea was conducting missile tests and pursuing nuclear advances and she was stationed only two hours south of the demilitarized zone, where the two nations have been at daggers drawn for more than 50 years. “It was scary, but we knew we would bleed for each other,” she says of her comrades-in-arms. “It’s a very tight bond, much more so than meeting somebody at a coffee house and starting to become friends. We [V.E.T.S staff] offer a place for our fellow vets to come and hang out, and they can ease back into civilian life with other vets, who have been through the same thing.”

Fishing boats dock in Humboldt Bay. / Humboldt State University

The findings suggest that without major management changes, commercial fishing could meet the same fate as Santa Clara County’s extinct truck produce and processing industry and Sonoma County’s withered apple sector.

Commercial salmon fishing, which has suffered recently from limited seasons and outright closures, is far from alone in the industry’s plight, according to statewide data analyzed by Humboldt State Economics Professor Steve Hackett, his research associate, Doreen Hansen, HSU undergraduate researchers and the Maryland consulting firm King and Associates. Although Dungeness crab fishing is strong on a cyclical basis, money-losing operations include such fisheries as harpoon/spear, hook and line, near shore and ground fish trap, sea urchin and southern California trawl.

Persistent revenue losses have shrunk the industry dramatically. Department of Fish and Game sales of commercial fishing licenses of all types sank 31% from 2000 to 2008, dropping from 26,049 to 18,052, according to Terry Tillman, a senior biologist and fisheries economist at the department.

Correspondingly, Hackett said, “The number of vessels in the industry has shrunk substantially across the whole state, the average age of commercial fishermen is getting older and a lot fewer people are engaged in commercial fishing. All this results in a struggle for funding to maintain the harbor and port infrastructure the industry is dependent on.”

Strong competition is in play as well. The commercial sector duels for catch with private sport fishermen, intensely so in southern California. Meanwhile, competition for fishing grounds is heightened by marine protection initiatives and the likelihood California will deploy wave energy conversion systems at sea to gain alternative electrical output.

“What you have is a constellation of policy challenges besetting commercial fishing,” Hackett emphasized, noting a corrosive feedback effect. “When it’s so hard to fish commercially and you don’t have enough fishermen, then the fish processors begin to fall by the wayside. And without them, you can’t have a commercial fishing industry. It’s very similar to what happened with truck produce and processing in Santa Clara County, which was completely eliminated by urbanization. Same thing with apple processing in Sebastopol and Sonoma County: the industry shrinks, you lose the processors and then eventually the rest of the industry goes away.”

Tillman said the new economic analysis could be a crucial underpinning for bold management actions to restore the industry’s health. “In some instances, bold action may even be for [state and federal] management to let the industry operate with more flexibility, as an unfettered or unencumbered business enterprise,” he said in an interview. “Of course, there have to be biological constraints that the department, as a custodian of a public resource, needs to keep tabs on. But as long as we have acceptable fishing practices and sustainable levels of fish, there may be room to allow the fishing fleet to operate more profitably.”

Many other states and countries have taken that direction under fisheries quota programs, he said, but California has not been in the forefront.

The analysis and companion files are titled “The Economic Structure of California’s Commercial Fisheries,” available at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/economicstructure.asp

Professor Stephen Sillett in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. / Humboldt State University

… and his work has even inspired Richard Preston’s best-selling book, “The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring.”

Now Sillett’s research into California’s redwoods is highlighted in the October National Geographic cover story (and also in the next Humboldt Magazine, to be published later this month).

For six months Sillett worked with National Geographic photographer Nick Nichols and writer Michael Fay, capturing images, video and stories that Sillett calls “mind-blowing.” The resulting work is featured in both the magazine and an accompanying hour-long documentary, “EXPLORER: Redwood Giants”, to be aired on National Geographic Channel in late September.

For Sillett, the magazine story marks the end of his year-long sabbatical and a return to the classroom. In the field, he says he’s done cataloging the world’s tallest trees—they’ve all been found. Instead, Sillett and his team are turning their focus to affects of climate change on these highly adapted trees.

The research involves identifying several research plots in all the major parks and reserves for coast redwoods and giant sequoias, and determining how redwoods might look after rising temperatures and dwindling water resources take their toll.

For scientists, the data Sillett hopes to collect is useful in not only understanding how these ancient giants have survived for millennia, but also how society might deal with a changing climate.

The October issue of National Geographic will be available on newsstands everywhere in mid to late September.

Look for Humboldt Magazine in locations throughout campus and in mailboxes sometime in the next few weeks.

You can learn more about Sillett and his work at http://www.humboldt.edu/redwoods.

Students relax in the new Library Café, located in the building’s main lobby. / Humboldt State University

Humboldt State University has opened the Library Café in the building’s main lobby where patrons can buy refreshments and socialize, while taking advantage of multiple electrical outlets to power and recharge their handheld devices.

Designed to provide a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere with a Northwestern stream design motif, the new Library Café is serving coffee and espresso drinks and selected bottled juices, teas, sodas and waters. Los Bagels bagels and Vellutini Bakery pastries are served mornings and pre-made sandwiches, salads, various fruits and assorted energy, health and candy bars are also available. Arrangements are being made to obtain more local products for customers. The café has seating for 46 people, including diner-style booths, bar stools and full-size sofas and armchairs.

For now the Library Café is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Plans call for weekend hours and evening hours until 10 p.m., commencing Saturday, September 19. An all-day open house is being planned for later this month.

The Library’s existing drink and snack dispensers will remain in the south wing on the first floor.

All of the café staff positions are held by HSU students, and the new facility was designed and built in-house by Facilities Design and Plant Operations staff. Fire & Light Originals of Arcata supplied unique sconces, sea glass and pendant light shades that enshrine the Northwestern stream motif. A portion of the cost of the project was covered by the Parent and Family Fund.

“This project is a fine example of collaboration across University divisions,” said Burt Nordstrom, Vice President of Administrative Affairs, who oversees HSU business services.

Wayne Perryman, new Interim Dean of the Library, seconded that, adding, “We are very excited to be able finally to offer this service in the Library, which represents the culmination of an effort that was first envisioned by Library personnel back in 2003. Now that the café has been completed, I can truthfully say it exceeds our expectations, thanks to the collaborative efforts of everyone who worked tirelessly to fund, design, equip and build it. I extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make this dream a reality. I am absolutely convinced that the students will quickly make the new café their home-away-from-home when they need a respite from their studies.”

In the words of Ron Rudebock, Director of HSU Dining Services, “This has been a group effort all around, with the Library, the Parent and Family Fund and Dining Services, as well as Facilities Design and Plant Operations, involved. It was through a lot of groups working together that made the Library Café happen.”

The facility completes the second phase of a multi-pronged project to furnish the campus with a 21st century Learning Commons that reestablishes the Library as the centerpiece of HSU, according to President Rollin Richmond.

Geography Professor Stephen Cunha / Humboldt State University

In accepting the recommendation, the President said, “Professor Cunha is a natural choice. While he is an internationally known and respected scholar with a fascinating background, he is also a teacher with a real passion for his discipline. Humboldt State students recognize his commitment, and his classes here are much in demand.”

The Advisory Board for Research and Creative Projects, appointed by the Academic Senate, called Cunha “an internationally known expert on the geography of Central Asia and a national leader of K-12 geographic education.”

“The real honor,” Cunha said, “is to be included among Humboldt State’s finest teacher-scholars. Their collective erudition in science, art, humanities and social science defines and supports our educational mission. The field work, writing and professional meeting presentations kick my work with students up a notch. Scholarship is the score, teaching and student advising are the performance.”

Cunha added, “I’ve always felt lucky to turn a youthful passion into a lifelong career, and to work with motivated HSU students who share that interest.”

As for the Outstanding Scholar Award itself, Cunha said, “My cartographer wife Mary deserves at least 51 percent of it.”

Prior to joining HSU in 1996 Cunha served 10 seasons as a park ranger in Yosemite and Alaska and four years examining the potential for a national park and biosphere reserve in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan in Central Asia. They are famed as Marco Polo’s “Roof of the World.”

A graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Davis, Cunha is the director of the California Geographic Alliance. Under his leadership, the organization has involved more than 75,000 of the state’s teachers in various instructional activities in a concerted drive to offer more effective geography education. He and his alliance partners have secured more than $3 million in grants in the last 10 years to advance geographic literacy and education in the state. In 2007, the alliance and its partners won a $1 million start-up endowment from the David & Lucille Packard Foundation and the National Geographic Society to allow the alliance’s efforts to continue in perpetuity.

Cunha himself has received many major grants for his scholarship, including funds from the Bechtel Foundation, the California Department of Education, the University of California and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

Since the inception of the National Geography Bee in 1989, Cunha has worked closely with the National Geographic Society to expand the contest, and California now has the largest bee in the nation. More than 100,000 of the state’s fourth through eighth graders compete each year, led by Cunha as state coordinator. He assists schools, presides over the state final each spring and, with HSU’s Mary Hackett, maintains the state office in Arcata. The three-day competition involves student winners from 21 countries.

A prolific author, Cunha writes for diverse audiences—children, young adults, the general public and scholars—in textbooks, journals, encyclopedia entries, government reports and book chapters. Often they are illustrated with photographs from his frequent world travels. This year he is a contributor to the five-volume Encyclopedia of Asia.

Both of his National Geographic books, Our 50 States and The Official National Geographic Bee Study Guide, reached Amazon Children’s best seller list. He has co-authored social studies and science textbooks for grades two through high school, and consulted on more than 75 National Geographic Society books, maps and magazine articles.

Cunha was one of five 2007 recipients of the $20,000 California State University Wang Family Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding faculty and administrators. That same year, he won the Hilda Taba Award from the California Council for Social Studies for outstanding and enduring contributions to social science education in the state. In 2001, he was selected for the Distinguished Teaching Award of the National Council for Geographic Education.

Environmental Research & Engineering graduate student Nathan Sanger works with HSU alum Bryce Mayall as the two install photovoltaic solar panels atop the Old Music Building. /Humboldt State University

“We chose the location because of its high visibility. We wanted people to notice it when they came back to campus in the fall,” said James Robinson, student manager of the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund (HEIF), a campus energy initiative funded by students

The project is so visible that community members and campus visitors have called the contractor in charge of the job, Scurfield Solar, asking when the array’s output meter will be up and running.

“A few people have even called to tell us that it’s broken, but we just tell them we’re not quite finished yet. It’ll be up and running soon,” said Bryce Mayall, Humboldt State environmental science alum and solar installer for Scurfield Solar.

The installation, a joint project between the Renewable Energy Student Union and HEIF, will feature an interpretive sign and display from Natural Resources Planning & Interpretation students and a solar-themed art installation on the back of the PV panels. HEIF is currently soliciting proposals from art students to take on the project.

Robinson says HEIF’s mission is to reduce the environmental impact of energy use at Humboldt State University through student-driven projects—and this project hits the bull’s eye. On a sunny day, the array can provide as much as 40 to 50 kilowatt hours, roughly enough to power four homes.

The panels were installed over the summer, when the work could be completed with minimal interruptions. Christopher Carlsen and Nathan Sanger, both students in the Environmental Research & Engineering program, were selected as interns to work side by side with the contractors, providing labor and learning first-hand the tricks of the trade.

HSU Environmental Science alum Bryce Mayall shows Environmental Research & Engineering graduate student Nathan Sanger how to install PV solar panels atop the Old Music Building. /Humboldt State University

For Scurfield, an HSU alum himself who frequently works with HSU students, the project was an opportunity to expand the training and raise Humboldt’s profile as a place to learn about solar.

“The problem we’re facing right now is that there is tons of solar ready to be installed but no real place to get the training. Between HSU and CR we hopefully are meeting the demand and making Humboldt a destination for learning about solar.”

The Old Music Building project, part of the California Solar Initiative, supplements two existing University projects, a small solar demonstration system at the Telonicher Marine Laboratory in Trinidad that is a component of a hydrogen generation system, and a demonstration PV panel at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology.

The Humboldt State solar projects along with projects at 15 other CSU campuses, are expected bring eight megawatts of green power on line, offsetting almost 9,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to mothballing almost 49,000 cars. ##
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On the roof of the music building contractors and student interns install racks for photovoltaic panels.