Updates about the latest accomplishments—including latest research, publications, and awards—by students, faculty, and staff
Dr. Sean Craig received grant funding to hire undergraduate assistants in a study aimed at protecting and restoring kelp forests. Students will conduct fieldwork, including SCUBA diving in areas with dense sea urchin populations to assist with removal. Urchin overabundance can destroy kelp forests, creating “urchin barrens”- barren sea floors that are devoid of marine biodiversity and lacking in ecosystem health. The project will test different urchin removal frequencies and investigate environmental and ecological factors that support natural kelp recovery. Results will provide valuable insights to guide future kelp management and restoration.
Povheng Yam (MA student in Psychology), Alyssa Huynh (BS student in Biology), and Moriah Climaco (BA student in Art), with volunteer faculty advisor Dr. Paul Michael L. Atienza, successfully gave a presentation at the 2025 Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education National Conference. Titled "Leadership in Action: Lessons from ADPI-MENA on Building and Sustaining Cultural Spaces," the group shared the years of advocacy by students, staff, and faculty at Cal Poly Humboldt toward implementing an academic excellence center for Asian, Desi, Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian, and North African students. Follow ADPI-MENA on Instagram @humboldt.adpic
The Cal Poly Humboldt team representing South Sudan (Amber Rae Alvarez, Madison Henderson, Cruz Lopez, Lana Murillo, Veronica Patton, John Rutter, Kiera Sladen, and Ruth Worthington) at the National Model United Nations conference in New York took home an honorable mention award for their excellent work. Despite its name, the National Model United Nations conference draws 5,000+ students from more than 90 countries around the world. The recognition placed Cal Poly Humboldt in the top quarter of all schools competing at the international conference.
Model United Nations (PSCI 377) is taught every spring by Prof. Noah Zerbe and is open to any interested student.
The Cal Poly Humboldt Model United Nations program had a very successful year. At the regional Model United Nations of the Far West conference, the Humboldt delegation competed against more than 400 students from across the Western United States. The team representing Egypt (Emma Feige, Kiera Sladen, Blake Benbow, Daniel Levine, Amanda Cawthorn, and Florencia Munoz) won an outstanding delegation award. In addition, Amanda Cawthorn was the lead author in the best resolution at the conference, and Kiera Sladen was chosen as the best delegate in her committee.
Model United Nations is offered as a course (PSCI 377) every spring.
The Theatre program's performance of Clue: On Stage was evaluated by a respondent representing the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region 7. Eight students in the production received awards for KCACTF. Willow Augilar and Ali Laith have been nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting award, which provides them with special training opportunities at next year's KCACTF conference. In addition, 6 students won Meritorious Achievement Awards - Jayden Rocha for Sound Design, Mackenzie Wray for Stage Management, Abby Wetmore for Stage Management, Cora Shimetz for Properties Design, Amanda Coorey for Scenic Design, ande Steven Nicholos for Sound Design.
Our Cal Poly Humboldt engineering team won first place in the Water Treatment Competition this weekend at the annual American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Mid-Pacific Conference, hosted by UC Berkeley!
The Water Treatment Competition challenges students to design a sustainable and effective filter for treating simulated wastewater.
Our students spent two semesters building and improving their filter, and all that hard work paid off. The judges were impressed by their teamwork, school spirit, and ability to effectively communicate technical content.
We’re incredibly proud of their achievement and the way they represented Cal Poly Humboldt on a regional stage. Go Lumberjacks!
This year’s winning team included:
Elijah Harnar, Roland Carter, Zander Leigh, Shea Ciuca Duffy, Erika Ospenson, Nicholas Weiser, Kyle Ellis, Andrew Bricken, Sean Ruzicka, Kyle Amann, Jason Dyck, Felix Canari, Leonardo Castro, Eden Hill, Celeste Joyner, Erick Herrera, Teophil Edward, Hector Manuel, and Micah Matias.
Undergraduate alumna Jordyn Neal (now an M.S. candidate at CSU Fullerton) & Assistant Professor Allison Bronson had their recent publication in the Anatomical Record featured as the journal's "Editor's Choice" article for May 2025. The publication described inner ear shape in four species of sharks, part of a team effort including undergraduate alumna Samantha Rodrigues and data scientist John Denton. The Editor's Choice interview with Neal & Bronson is available through the American Association for Anatomy website.
Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty Joshua Smith is a co-author on a paper with an international team working on using triplet state Baird-aromaticity in photosensitive processes. In this study triplet state Baird-aromaticity is used to stabilize the quencher molecules used in fluorescence imaging. The paper was published in the Royal Chemical Society's open access journal, Chemical Science.
Bakouri, O. E.; Johnson, M. A.; Smith, J. R.; Pati, A. K.; Martin, M. I.; Blanchard, S. C.; Ottosson, H. Search of Improved Triplet-State Quenchers for Fluorescence Imaging: A Computational Framework Incorporating Excited-State Baird-Aromaticity. Chem. Sci. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SC01131K.
Dr. Justin Luong received CSU Agricultural Research Institute funding to assess how solar micro grids affect coastal prairie plant communities and soil properties. The study aims to determine land use strategies that maximize ecosystem services for native plant biodiversity, sheep forage, and solar energy. The project involves mentorship and training for undergraduate (Gabriel Abundis, Claudia Alfaro-Hernandez, Logan Holey) students and a graduate student (Angelina Garcia) to improve retention of diverse natural resource managers and scientists in rangeland sciences. Results of this study will inform California policy related to rangeland management and solar energy, as well as natural resource management.
Dr. Cynthia LeDoux-Bloom received a $145,000 grant from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to develop a monitoring strategy for improving the effectiveness of water quality, sediment, and flow monitoring efforts throughout the Elk River (Humboldt Co.) watershed. The monitoring strategy will be developed in conjunction with the Science and Coordinated Monitoring Workgroup composed of government agencies, non-profit agencies, and landowners. Findings shall serve as the basis for a monitoring plan.
John Meyer, with co-author Sherilyn MacGregor of the University of Manchester, recently published an open-access article titled “How (Not) to Politicize the Climate Crisis: Beyond the Antipopulist Imaginary.” The article is part of a special issue on “The Antipopulist Moment” published by Politische Vierteljahresschrift, the German Political Science Quarterly.
Angelina Garcia and Logan Holey received competitive research grants from the California Native Grassland Association (CNGA) to conduct research with Dr. Justin Luong. Logan will examine how local solar microgrid energy developments influence physical rangeland characteristics that result in microhabitats for plant communities, and Angelina will explore how targeted invasive species removal on affects rangeland soil health.
Environmental Studies Chair Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray will moderate a discussion with Joe Hendersen, Nikki Hoskins, Jade Sasser, Rebecca Weston, and Finn Does on how the climate crisis has been mobilized in service of authoritarian nationalism, anti-immigrant xenophobia and misogyny. Learn more and register here: https://www.climatepsychology.us/cpa-workshops-and-talks-aNVzu/unnaming…
Chemistry faculty Claire Till and Matt Hurst, along with alumni Ben Freiberger, led a paper just published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. This paper came from their fieldwork at sea off the coast of California and Oregon, and is compares the chemical reactivity and distribution of the essential nutrient iron with a potential tool to study it: scandium
Till, C.P., Hurst, M.P., Freiberger, R.B., Ohnemus, D.C., Twining, B.S., Marchetti, A., Coale, T.H., Pierce, E. (2025). Contrasting the marine biogeochemical cycles of iron and scandium in the California current system. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130(4), doi:10.1029/2024JC022087.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/UKXCXGUBBP3U4KJWPE4Q?target=10.1029/2024JC022087
Two research articles were recently published in international journals.
Amer Bakkour, Salah-Eddine Ouldboukhitine, Pascal Biwole, Sofiane Amziane,
Modeling heat and moisture transfer in bio-based wall structures using the finite element method: Application to straw walls in varied climatic conditions, Journal of Building Engineering, Volume 104, 2025
Mahdi Ibrahim, Fatima Harkouss, Pascal Biwole, Farouk Fardoun, Salah-Eddine Ouldboukhitine, Multi-objective hyperparameter optimization of artificial neural network in emulating building energy simulation, Energy and Buildings, 2025, 115643
Led by a previous undergraduate student mentee, Dr. Justin Luong co-published a paper in American Journal of Botany. The paper uses eDNA to explore microbial communities in the rhizosphere of an endangered species, Lupinus nipomensis, and characterizes differences in different field microhabitats. The study also looks at how microbial communities differ in field and greenhouse conditions.
Nguyen PV, Luong JC, Wishingrad V, Stratton LC, Loik ME, Meyer RS. 2024. Soil Biome Variation of Lupinus nipomensis Eastw. in Wet-Cool vs. Dry-Warm Microhabitats and Greenhouse Conditions. American Journal of Botany. e70020. doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.70020
Sean Stewart has published the first chapter of his thesis in the journal Restoration Ecology. For this research, Stewart and his M.S. advisor, Dr. Kerry Byrne, compared long-term demographic data and survival of transplanted (9 year) and extant (7 years) individuals of Applegate's milkvetch within the same population. Applegate's milkvetch is a Federally Endangered plant species found only near or within the city limits of Klamath Falls, Oregon. The results of this study suggest that population reinforcement can be a successful conservation tool for Applegate's milkvetch under the right conditions and the study may be used as a tool to inform conservation strategies for other imperiled herbaceous perennial plant species.
Stewart S. M. and K. M. Byrne. 2025. Is reinforcement a viable conservation strategy for the endangered perennial herb, Astragalus applegatei? Restoration Ecology 33: e14314. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14314
Sean returned to Humboldt State as a non-traditional student and earned his B.S. and M.S. in the ESM Department. He was the 2021 recipient of the McCrone graduate student fellowship award.
Drs. Kerry Byrne (ESM) and Justin Luong co-led a manuscript published in the journal Ecosphere. The study describes the results of a 4-year drought experiment in southern Oregon on two understudied sagebrush species. They found that severe drought had divergent effects on two adjacent plant communities with differing dominant sagebrush species (low sagebrush and silver sagebrush).
Byrne, K.M.*, J. C. Luong*, and K. Kaczynski. 2025. Divergent drought responses in two cold desert shrublands. Ecosphere 16(3): e70211. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70211
*co-first authors
Drs. Brandilynn Villarreal (Psychology), Rafael Cuevas-Uribe (Fisheries Biology), Jose Marin Jarrin (Fisheries Biology), and Maria Iturbide (Psychology) along with colleague Margarita Otero-Díaz (ESCALA Educational Services, Inc.) co-authored a publication titled The Story of Creando Conciencia: A Latinx Student-Focused Professional Learning Community published in the Association of Mexican American Educators Journal. https://doi.org/10.24974/amae.19.1.515
Dr. Paul Michael L. Atienza was chosen to join the Knowledge of AIDS (KOA) Research Community Network (RCN), which seeks to form a scholarly community for social scientific, humanistic, and socio-technical researchers of HIV/AIDS broadly situated within the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). He will participate in the second of three annual workshops in late March focused on forms of expertise that emerged in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. In addition to the workshops, KOA-RCN seeks to develop a robust online community, support research collaborations, and create a mentorship program.
Dr. Armeda Reitzel gave an invited presentation titled "The Triple A’s of Ancillaries: Advancing Academic Achievement" on March 4, 2025 at the LibreTexts Open Education Week 2025 conference.
Dr. Amy Rock recently published a chapter entitled Community-Based Learning as Experiential Learning in Geography. The chapter is part of a new book from Springer in Experiential Learning in Geography: The World as Our Classroom, edited by Jonathan Wessell, and compiling domestic and international examples of engaging geography students with local communities. A Meet the Authors session will be held at the upcoming American Association of Geographers annual meeting in Detroit, March 24-28.
Kauyumari Sanchez, PhD published the article Cross-modal matching of monosyllabic and bisyllabic items varying in phonotactic probability and lexicality in Frontiers in Language Sciences, 4, 1488399. https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1488399
Professors Ethan Gahtan (Psychology) and John Steele (Biology) along with students from psychology, biology, and chemistry developed a new transgenic zebrafish line in the Behavioral Neuroscience Research Lab. This development was first described in 2022 in the Journal of Comparative Neurology. They developed a zebrafish fluorescent reporter line to track neuronal chloride (Cl-), KCC2, expression in vivo during early brain development. "KCC2 regulates neuron excitability and development". Then in 2024 the team contributed this genetics resource to the Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC) to make it available to external researchers. Article reference: DOI: 10.1002/cne.25411 ; ZIRC entry: https://zfin.org/ZDB-PUB-221018-26#summary
Congratulations to Music Education major and saxophonist, Ricardo Paredes, who has been selected to receive a 2024-25 Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award. This national award provides $3,000 to recipients in recognition of their outstanding achievements in musical and academic performance, leadership and service, and contributions to building inclusive communities.
Dr. Bori Mazzag, CNRS Associate Dean; Arianna Thobaben, Supplemental Instruction Coordinator & Lecturer in Education; and Su Karl, Learning Center Director, co-authored a publication with colleagues from multiple CSU campuses on Peer Instruction in Mathematics: A Survey of the California State University. Their article was published in PRIMUS (Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies), a leading journal about teaching collegiate mathematics. The paper arose from a colloquium series in Spring 2021 for the CSU Math Council, a consortium representing all Departments of Mathematics and Statistics in the California State University System.
Peer Instruction in Mathematics: A Survey of the California State University
Glass, J., Karl, S., Mazzag, B., Negri, L., Pilgrim, M. E., Shanbrom, C., & Thobaben, A. (2025). Peer instruction in mathematics: A survey of the California State University. PRIMUS. Published online February 13, 2025.
Amanda Coorey, a theatre major from Temecula, CA, in her Junior year at CPH, took part in a public presentation of her Scenic Design work at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, held in Mesa Arizona on February 11 -15 2025. Amanda's design for the play Here We Are, by Dorothy Parker, was presented before a panel of 6 design faculty from various Colleges and Universities, who praised her work and chose it as a finalist from nearly 150 Design and Technology student submissions. This was Amanda's first Scenic Design - and the first time she publicly presented her work!
Congratulations, Amanda!
Dr. Pedro Peloso co-authored a publication with colleagues from multiple institutions focused on the evolutionary history and biogeography of the largest genus of Treefrogs in the Americas (Dendropsophus). They also assessed the evolution of egg deposition mode (aquatic vs. terrestrial). The paper was published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
Whitcher, C., Orrico, V. G. D., Ron, S., Lyra, M. L., Cassini, C. S., Ferreira, R. B., Nakamura, D. Y. M., Peloso, P., Rada, M. A., Rivera-Correa, M., Sturaro, M. J., Valdujo, P. H., Haddad, C. F. B., Grant, T., Faivovich, J., Lemmon, A., and Lemmon, E. M. "Phylogenetics, Biogeography, and Life History Evolution in the Broadly Distributed Treefrog Genus Dendropsophus (Anura: Hylidae: Hylinae)." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 204 (2025): 108275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108275.
Dr. Sara K. Sterner was recently chosen to serve on the award selection committee for the Children's Literature Assembly Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts. The seven-member national committee reviews texts written for young people in grades K-8, reading 700-1,000 books annually. Each year the committee selects 30 books that best exemplify the criteria established for the Notables Award. The role is a three-year appointment.
Dr. Loren Cannon (Philosophy), was interviewed and quoted in an NPR article entitled Trump's anti-trans effort is an agenda cornerstone with echoes in history by Odette Yousef. The online version of the article was published on February 6th. Additionally, he was interviewed and quoted by French Journalist, Camille Ribot, for her article L’obsession anti-trans de Donald Trump which was published February 19th in the French publication, “La Croix.” Both journalists contacted Dr. Cannon due to his expertise in analyzing the recent politicization of trans persons and the role the current federal administration is taking in targeting this population. Dr. Cannon’s book, “The Politicization of Trans Identity: An Analysis of Backlash, Scapegoating, and Dog-whistling From Obergefell to Bostock,” published in 2022, serves as the basis of his analysis.
Undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Wildlife at Cal Poly Humboldt were recognized at two recent professional conferences for their academic achievements.
The following students earned recognition and award money for "Best posters":
1st: Destiny Saucedo, graduate student; Cameron Piper, graduate student
2nd: Deirdre Replinger, graduate student
3rd: Sierra Olsen, undergraduate student
The Conclave Team won first place in the Quiz Bowl competition. The team included students Patience Brennan, Joseph Meihak, Daniel Meng, and Sam Strich, with Dee Naranjo as an alternate, and supporting crew BreeLynn Butler and Emma Leininger. Graduate student Alex Lewis also supported the team.
Dr. Rick Golightly received grant funding to support years 31 to 35 of a long-term project aimed at restoring and monitoring vulnerable seabird populations along the central California coast. Human use and disturbance at coastal areas where seabirds establish nests and raise their young has prompted a need for nest and human activity monitoring, which this work will address. Findings will inform programs that can minimize or eliminate disturbance, and ultimately conserve seabirds and their nesting colonies.
James F. Woglom, an instructor in the Art Department and School of Education, developed a comics-based chapter with co-author Stephanie Jones "The Jam: Speculative-Mutant Pedagogies, Aesthetic Education Theory, and Becoming Joy with Children in a What If World", that was published in the most recent issues of Teachers College Record.
Dr. Kimberly Vincent-Layton and Dr. Jeffrey White co-authored a publication with their research team colleagues across all three California public higher education systems in a Special Issue on Online Faculty Professional Development focused on The Humanizing Online STEM Academy program that many Humboldt faculty and CTL staff participated in over the last 6 years. This research highlights faculty experiences in the Academy, its role in promoting humanizing and inclusive teaching, and its impact on teaching.
Yu, D., Liu, Y., Shea, Z.M., Vincent-Layton, K., White, J., & Pacansky-Brock, M. (2025) Humanizing college online instruction: The effects of professional development on faculty perceptions and instructional practices. The Internet and Higher Education, 65, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.100998
Faculty Geoffrey Ostrove, Communication
Published the article, Theme parks, labor, and the Dark Lord: A political economic critique of the Walt Disney company’s relationship with the City of Anaheim. International Communication Gazette, 87(1), 60-70. Ostrove, G. (2025)
https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/22JATYHNJKMRRJQMRGAD/full
Professor Pascal Biwole co-authored the following recently published original research papers:
- Hygrothermal performance of wood-cement walls across various climate conditions, by Amer Bakkour, Salah-Eddine Ouldboukhitine, Pascal Biwole, and Sofiane Amziane, Materials and Structures, Volume 58 (8), February 2025.
- Multiple 3D particle tracking velocimetry for measuring airflow and pathogen trajectory in large indoor spaces, by Mohammed Umar Musa, Pascal Henry Biwole, and André Labbé, Building and Environment, Volume 271, 1 March 2025
James Floss, who taught Oral Interpretation of Children’s Literature at HSU for 3 decades recently gave a workshop called “Dynamic Read-Alouds for Children” to future K-3 teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico, for the 25th Anniversary of the “Escuela Normal Bilinguae e Intercultural de Oaxaca.”
Kathleen Mercury presented "CreAItivity: The Creative Process, AI, and the Place Between," at Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Transformative Play in the Human Computer Interaction Institute. The presentation used hands-on tabletop game design experiences to model the struggle for creativity and the impact of AI on the creative process. Kathleen is a teacher and designer of tabletop and games-based learning experiences.
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival has recognized multiple students for their work in Voices of a Silent Stage, our Fall 2024 original physical theatre production directed by Michael Thomas. Benji Salisbury won a Meritorious Achievement Award for his work as the Stage Manager. Spooky Rocha, Gerrit Rensink, and Stephan Chittenden were all nominated to participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship auditions at the upcoming KCACTF Region conference in Arizona.
The Cal Poly Humboldt Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Dan Aldag was recently awarded Second Prize in the Doug Davis Composition and Performance Endowment 2024 Performance Awards for their recording of Doug Davis's composition "B. and Me". In addition, pianist John Gerving was recognized for an Outstanding Performance on the recording. The Jazz Orchestra's performance was recorded and mixed by Piet Dalmolen, Lecturer in Music and the Music Department's Audio Technician.
Kendall Pargot, Master's student in Biology (advisor Karen Kiemnec-Tyburczy) was awarded a conservation grant from the Northern California Herpetological Society to support her thesis research. The funds will be used to purchase cameras to record the nocturnal behavior of salamanders.
Dr. Sara K. Sterner successfully presented at the 2024 National Council of Teachers of English annual conference in Boston, MA, in November. Presentations included an individual paper entitled Preparing Literacy Educators with Heart: Enacting Ginsberg’s Model for Challenging Traditional Classroom Spaces with YA Literature at the Undergraduate Level, a panel session: Finding Hope in the Nudge: Equity-oriented Consciousness Raising in Teacher Preparation Pedagogies and Literacy Practices with Drs. Megan Van Deventer (Weber State) and Laura Lemanski (MCAD), and the co-facilitation of the Children's Literature Assembly Expert Class with Drs. Mary Ann Cappiello (Leslie) and Kathy Short (University of Arizona).
Coauthored and edited a special issue in Molecular Ecology Resources titled: skúkum tílixam: Uniting to Support Indigenous Contributions to Molecular Ecology
The purpose of the JAMES M. FLOSS SCHOLARSHIP FUND is to support students majoring or minoring in Dance, Music, and Theatre Arts or other performing arts, with a focus on Theatre Arts including acting, directing, and storytelling. A $2,000 award will be given annually for a period of five years. Recipients can receive the award only once. Recipients will be selected by the Department of Dance, Music, and Theatre, and awarded by the Financial Aid office. Donations can be made to the fund at https://giving.humboldt.edu/james-m-floss-theatre-arts-fund-0
Dan Barton (Faculty, Wildlife) chaired the scientific program of an international joint conference between the Pacific Seabird Group and the Waterbird Society, held in San José, Costa Rica, in early January 2025. The bilingual meeting featured over 300 scientific presentations on seabird and waterbird biology and conservation by authors from over 40 countries.
Kamila Larripa and collaborator Anca Radulescu had their paper accepted to the Journal of Theoretical Biology. The paper is titled "A Mathematical Model of Microglia Glucose Metabolism and Lactylation with Positive Feedback" and links cellular metabolism with epigenetic modification. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Barbara Clucas received Bureau of Land Management funding to support collaborative research with Texas A&M that will investigate common raven presence in Gunnison sage grouse (GUSG) habitat in Colorado. The GUSG is listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, and this project seeks to understand what habitat features influence ravens, which are potential GUSG nest predators. Results of this study will inform more efficient and effective management of GUSG and their predators.
Project collaborators include Israel Parker of Texas A&M and Aaron Facka of Wildlands Network and Cal Poly Humboldt Wildlife graduate student Leah Roll.
Professor Alison Holmes (Politics) has passed the Yurok Bar Exam and was sworn into the Yurok Tribal Court Bar by Chief Judge Abby Abinanti in January. She is now Yurok Bar #97.
Published the chapter, Chapter 33: People of Turkish Culture in Handbook for Culturally Competent Care. 2nd ed. 2024. Ed E. Fenkl, L. Purnell, pp. 445-460.
Mathematics Cheyenne Ty, Amanda Case, Emmanuel Mezzulo, Abigail Penland, and Kamila Larripa had their research paper published in the Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics. The paper is called "An Agent-Based Model of Microglia and Neuron Interaction: Implications in Neurodegenerative Disease" and explores the role of a type of immune cell in the brain through modeling.