Latest Achievements

Updates about the latest accomplishments—including latest research, publications, and awards—by students, faculty, and staff

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Matthew Derrick, Geography

Geography professor Matthew Derrick, a Fulbright scholar currently on sabbatical, has been named a visiting scholar at the Central Asian Studies Institute (CASI) of the American University of Central Asia (AUCA). Located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, AUCA is Central Asia's premier institution of higher education. While there Derrick will conduct field research on the theme "New Religious Landscapes of Kyrgyzstan." For details, see https://auca.kg/en/visiting_scholars/

Sarah Jaquette Ray, Environmental Studies

Dr. Ray has been invited to be the opening keynote at Webster College's Annual Human Rights Conference in October. The theme of the conference is "Environmental Justice and Human Rights," and her talk will address the promises and problems with combining human rights and environmental justice frameworks.

Janelle Adsit, English

Janelle Adsit (Assistant Professor, English) has recently published two articles in the journal New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing. Both articles are on threshold concepts in creative writing. The article "Creative writing and the limits of *Naming What We Know*: threshold concepts from aesthetic theory and creativity studies in the literary writing curriculum" is part of a featured author series and will also appear in a forthcoming collection.

Jianmin Zhong, Biological Sciences

Biological Sciences Professor Jianmin Zhong has published a manuscript on the journal of "Ticks and tick-borne diseases." Although the status of the manuscript is still in press, the online copy has been published.

The article is now published online at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.08.001

Dr. Michael S. Bruner, Communication

COMM Professor Michael Bruner was cited on skinny-shaming and constant body judgment in a recent E! News article commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Ally McBeal TV show. Bruner and COMM alumni, Karissa Valine and Bernice Ceja, had previously published a related article on the experience of Rachel Frederickson on the TV show The Biggest Loser. See www.eonline.com/news

Camaray Davalos, Native American Studies

Camaray Davalos, a major in Native American Studies, has had her article "Rising Up with Fists" published in the current issue of News from Native California.

Gabriel Haffner, Derrick Murrietta & Justin Andrew, Dance, Music & Theatre

Congratulations to HSU students filmmakers who are finalists in the 2017 CSU Media Arts Festival:

Gabriel Haffner's film CHANGE

Derrick Murrietta & Justin Andrew's film ONE IN THE CHAMBER

These films were made in the Filmmaking IV capstone class for the Film major. Many HSU students collaborated on these original creative productions.

Mikayla Kia, Environmental Science & Management

Environmental Science & Management Student Mikayla Kia was awarded a $1,500 MapWorks Scholarship for her achievements using the MapWorks program. For more about the program, and Mikayla's achievements, "follow this link.":http://skyfactor.com/news/2017-mapworks-scholarship/

John Meyer, Politics

John Meyer's book, Engaging the Everyday: Environmental Social Criticism and the Resonance Dilemma, was selected as the winner of the first annual “Clay Morgan Award for Best Book in Environmental Political Theory.” The selection was announced at the American Political Science Association annual meeting in San Francisco on August 31, 2017.

Christina Accomando, English

Christina Accomando, Professor of English and Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies, has had her article "Troubling the Beat Inevitable: Brooks, Ellison, and the 'Cultural Logic' of Lynching" accepted for publication in the journal MELUS. The essay will appear in the upcoming special issue "Teaching Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the United States: Pedagogy in Anxious Times."

William F. Wood, Chemistry

On August 26th, William Wood, HSU Chemical Ecologist, gave a lecture to the Humboldt County Mensa Organization's lunch meeting: titled “Skunk Solutions.” This talk covered Wood’s research on 4 species of North American skunk species, how to clean animals sprayed by skunks, the history of skunk spray research, and his anecdotal experiences with skunks.

Joshua Frye and Macy Suchan, Communication

Dr. Joshua Frye and Macy Suchan (student) recently published an article entitled "Nobel Peace Speech" in a special issue of the French/English international ESSACHESS Journal for Communication Studies. The special issue focuses on rhetorics of peace in public and civil discourse in contemporary global cultures. They analyze the discourse of Nobel peace speech inductively and argue that the organizing principle of the Nobel peace speech genre is the repetitive form of normative liberal principles and values that function as rhetorical topoi. These topoi include freedom and justice and appeal to the inviolable, inborn right of human beings to exercise certain political and civil liberties.

Meredith Garrett, Environmental Science & Management

Environmental Science and Management senior Meredith Garrett was chosen to serve as an intern for U.S. Congresswoman Nanette Barragan this past summer in Washington, D.C. through the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's highly competitive Congressional Internship Program. http://chci.org/alumni/internships/2017/Summer/meredith_garrett/. For more information about (and to apply to) this program, visit this link ... http://chci.org/programs/internships/

Dr. Kathleen Doty and Dr. Mark Wicklund, English

Drs. Kathleen Doty and Mark Wicklund are the co-authors of a chapter in "Binomials in the History of English: Fixed and Flexible", just published by Cambridge University Press. Their chapter, "Shee gave Selfe both Soule and body to the Devill: The use of binomials in the Salem witchcraft trials," expands upon some of Dr. Doty's earlier work on the discourse of the Salem trial records from 1692.

Eugene Novotney, Music

Eugene Novotney has been featured, along with the HSU Calypso Band, in an article published in the national newspaper of Trinidad & Tobago, The Trinidad Guardian, documenting his legacy of contributions to the steel band movement in the United States and internationally. The article can be found by following this link: http://www.guardian.co.tt/life-lead/2017-08-23/eugene-novotney-30-years-pan-redwood-forest

Dr Alison Holmes, International Studies

Holmes completed her fellowship at the Center for International Studies and Diplomacy in London this summer and presented two papers at the Transatlantic Studies Association (TSA) in Cork, Ireland. The first was an invited roundtable talk, 'Trump and Brexit: the new reality of transatlantic relations' and the second was a paper, 'The return of states systems and world views: the horizontal and vertical axes of global diplomacy'. The second is part of her new book project on California as a global diplomatic actor, under contract with Palgave Macmillan in London. She was also reelected to the Management Committee of the TSA.

Melanie Michalak, Geology

Melanie Michalak was awarded a American Chemical Society- Petroleum Research Fund grant toward her proposed research, "Reconstructing Neogene Paleogeography and Forearc Basin Evolution of Southern Cascadia using Detrital Mineral Geochronology." The grant of $55,000 is awarded over a two year period and will support original research by PI Michalak, a MSc student and a team of undergraduates. Their work in the coastal deposits along the north coast seeks to characterize paleogeography and forearc development over the past several million years using quantitative dating techniques.

Tina Llopis, Education

On July 21st 2017, Humboldt State University’s Student CTA (SCTA) president, Tina Llopis, was the first local SCTA president to receive a grant and attend the annual CTA President's Conference in San Jose, California. This conference is held annually for the leaders of the California Teacher’s Association to build their leadership skills, hold professional development workshops, inspire member engagement, and unite to overcome challenges that are faced by educators. Llopis, a senior at HSU and newly elected president of the SCTA chapter, received a grant by the Community College Association (CCA), thus being able to foster a connection between CTA and our future educators.

Kerri J. Malloy, Native American Studies

Kerri J. Malloy, Lecturer in Native American Studies, presented his paper “Candle Light: Memorialization in Absence of a Memorial”” as part of the Performance and Activism Working Group at the Large-Scale Violence and Its Aftermath Summer Institute (June 25-29, 2017) at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. The Institute’s purpose was twofold: to clarify the anemic performance by state actors in managing atrocity and large-scale violence and restoring confidence in social stability and security; and to consider non-state, civil-society alternatives that, in the aggregate, could move progressively forward toward securing, if not transforming, successor societies.

Mark Colwell, Lizzie Feucht, Sean McAllister, Amber Transou, Wildlife

Mark Colwell and former students Lizzie Feucht, Sean McAllister, and Amber Transou published a paper in the August issue of Wader Study, an international journal dedicated to understanding the ecology and promoting the conservation of shorebirds. Their paper details the longevity record for a Snowy Plover that they've studied for the past 16 years! Mark will present this story in an EcoSeries lecture on August 31 in the Wildlife Department.

Brandon Browne, Raul Becerra, Geology

Dr. Brandon Browne, Associate Professor of Geology, and four undergraduate thesis students, including Raul Becerra ('16), recently published their study titled "Quaternary basaltic volcanism in the Golden Trout Volcanic Field, southern Sierra Nevada, California" in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. The study uses results from geologic mapping and geochemical analyses of rocks and minerals to interpret the eruption styles and geologic evolution of the volcanic field - the only one of its age in the High Sierra.

Chris Aberson, Psychology

Chris Aberson was recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP) for 2018-2021. ASAP is published by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). At the core of SPSSI's mission is a desire to bring empirically sound research findings to bear on public policy. Dr. Aberson joins ASAP after completing terms as an Associate Editor of the journals Group Processes and Intergroup Relations and Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Natasha La Vogue and Ally Jaurique, Psychology

Psychology students Natasha La Vogue and Ally Jaurique will deliver an oral presentation at an international conference (the International Society for Political Psychology) in Edinburgh in June.

The presentations were:
Gaffney, A. M., Hackett, J. D., Jaurique*, A. & La Vogue*, N. (2017, July). The state of political identity post-Trump. Oral paper presentation at the annual meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Gaffney, A. M., Hackett, J. D., La Vogue*, N., & Jaurique*, A. (2017, July). From group-based anger to populism: Implications for collective action and protest. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Edinburgh, Scotland.

La Vogue*, N., Jaurique*, A., Gaffney, A. M., & Hackett, J. D. (2017, July). Is 2016 a diversity backlash? Political identity norms and the future of democratic elections. Oral paper presentation at the annual meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Abstract:
Far-right leaders such as Trump, Le Pen, Farage, and Wilders might threaten liberal and democratic ideals of diversity acceptance, which their nations have purported to embrace. Indeed, the United States Presidential election ended in the loss of the nation’s first major woman nominee to a man who campaigned on what was (arguably) an anti-diversity platform, targeting Americans’ uncertainties. In response to uncertainty, people are change-resistant and embrace conservative ideology (Jost et al., 2003). Uncertainty can also lead to endorsement of group norms through social identification (Hogg, 2012) and may cause people to advocate the very issues on which they feel uncertain (Cheatham & Tormala, 2017). This research examines how uncertainty over the election of Trump affects liberals and conservatives’ desires to vote for future diverse presidential candidates. We sampled 328 American Democrats and Republicans before and after the 2016 election. Republicans reported a decrease in uncertainty compared to Democrats after the election. Whereas Republicans’ uncertainty was unrelated to willingness to vote for diverse presidential candidates, among Democrats, uncertainty was related to increasing desire to vote for women, ethnic minorities, LGBT candidates, and candidates who are not Christian. These results suggest that in the direct aftermath of the election of Trump, liberals appear to use their uncertainty as a base for holding to liberal diversity norms, whereas for conservatives, whose candidate won the election, uncertainty and future voting preference were unnrelated. Results highlight the strength of political norms, even in the face of uncertainty, in guiding voting and political behavior.

Michae Le, Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Michael Le, Research Associate in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness is an invited panelist at the 57th annual conference for the Association for Institutional Research held May 30 to June 2, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The Forum is the world’s largest gathering of higher education professionals in institutional research, effectiveness, assessment, planning and related fields. Learn more at: http://forum.airweb.org/2017

Leena Dallasheh, History

Dr. Dallasheh was invited to present a paper at UC Berkeley, entitled "Early Encounters, Future Possibilities." Dallasheh's paper explored the ways Palestinians continue to negotiate their status with the Israeli State based on their experience during the early years of their incorporation with the state. This panel was a part of a series of panels organized contemporaneously at the Centers for Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Middle East war, “6 Days, 50 Years: 1967 and the Politics of Time.”

Brandon Browne, Lucy Kerhoulas, Marissa Ramsier, Tessa Pitre, Multiple Departments

During each Spring semester, the HSU Emeritus & Retired Faculty Association issues a Call for Applications for cash awards to support the professional development of junior faculty—lecturers and tenure track—who have demonstrated outstanding promise. This year’s winners of this award are:

Brandon Browne, Associate Professor of Geology, is doing research on cone volcanoes in California’s Sierra Nevada. He will use his award to cover the cost of gathering and chemically analyzing rock samples. An undergraduate student will use these samples to write his undergraduate thesis and they will also form a part of a grant proposal that Brown is submitting to the National Science Foundation.

Lucy Kerhoulas, Assistant Professor in the Forestry and Wildland Resources Department. She is studying the Sonoma tree vole at the Schatz Tree Farm in Maple Creek. She will use her award for canopy research equipment—for special harnesses and ropes that will enable her to climb the Douglas fir trees where these small mammals live.

Marissa Ramsier, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, who will use her award to purchase materials for a bioarchaeology project in Poland. The aim of the project is to learn more about the diet, migration, and health in an early Medieval Prussian population in Poland. She will use her funds to purchase disposable materials and for the processing of isotope samples.

Tessa Pitre, lecturer in two departments: English and Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She received an award to enable her to present a paper at the American Educational Research Association in San Antonio.

Armeda Reitzel, Communication

Dr. Armeda Reitzel, Professor of Communication had her “Capstone Manuscript Speech” assignment published by the National Institute on Learning Outcomes Assessment at https://www.assignmentlibrary.org/assignments/5894ee23ce45f3e600000004. Materials in the assignment library go through a three-stage review process. The first stage is undertaken by the NILOA project team. Those selected for a second stage of review are shared with faculty peers who have experience with assignment design. They provide feedback for revision. After making revisions, authors resubmit their materials to NILOA, where they pass through a final review. The finished materials are then published to the site.

Su Karl, HSU Learning Center

Su Karl, Learning Center Director, presented "Create a Conference Model for Tutor Training" at the Association of Colleges for Tutoring & Learning Assistance (ACTLA)Conference, April 27-29.

Irene Vasquez, Environmental Science & Management

Graduate student Irene Vasquez was chosen as a Switzer Environmental Fellow for the 2017-18 academic year. The national fellowships are highly competitive. Each year, 20 promising environmental leaders are awarded $15,000 each to complete master’s and doctoral degrees in New England and California to advance their skills and develop their expertise to address critical environmental challenges.Vasquez's research seeks to implement a management regime for restoring plants important for cultural preservation in Yosemite National Park. More details are available "here":http://users.humboldt.edu/steve.martin/graduateStudents_IreneVasquez.ht….

Armeda Reitzel and Kyra Vollger, Communication

Dr. Armeda Reitzel and her undergraduate research assistant, Kyra Vollger, presented their paper entitled "“The Rhetoric of Official and ‘Unofficial’ National Anthems” on April 15th at the 2017 national conference of the Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Associations which was held in San Diego, CA.

Russ Walls, Torrie Brickley, Matthew Derrick, Nick Perdue, and Merien Townsel, Geography

After a long but fun road trip down to San Diego, Humboldt came home with several top awards from the 71st Annual California Geographical Society meeting in San Diego. The 16 current students, along with alumni, who attended represented HSU Geography with strong enthusiasm and professionalism.

We had three first-place student awardees. Nathaniel Douglass won first place for the McKnight Professional Paper Award. Russ Walls won first place for the Geosystems Professional Paper Award. And Torrie Brickley won first place for the Student Cartography Competition. Douglass also won the David Lantis Scholarship, and several of our students landed Student Travel Awards. Well done!

Our faculty got in on the action, too. Professor Matthew Derrick was awarded the Friend of Geography Award, and he was elected CGS Vice President. Dr. Nick Perdue was elected to the organization’s board, as was Merien Townsel, our recent graduate and current Administrative Support Assistant.

Lydia Leonard-Rhodes & Emily Bushta, English

The Department of English is pleased to announce its first recipients of the English Scholarship for 2017-18. These scholarships, the result of a generous donation by an anonymous donor, will be awarded in the spring of each academic year for the following year. The first scholarships are being given to Emily Bushta and Lydia Leonard-Rhodes, who will each receive an award of $1000 for the upcoming academic year. This year’s scholarship awards will be presented at the English Department Commencement Reception on Saturday, May 13 at 2:30 p.m. in the Green and Gold Room of Founders Hall.

Ramona Bell, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies

On April 13, 2017, Ramona j.j. Bell,Assistant Professor in CRGS, presented the paper "Teaching Django and Other Hollywood Slave Narratives: Problems and Possibilities" for the panel Rearticulating Racism, Resistance and Citizenship in the Age of Neoliberalism, at the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) Annual Conference in San Diego, CA.

Christina Accomando, English

On April 13, 2017, Christina Accomando, Professor of English and CRGS, presented the paper "Patriotism, Protest, and Dog Whistling the National Anthem" for the panel Rearticulating Racism, Resistance and Citizenship in the Age of Neoliberalism, at the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) Annual Conference in San Diego, CA.

Brittany Stuckey, Communication

Brittany Stuckey (COMM & Studio Art, 2016) had her photograph, "Cucumbers," and "The Story of This Image" published in the Newsletter of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS).
April 2017, Issue 5, page 4.

William F. Wood, Chemistry

Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, William Wood, was a co-author of an article on medicinal aspects of matsutake mushrooms (Tricholoma magnivelare). Wood identified and synthesized a new compound from mycelium of this mushroom, which was used in the current study – “Effects of matsutake mushroom scent compounds on tyrosinase and murine B16-F10 melanoma cells.” It was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

Yaad Rana, Josh Martinez, Toni Castillo, Karen Duarte, Peter Duin, Fernando Flores, Tanya Garcia, Jacob Hurd, Jackson Ingram, Amanda ‘the Destroyer’ Lagasca, Tony Mitchell III, David Rivera, Raymond Rios, Kelly Rodman, and Eunice Romero, Environmental Resources Engineering

Humboldt State University's Environmental Resources Engineering students retain their trophy for the American Society of Civil Engineers Mid-Pacific Water Treatment Competition (MidPac), for the second year in a row, and fourth time overall, leading HSU to have the most wins in this competition. In addition, HSU took Second Place Overall in MidPac, even though the environmental engineering students did not complete in the Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge or Geowall competitions! Tongji University (Shanghai, China) was awarded first place overall due to their first place finishes in the other competitions that HSU did not compete in. The HSU team formed a great sense of camaraderie with the Tongji team, as they supported and cheered each other on throughout the three day conference.

MidPac was hosted by Chico State this year, and was attended by most of the UCs and CSUs in California, along with other international competitors. The competition was extremely close this year, with the ERE's toughest competitors being Tongji (China), Laval (Canada), University of the Pacific, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Midpac consists of four main competitions: Concrete Canoe, Water Treatment, Geowall, and Steel Bridge. There are also three report competitions: Transportation, Ethics, and Water Research, each offering a cash prize. Each competition victory earns the winning school conference points, which are summed at the end and used to declare overall Mid-Pac winners.

HSU has historically competed only in the wastewater treatment competition. This year, HSU also competed in the water research paper category and mini-games. For water treatment competition, the team dedicated an enormous amount of effort into each of the scored categories to earn First Place in Water Treatment:
Construction (Second Place)
Poster Presentation (Tie for First Place)
Powerpoint Presentation (First Place)
Design Report (First Place)
Water Quality (First place).

For the Water Research Report competition, ERE student Peter Duin received a unanimous first place finish in both design report and oral presentation. HSU also won the Scavenger Hunt.

ERE students Yaad Rana and Josh Martinez co-chaired the preparation for Mid-Pac. Other participants were Toni Castillo, Karen Duarte, Peter Duin, Fernando Flores, Tanya Garcia, Jacob Hurd, Jackson Ingram, Amanda ‘the Destroyer’ Lagasca, Tony Mitchell III, David Rivera, Raymond Rios, Kelly Rodman, and Eunice Romero. The students are especially grateful the guidance and feedback from Professors Brad Finney and Margaret Lang.

Madison Whaley, Bailey Bergstrom, and Lonny Grafman, Office of Sustainability

The Office of Sustainability recently announced the winners of the inaugural Sustainability Champion Awards. The award recognizes individuals on campus whose practices have deepened a culture of sustainability, have furthered the integration of sustainability into academics or student life, and/or reduced HSU’s environmental footprint.

This year's winners are: Madison Whaley (student category); Bailey Bergstrom (staff category; she is also a student), and Lonny Grafman (faculty category).

Each winner received a $250 gift card and an award made by The Sanctuary (http://www.sanctuaryarcata.org/) from reclaimed materials at an awards ceremony during the April 20 Earth Week Keynote Banquet held in the Great Hall.

The call for nominations was announced in early April. The award was open to students, staff and faculty who have worked to advance sustainability. Any student was eligible; however, those faculty and staff members with sustainability in their job title or as an obligatory aspect of their job were not eligible for the award.

The Call for Nominations for the 2018 Sustainability Champion Awards will go out in March 2018.

Brent Henry, Andrew Mueller, Kaelie Pena, and Mariah Aguilar, Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

The Forestry and Wildland Resources Department celebrated its students during the annual Awards Banquet on April 18. This year, the department awarded over $68,000 in scholarships to 56 deserving students. Many scholarships were established by alumnae or in honor of alumnae; the Forestry Pathfinders scholarship was created by the founding forestry class at Humboldt State; and the Gayleen Smith scholarship was created in honor of the “office mom” for the department from 2005 through 2013.

The department also honored outstanding students: Brent Henry (Academic Excellence award in Forestry), Andrew Mueller (Professional Promise award in Forestry), Kaelie Pena (Rangeland Resource Outstanding Student), and Mariah Aguilar (Rangeland Resource Outstanding Student). And the students voted to award three separate honors: to Maurine Nicholson (Administrative Support Coordinator) and George Pease (Stockroom Manager) in recognition of their contributions to the department, and to Dr. Pascal Berrill for Outstanding Faculty member.

Dr. Kerri Hickenbottom and Dr. Leslie Miller-Robbie, Environmental Resources Engineering

Assistant professor Kerri Hickenbottom and visiting professor Leslie Miller-Robbie co-authored an article on a techno-economic assessment of a closed-loop osmotic heat engine published in the Journal of Membrane Science.
Full article: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2017.04.034

Dr. Laura Johnson, Sociology

Dr. Laura Johnson, lecturer in Sociology and Environmental Studies, authored the cover story in the April 20th issue of the North Coast Journal, highlighting the environmental and socio-political power of Humboldt County's community food system.
Full article can be found here
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/grab-it-by-the-horns/Content?…

Jamal Jones, English

Jamal Jones (English major, graduating in May) has been promoted to head coach of the varsity football team and teacher at Arcata High School. Jamal's achievement was recently recognized on KIEM-TV. View the full interview here: http://kiem-tv.com/video/jones-named-arcata-varsity-football-coach.

Dr. Renée M. Byrd, Sociology

Dr. Renée M. Byrd was awarded a 2017-18 American Association of University Women Publications Grant to finish her book, "Punishment's Twin: Carceral Logics, Abolitionist Critique and the Limits of Reform."

Noemi Pacheco-Ramirez, Environmental Studies

Ms. Pacheco-Ramirez received a Young Adult Professional Scholarship to attend the Childhood Obesity Conference, the theme of which is "Good Health for All: Addressing where we Live, Learn, Work, and Play," in San Diego in June. The goal of the scholarship is to "inspire, nurture, and motivate the younger generation to take an active role in influencing positive community change."

Sarah Jaquette Ray, Environmental Studies

Dr. Ray co-edited two new books that have just been published: Disability Studies & the Environmental Humanities: Toward an Eco-Crip Theory (Univ. Nebraska Press), which builds the connection between the field of disability studies and the field of environmental humanities, and Critical Norths: Space, Nature Theory (Univ. Alaska Press), which pulls cross-disciplinary essays together to challenge dominant notions of the "North."

Yaad Rana, Marcela Jimenez, and Joshua Martinez, Environmental Resources Engineering

For the last 16 years, student teams from the HSU Environmental Resources Engineering (ERE) department have participated in a four day long math modeling competition. The competition consists of the Mathematical Modeling Contest (MCM) and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP). Competing against nearly 17,000 teams from thousands of universities, each team produced a report summarizing their solution to one of six possible problems.

This year, a record six ERE student teams entered in the competition that began on Thursday evening, January 19 and ended on Monday evening, January 23. Four of the six ERE teams were awarded the score of Honorable Mention, with fewer than 12% of the other teams scoring higher, and approximately 50% of the other teams scoring lower. One team received a ranking of Meritorious Winners, with fewer than 1% of the teams scoring higher. Finally, the team of Yaad Rana, Marcela Jimenez, and Joshua Martinez received the highest ranking possible, Outstanding Winner. This team also received the Rachel Carson award and the Sigma Scholarship award which provides a $3,000 prize to each team member.

Gabriela Martinez, Jeremy Johnson, Charlotte Olsen, Catie Ledesma, Katie Fasbender, Troy Maloney, Caleb Hill, Alden Bradley, Erik Knutsen, Karlie Elliott, Kylie Reich, and Mario Sanchez, Mathematics

The Math Department had twelve students in four teams compete in the International Mathematical Contest in Modeling this January. Teams are challenged to analyze an open applied problem and to propose a solution using mathematical modeling over an intense four-day competition. All four of our teams were recognized by the judges as either Honorable Mention or Successful Participant for their papers.

The students were advised by Dr. Kamila Larripa (Math) and are listed below.

Gabriela Martinez
Jeremy Johnson
Charlotte Olsen

Catie Ledesma
Katie Fasbender
Troy Maloney

(Successful)
Caleb Hill
Alden Bradley
Erik Knutsen

Karlie Elliott
Kylie Reich
Mario Sanchez

Janelle Adsit, English

Janelle Adsit has received a Presidents’ Council on Underserved Communities (PCUC) Professional Development Award to attend the 2017 NASPA Closing the Achievement Gap: Student Success in Higher Education Conference in Washington, D.C. this June.

Armeda C. Reitzel, Kim Vincent-Layton, and Pamela Dougherty, Communication

Dr. Armeda C. Reitzel, Chair of Communication, was the lead presenter of an education session titled "Yes, you can teach public speaking online! The process of redesigning a face-to-face public speaking course into a successful fully online course!" at the Online Learning Consortium Innovate 2017 Conference in New Orleans, LA on April 6, 2017. Her two HSU instructional designers, Kim Vincent-Layton (via Zoom) and Pam Dougherty (onsite), joined her in discussing the highlights of redesigning the fundamentals of speech communication course into an award-winning online offering.

Rosemary Sherriff, Geography

Rosemary Sherriff co-authored a paper with three alumni, Kelly Muth, Madelinn Schriver, and Rebecca Batzel, in the Journal of Biogeography on spruce response to climate change in Southwest Alaska. Weblink: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.12968/epdf