Updates about the latest accomplishments—including latest research, publications, and awards—by students, faculty, and staff
Music professor Daniela Mineva was invited to perform at the Roosevelt University, Chicago, on February 1, 2014. The piano concert celebrated the legacy of the legendary American pianist and pedagogue Ursula Oppens.
Music professor Gil Cline was recently featured in "Trumpet Greats: a Biographical Dictionary," a biographical dictionary of about 2,000 famous trumpeters since 1600. Cline directs the Humboldt Bay Brass Band and teaches trumpet, horn and music history at HSU. In addition to Cline, notable names in the book included jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and Wynton Marsalis, cornet soloists Jean-Baptiste Arban and Herbert L. Clarke and baroque trumpeters Girolamo Fantini, Gottfried Reiche, and John Shore.
Dr. Howe presented two invited addresses at the International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment in San Diego. The talks, which occurred in two parts (theoretical and applied), were entitled, "Neurodevelopmental Versus Traditional Clinical Approaches to the Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Psychopathology."
Faculty member Genevieve Marchand was interviewed in French by Catherine Perrin from Medium Large on national radio station Radio-Canada on January 30. Marchand discussed her current work teaching outdoor adventure recreation, some of her experiences working in adventure therapy, survival skills and emergency rescues, as well as different risk management standards for outdoor leaders in the United States.
Music professor Paul Cummings presented a session at the annual conference of the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 24, 2014. The presentation by Cummings, who conducts HSU's Humboldt Symphony and Symphonic Band, focused on recruitment and repertoire selection for college orchestras. Professor Cummings is currently serving as president of CODA's Western Division. More information on CODA and their recent conference may be found here: http://codaweb.org/
Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, an alumni-run chocolate company based in Arcata, Calif., received a 2014 Good Food Award in the Chocolate category for its 72% Belize, Toledo chocolate bar Jan. 16 in San Francisco. Dick Taylor was founded by alums Dustin Taylor ('03) and Adam Dick ('00) and is sold all over the world. For more info, visit www.dicktaylorchocolate.com.
Communication professors Michael Bruner, Laura Hahn and student Nicole Sheldon authored "The Petition Cause and Food Advocacy." The essay will be published in the journal, "First Amendment Studies."
Philosophy professor J.W. Powell authored the Jan. 24 "Atlantic" article "The Tyranny of the College Major," looking at why colleges should require students to take more courses out of their discipline. Powell encourages higher education to re-examine and strengthen the Bachelor's Degree with General Education. For the article, click here: http://bit.ly/1hSrJec.
Economics professor Erick Eschker was featured in the Jan. 23 "Atlantic" article "How Colleges Are Preparing Students for a Country Where Pot Is Legal." Eschker is co-director of the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research, dedicated to generating high quality research relating to marijuana. For the full article: http://bit.ly/1eVtt3J.
Armeda Reitzel, Professor of Communication, has been chosen to participate in the National Communication Association's Student Learning Outcomes in Communication Project. The goals of the project are to productively support curriculum planning and improvement within the Communication discipline, and to help position Communication centrally in institutions’ general education curriculum development efforts. The project is funded by a grant that the National Communication Association received from the Lumina Foundation.
Mark Baker, faculty member in the Politics Department, had an article titled, “An Analysis of the Socio-Ecological Effects of Small-Scale Hydropower Development in Himachal Pradesh,” accepted for publication by the journal Economic and Political Weekly. Economic and Political Weekly is an interdisciplinary journal based in Mumbai that publishes analyses of current affairs and social science research. Baker’s research on the socio-ecological effects of small hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh contributes to current debates about hydropower development in the Himalaya, which India’s Supreme Court had temporarily banned in the state of Uttarakhand due to environmental concerns.
Geography professor Sarah Jaquette Ray has been invited to give a talk on her book, The Ecological Other: Environmental Exclusion in American Culture (University of Arizona Press, 2013) at UC Berkeley on February 24. The event is sponsored by UC Berkeley's Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, the Disability Studies, Diversity and Democracy, and Diversity and Health Disparities Research Clusters, and the Department of Rhetoric.
David Ellerd, Associate Professor in the School of Education, has a new chapter titled, "Employment Assessment" published in the "The Road Ahead: Transition to Adult Life for Persons with Disabilities" (with Robert Morgan), pages 59-84. For a link to the book, visit http://www.iospress.nl/book/the-road-ahead/.
Nathalia Holt ('02, Biological Sciences) has written a book that tells the personal stories of two men whose HIV infections were cured in distinct yet essentially related ways, revealing the imminent promise of a cure for HIV. "Cured: How the Berlin Patients Defeated HIV and Forever Changed Medical Science," is forthcoming from Penguin in February. Holt is an award-winning research scientist specializing in HIV biology. Her research has led to major developments in the HIV gene therapy field. After receiving a Bachelor's degree from HSU, she trained at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard University, the University of Southern California and Tulane University. She lives with her husband and their daughter in Boston, Massachusetts.
Geography faculty member Matthew Derrick's book chapter, titled "Islam as a Source of Unity and Division in Eurasian," was recently published in the book Eurasian Corridors of Interconnection: From the South China to the Caspian Sea (Routledge, 2014).
Assistant forestry professor Jeffrey Kane recently published an article in the journal Oecologia asserting that the number of resin ducts a tree has can help predict how resistant the pine is to beetle infestation. The results of the paper, combined with the findings of an earlier study, provide information that may be useful to land managers who are trying to keep public parks and other relatively small forested areas healthy. In the first study, researchers demonstrated that a certain type of slippery bark protects trees from pine beetle attacks, which can kill trees. For the full article, visit http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-013-2841-2/fulltext.html.
Mark Colwell and his former graduate students, Luke Eberhart-Phillips and Wendy Pearson, recently published three papers addressing various aspects of the population and reproductive biology of the Snowy Plover. This federally listed species has a small population in Humboldt County, which Colwell and his students have studied for 13 years.
Geography faculty member Monica Stephens' "Geography of Hate" map was recently named to Gizmodo's "Best Data Visualizations of 2013" list. Stephens' students mapped tweets across the United States that contained slurs against gays, the disabled and minorities. For the Gizmodo article, click here: http://gizmodo.com/the-best-data-visualizations-of-2013-1485611407.
Music Faculty Daniela Mineva performed a series of solo piano recitals in Germany and Bulgaria in November. The concert tour was part of a project between the European Union and the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture.
Nikola Hobbel was invited by the NCTE/National Council of Teachers of English Standing Committee on Research to present her latest work in Boston, MA on Nov. 24, 2013. Dr. Hobbel's paper, "Professional Teachers and the Practice of Freedom: The Paradox of Teacher Education Policy in the Neoliberal Era" addresses the impacts and inequalities inherent in high-stakes testing and the Common Core standards policy.
Sing C. Chew, Professor, Department of Sociology, has two publications in press: “The Southeast Asian Connection in the First Eurasian World Economy 200BC-AD500” in Michael Pearson (ed.) Trade, Circulation and Flow in the Indian Ocean World, Singapore: National University of Singapore Press. 2014 and “Southeast Asia in World History” Journal of Globalization Studies Vol 4 #2 2014
Amir Sabet Sarvestani and Kathleen H. Sienko of University of Michigan, with Lonny Grafman of Humboldt State University, presented an "Open-Source, Wiki-Based Medical Device Compendium for Global Health" at the Second WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices in Geneva, Switzerland.
Four Humboldt State Art faculty members and President Richmond will be presented with the “Seven Seals Award” by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The recipients are: Dr. Rollin Richmond, Sondra Schwetman, Nicole Jeane Hill, Sarah Whorf and Julia Alderson.
The awards recognize the professional support provided by the University to Coast Guard Reservist and HSU Art student Melinda Beacon during her short-notice deployment in support of Hurricane Sandy in December 2012.
The presentation will take place at President Richmond’s office at the Humboldt State campus in Siemens Hall.
The Seven Seals Award is an award given by the ESGR, a Department of Defense office established to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers. The award honors significant achievement and professional support provided by an organization or individual that supports the ESGR mission.
Music faculty members Gil Cline, Fred Tempas, John Chernoff and Daniela Mineva played a public concert at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka on Nov.16, 2013. The concert was part of a series at the museum organized in collaboration with the Humboldt Arts Council.
The Student Conservation Association (SCA), the national leader in youth service and stewardship, today announced that Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA, was the only primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) in the top 10 for providing volunteers to its conservation programs during the year from October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013. Humboldt provided 19 volunteers, fourth-most among all colleges.
The SCA is the only national organization that develops tomorrow's conservation leaders by providing high school and college students with service opportunities in all 50 states, from urban communities to national parks and forests. Since 1957, SCA’s hands-on practice of conservation service has helped to develop a new generation of conservation leaders, inspire lifelong stewardship and save the planet. SCA is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Boise, ID, Charlestown, NH, Chicago, IL, Oakland, CA, Pittsburgh, PA and Seattle, WA. For further information, visit "www.thesca.org":http://www.thesca.org/.
Four HSU students recently participated in Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), which is among the most prestigious summer programs that an undergraduate can attend. Jessica Garcia, Kevin Kopp, Stephen McAuliffe, and Jose Martes-Martinez presented posters based on their summer experiences to the Conference of Research Experience for Undergraduate Student Scholarship in October. Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and offers competitive summer research programs for undergraduates studying science, engineering, or mathematics.
HSU's Archaeology Research Laboratory recently acquired a drone to support student and faculty research. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, can serve numerous research functions. The drone can carry a range of different instruments including infrared pods and HD cameras. It can also create 3D maps of archaeological sites and gather aerial photos of larger areas. The drone will benefit students in numerous disciplines including Archaeology, Geology, Geography, Forestry, Environmental Planning, Wildlife Management and Conservation, Geospatial Sciences, Anthropology and Heritage Management Preservation.
Wildlife Professors Jeffrey Black and Micaela Szykman Gunther recently co-authored a paper with student Kristin Brzeski in _The Journal of Wildlife Management_ evaluating the status of river otters in Humboldt Bay. River otters have experienced dramatic population declines in the last century and relatively few studies have evaluated their status, especially in California. Black, Gunther and Brzeski evaluated the population of river otters in Humboldt Bay by extracting DNA from the animals' scat. They analyzed the scat in the lab to create unique river otter "fingerprints." They pooled that data with visual observations from a citizen science project and determined that the Humboldt Bay is home to a larger number of river otters than previously expected. It also has a higher density of the creatures compared to other coastal systems. To read the full paper, visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.610/abstract.
Georgia Kaufman, a Cellular & Molecular Biology major (adviser Professor Jacob Varkey) has been awarded the 2013 Jack and Maureen Yarnall Scholarship for a Student Athlete majoring in the Biological Sciences. Georgia is a junior and a member of the HSU Crew Team.
Jairo Luque Villanueva ('15, Environmental Resources Engineering) was one of 33 students nationwide to receive a prestigious GRO Fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency. GRO recipients are eligible to receive up to $50,000 over two years for their studies in the sciences and math. They also receive an EPA internship. Villanueva is interning with ERE professor Andrea Achilli. He is researching forward osmosis and membrane distillation wastewater treatment/water reuse. Villanueva previously served as a student assistant and tutor for HSU's Indian Natural Resource, Science and Engineering Program and as a summer research intern at the University of Minnesota.
HSU alum Jonathan Castro ('93, Geology) recently co-authored a paper that provides scientists with the first direct insight into the rocky lava known as obsidian flow. Castro, a professor at the University of Mainz in Germany, captured footage and images of a volcanic eruption in Chile in 2012. He and his colleagues found that contrary to popular belief, the lava kept moving more than a year after the eruption. The findings were published in recent issue of Nature Communications. For the BBC News article, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24821494.
HSU Cycling became the Western Collegiate Cycling Conference Mountain Bike champion Nov. 17, beating all Division I and II teams in the overall standings. It was a historic mountain bike season where HSU was the top ranked team every week all the way through conference championships. The following students raced this season: Ali Osgood, Steven Pearl, Alvin Garlejo, Sara Schneider, Justin Graves, Justin Gore, Derek Roelle, Tyler Green, Harry Ward, Eli Robinson, Clara Nilsen, Marina Marcroft, Caryn DeFrees, Cole Humphrey, Dylan Wright, Dylan Fluet, Justin Lowe, Ashely Hansen and Katelyn Hill.
On Nov.16, Saturday at the Morris Graves Museum in Eureka, CA, HSU Music Faculty Gil Cline, Fred Tempas, John Chernoff and Daniela Mineva performed free and open to the public chamber music concert. This event is part of the concert series " HSU Music Faculty at Morris Graves Museum of Art" and it is organized by Humboldt Arts Council, Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA and HSU Music Department.
Craig is playing the leader of the Kabuki muses in the Redwood Curtain Theatre's production of "Far East" by A.R. Gurney, directed by Craig Benson. The story is set in 1954 Japan where three American naval officers and one wife are stationed. Benson's interpretation has set the American play atop a traditional kabuki setting. For reviews of the play go to:
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/changing-times/Content?oid=24…
and
http://www.times-standard.com/entertainment/ci_24504326/edwood-curtains…
HSU students Denise Truong and Cody Miranda are also cast in the play. Look for their achievements under Students.
Jean O'Hara, faculty member for Critical Race,Gender and Sexuality, is the editor of the recently published anthology: "Two-Spirit Acts: Indigenous Queer Performances."
This anthology includes Waawaate Fobister's play "Agokwe," which was performed at the 2011 Social Justice Summit.
The link for the anthology is "available here":http://www.playwrightscanada.com/index.php/genres/aboriginal-drama/two-….
Marissa Mourer has just returned from presenting at the 66th annual national conference of the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education. Over 1,500 orientation professionals attended this conference and she was invited to present her outcomes-based orientation leader training program model.
Daniela Mineva, Associate Professor in the Music Department, was invited to perform a solo piano recital and present a piano master class from Nov. 5-8 at Marshall University in West Virginia. According to a Nov. 7 article in the Herald-Dispatch newspaper, "Her jovial and personable character, combined with flawless pianistic technique and intense musical expression, allows her to present new music in an exciting, adventurous way that is enjoyable for musicians and non-musicians alike."
Three HSU faculty members received Fulbright awards in 2013-14, making Humboldt State a leading producer of Fulbright scholars among U.S. master’s institutions. Tasha Souza, a professor in the Communication Department, will partner with the Instructional Development Unit at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill in Barbados to build faculty development programs, teach workshops and courses for faculty and lead faculty learning communities to enhance student learning and faculty innovation. Eileen Cashman, a professor in the Environmental Resources Engineering Department, will lecture and research hydroelectricity in Santarem, Brazil. Matthew Johnson, a professor in the Wildlife Department, will lecture and research the ecosystem of coffee farms in Bangalore, India.
Chris Aberson, Professor of Psychology, will begin a four-year term as Associate Editor of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations (GPIR). GPIR is a scientific social psychology journal dedicated to social psychological processes within and between groups. The journal’s editorial team includes leading scholars in social psychology of intergroup relations from around the world.
Dr. Aberson joins GPIR after a term as Associate Editor for Journal of Applied Social Psychology. He currently holds positions on the editorial boards of Teaching of Psychology and Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy.
Araik Sinanyan (Cellular/Molecular Biology) and Gritidach Manakitivipart (Wildlife Management & Conservation) won Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation at the 2013 SACNAS National Conference. SACNAS stands for the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans. Sinanyan's winning poster was titled "BPA Slows Down Medial and Lateral Giant Fiber Conduction Velocity and Disrupts Regeneration in Lumbriculus variegatus." His advisor was Biological Sciences Professor Bruce O'Gara. Manakitivipart's poster was titled "Engineering Low Cost Ocean Observation Systems: Their Potential In The Field And Education." His mentors were James Manning and Ambrose Jearld Jr. of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Both students are part of INRSEP, HSU's Indian Natural Resource Science and Engineering Program.
will be performing as a Kabuki Muse in Redwood Curtain's production of Far East, a play by A.R.Gurney, directed by Craig Benson. The play runs Oct. 31 - Nov. 23, Thurs-Saturday, 8 p.m.
Dr. Daniela Mineva, Associate Professor in the Music Department was invited by Costa Rica Temorada Internacional de Piano to be Pianist-in-Residence from 10/21/13 to 10/27/13 in San Jose, Costa Rica. She presented solo piano recitals and piano master classes at Universidad Nacional Costa Rica and Universidad de Costa Rica.
Sarah Jaquette Ray published an article titled "Environmental Justice, Transnationalism, and the Politics of the Local in Leslie Marmon Silko's Almanac of the Dead" in the Journal of Transnational American Studies. The link is available here: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3z89t6hc. Dr. Ray will also present a paper at the HSU Philosophy Forum on Ethics, Animals, and the Environment on November 9. The paper is titled "Rubtrees, Webcams, and GIS: The Hybrid Geography of Leanne Alison and Jeremy Mendes' Bear 71."
Professor Jayne McGuire's Leisure Programming class recently ran a High School Special Olympic Bocce Tournament and an Interpretive Kayaking event with Kayak Zaks to raise funds to renovate the boat-in camp ground across from Stone Lagoon.
Psychology students Leana Edwards, Brooke Bisel and Genni Kerwin will present a proclamation at the Nov. 6 Arcata Town Council meeting announcing Nov. 11-15 as National School Psychology Week. The students, who represent the public relations committee of HSU's School Psychology Club, initiated the proclamation to draw attention to the importance of school psychological services and children’s mental health. The proclamation also supports national efforts to promote the wellness of students; highlights HSU's nationally accredited school psychology program and acknowledges local school psychologists who help train HSU students.
Amanda Admire ('13, Environmental Systems) presented on her master's thesis at the International Tsunami Symposium in Göcek, Turkey on September 28.
Drs. Josh Meisel and Tony Silvaggio of the Sociology Department were invited to present on the "Social and Economic Issues Associated with Marijuana Cultivation in California" to the California State Board of Forestry in Sacramento on October 8, 2013. Their presentation provided an overview of key social, cultural and political forces shaping current cannabis cultivation practices and their negative impacts on the environment.
Geography professor Stephen Cunha contributed a chapter on “Agricultural Settlement and Landuse” to Mountain Geography: Physical and Human Dimensions, published by UC Press. Cunha draws on experience from six continents to show how mountains pose distinctive problems for human settlement and land use. The vast corn and wheat fields blanketing gentler topography, such as the American Midwest and Argentine Pampas, are absent here. In their place is a more intricate pattern of crops and animal husbandry that reflects adaptation to vertically compressed environments. The differences are especially sharp between high and low elevation, and the windward versus leeward mountain slopes.
Professor Terry Henkel was one of several authors who contributed to a paper in the Oct. 18 issue of "Science" titled "Hyperdominance in the Amazonian tree flora," a massive meta-analysis of tree distribution patterns over tropical South America based on data from 1,430 plots across the entire region. Terry contributed data from a number of these plots from the Guianas region, which were unique to the dataset in exhibiting the highest levels of single species dominance and lowest overall woody plant alpha-diversity.
Politics professor Sam Sonntag gave an invited plenary address at the Multidisciplinary Approaches to Language Policy and Planning Conference at the University of Calgary in early September.