Latest Achievements

Dr. Morgan Varner was nominated for and accepted an Associate Editor position with the journal, Forest Science. Forest Science is the premiere journal of The Society of American Foresters.

HSU’s financial services team lead by Carol Terry, Lynne Sandstrom, Ben Hylton, Emily Kupec, Mike Burghart, Cindi Hori, Sandy Wieckowski, and Tawny Fleming received an award for “Achieving Excellence in Financial Reporting” from the California State Controller’s Office. The award is presented for submitting accurate and timely year-end financial reports to the State. Congratulations to all staff involved in earning this achievement.

Eugene Novotney published two articles in the September issue of Percussive Notes, the professional journal of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS). The first article, “Five Decades of New Music for Percussion: 1961-2011,” was written in tribute to the 50th anniversary of PAS. The second article is an interview with Stuart Smith, who is one of the most significant composers of our generation. Novotney is also the host of Focus Day at the PAS International Convention this November in Indianapolis, and will coordinate seven showcase concerts of new music performed by artists from Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Rosemary Sherriff published two articles with co-authors over the summer months in the journals Ecology and Ecological Applications. These articles focused on the effects of disturbance-climate interactions in forest ecosystems in context of restoration and climate change concerns: spruce beetle and climate interactions in Alaska (Ecology), and fire history and restoration in mixed conifer forests of Colorado (Ecological Applications).

Alexis Ollar was awarded the 2011-2012 Student Schloarship for applied research in the environmental sector, from the Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Bay Area Chapter. The scholarship was awarded for thesis work in the Environment & Community Program and Geospatial Science Graduate Certificate. The thesis was GIS work in sustainable foodsheds, food security analysis and participatory mapping exercises in Humboldt County. You can find Ollar's bio and scholarship information at http://sfbayaep.org/students.htm.

Dr. Kenneth O. Fulgham, chair of HSU’s Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources, and Forestry and Wildland lecturer Gary Rynearson have been elected to key posts of the Buckeye Conservancy, a northern California group of family farm, ranch, and forest landowners and resource managers that promotes the ecological health and economic sustainability of natural resources and open space in family ownership. Fulgham, also professor of rangeland resources, is second vice president, and Rynearson is first vice president. The conservancy can be reached at www.buckeyeconservancy.org.

Rangeland Resources Science major Jasmine Westbrook won the $1,000 Paul Zinke Memorial Scholarship Award at this summer’s 30th Anniversary California Forest Soils Council meeting near Mt. Shasta. Westbrook is a double major in molecular and cellular biology and is minoring in chemistry. She was raised on a Napa Valley sheep ranch and has been working the past few summer for Six Rivers National Forest. She joins four past HSU Zinke Award winners: Barbara Witmore (’05), M.S. New Mexico State University, currently employed by the Bureau of Land Management; Rosemary Records (’06) now in a Ph.D. program at Colorado State University; Sarah Schuette (‘09), starting a Ph.D. program at Washington State University Spring 2012; and Allison Rofe, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Rangeland Resources Science in 2012.

Professors Lori Dengler and Bud Burke are among the scientists featured in a new book about the Cascadia Subduction Zone published by HarperCollins in Canada and Counterpoint Press in the U.S. in April 2011. Cascadia’s Fault is a history and a cautionary tale of the West Coast’s most dangerous place—and the scientists who are solving its deadly mysteries.

During the month of June, Jody Sekas was hired as Assistant Art Director for a New Breed Entertainment/Matriarch Media Group independent feature film, “The Lost Coast Tapes.” It was a great opportunity to work alongside film & TV industry pros such as Production Designer Chris Davis & Prop Master Christian Ramirez (The Deadliest Warrior), Director Corey Grant (Hip Hop Task Force, Dysfunctional Friends) and Stunt Coordinator Eric Chen (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Transporter 2). He was able to bring five HSU theatre and film students with him as interns on the film.

Melissa Dougherty participated as an intern with the Humboldt State Marine Mammal Education and Research Program (MMERP) this summer. One of the projects that she was involved with was observing the Gray Whales in the Klamath River.

"Being able to spend an extended amount of time observing these animals gave me a whole new appreciation for marine mammals. Specifically, watching the interactions between mother and offspring is something that I'll never forget," she says. "As an added bonus, I also had the chance to observe throngs of excited sightseers. Seeing how one animal can unite so many disparate people was pretty amazing."

Lisa Voelker received the Lee Hartwell Poster Award "in recognition of contributing to innovative research, delivering an outstanding presentation, and creating an exceptional visual arrangement for a scientific poster" at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Summer Undergraduate Research Program competitive poster session for her work on the molecular basis of electrical synapse formation.

Alison Purcell O'Dowd co-authored a chapter in _Fluvial Geomorphology_, entitled "Urbanization in river systems," as part of a series put out by the Geological Society of America called "Treatise on Geomorphology."

Kimberley Pittman-Schulz, HSU's Director of Planned Giving, had her first poetry collection, _Mosslight_, selected as the 2011 FutureCycle Press Poetry Book Prize Winner. _Mosslight_, a collection of poems rooted in the rhythms of the natural world, was published this month in paperback, and will be available as a Kindle release this fall.

Tasha Howe has published a textbook:
Howe, T.R. (2011). Marriages and Families in the 21st Century: A Bioecological Approach. Wiley-Blackwell.

The textbook is multi-disciplinary and can be used in social work, sociology, nursing, psychology, family studies, child development and related disciplines.

Steven Martin and recent graduate student Kristen Pope published a peer-reviewed article based on Kristen's thesis research in the current issue of _International Journal of Wilderness_. Visitor Perceptions of Technology, Risk and Rescue in Wilderness. _International Journal of Wilderness_ 17(2):19-26,48.

C.D. Hoyle, Associate Professor of Physics, has received a 2-year award from the National Science Foundation to support student research in the HSU Gravitational Research Laboratory. Experiments in the laboratory are designed to test Einstein's theory of General Relativity at unprecedented levels as well as search for possible evidence of quantum gravity and dark energy.

Ken Pimlott, 45, of Cameron Park, has been appointed director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). He has served in multiple resource management and fire protection positions with the department since 1993 and has served as acting director since 2010. Pimlott began his career as a seasonal fire fighter in 1987 and is a Registered Professional Forester. Pimlott received an Associate of Arts degree in Fire Technology from American River College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Resource Management from Humboldt State University.

Mary Scoggin, professor of Anthroplogy, co-authored the report Tribal Corridor Management Planning: Model, Case Study, and Guide for Caltrans District 1, recently released by the Mineta Transportation Institute.

The report presents a guide to tribal corridor management planning to address California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 1 personnel and members of the North Coast Tribal Transportation Commission proposals to develop innovative, context-sensitive and interpretive "tribal transportation corridors" along stretches of state highways that cross tribal lands in Northern California.

Du Cheng, a HSU Cellular/Molecular Biology major undergraduate student attended the 111th American Society for Microbiology General Meeting as an invited speaker. He gave an oral presentation titled:"The Rickettsia Species in Ixodes pacificus is Transmitted by Transovarial and Transstadial Transmissions" in session "The Best and Brightest in Diagnostic Microbiology and Epidemiology I" at 5:00pm, May 23,2011 in New Orleans. Du's mentor Dr. Jianmin Zhong of Department of Biological Sciences also attended this meeting.

http://gm.asm.org/index.php/scientific-program/daily-schedule/monday-ma…

Daniela Mineva, Assistant Piano Professor, played solo piano recitals in France and Bulgaria, April 2011. She was also part of the prestige judging panel at the International Music Competition "Music and Earth," Sofia, Bulgaria.

This past spring, Dr. Daniela Mineva has also played concerts and conducted piano and chamber music master classes at Drake University, Northern Colorado University and Concordia University. She is also very excited for a future project which involves participating in two new CD's with her violin partner Dr.Bin Huang for Hong Kong Record Company.

Jessica Clayburn, a Humboldt State University junior majoring in Psychology, recently received two highly competitive scholarships, totaling $15,000.

Clayburn was nominated for the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and was one of just 80 students to receive the award nationwide. She also applied for and was awarded The Morongo Band of Mission Indians Rodney T. Mathews Jr. Memorial Scholarship.

Politics student Bryan Kelly was named the recipient of the 2011 David Kalb Award and Politics student John Folstrom received honorable mention. The David Kalb Award is given to a student who has demonstrated interest in politics and leadership on campus. David Kalb, who generously funds the awards every year, is an HSU alumnus who was ASB president and a political science major in the 1970s.

William Wood published a report on the identification of 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine from the scent glands of male pronghorn antelope. Previously, this hazel nut odor compound has only been identified from plants and is likely used in territorial marking by these animals.

2-Ethyl-3-methylpyrazine in the subauricular and median glands of pronghorn, Antilocapra americana. William F. Wood. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 39, 159-169 (2011).

After not participating in the competition for over 10 years, the HSU-Environmental Resources Engineering team returned to American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Mid Pacific Regional Conference Water Treatment competition to claim the top prize. Student team members included Lauren Adabie, Ben Adams, Travis Clohessy, John Hunter, Blair Kinser, Izzy Konopa, Kendra Miers, Ryan Seng, and Zak Stanko.

Using engineering principles, students were tasked with treating “polluted” water for common water quality problems in a timed, competitive setting. Designs were scored on cost, speed, efficiency, final water quality as well as an accompanying presentation and report. The HSU-ERE team had an outstanding performance, beating the second place team by 30 points.

Lecturer Jeff O'Connor has been named the director and president of the board of directors for "Stockton Folk Dance Camp." The 65 year old conference is recognized as the most comprehensive international dance workshop in the United States. Internationally known instructors are invited to teach at the, two, one week sessions that has participants in attendance from the U.S.and abroad. The camp has been held each summer at the University of the Pacific campus in Stockton, California since 1946.

Professor Robert Cliver of HSU's History Department has published an article this week in the online peer-reviewed journal of world history The Middle Ground. The article, titled "Tremors in the Web of Trade: Complexity, Connectivity and Criticality in the Mid-Eighth Century Medieval World" can be found online at http://www2.css.edu/app/depts/HIS/historyjournal/index.cfm?cat=5&art=40.

Four HSU Geospatial Science graduate students, Nicolas Ramirez (Environmental Science and Management), Jason Barnes (Environmental Science and Management), Brian Huggett (Forestry and Wildland Resources) and Chantell Royer (Forestry and Wildland Resources), were awarded a top prize of $25,000 in the annual Economic Fuel competition on April 29 at the Warfinger Building. Their winning concept Humboldt Cartography, a geospatial planning solutions firm, will offer mapping and spatial analysis solutions to business, federal, state, and local agencies. Their planned operations include cartographic design, and geographic information services including database development and management, geospatia

Student Robin Ray was selected to represent HSU in the 2011 Panetta Congressional Internship Program. The Panetta congressional intern is an outstanding student from any major who has demonstrated how the internship will benefit their plans for public service. Tuition, travel, living expenses and a stipend are paid by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

Students Ryder Dschida and Michelle Kiso were named the 2011 Hennessey Award winner and runner-up, respectively. The Dr. John Hennessey Award was established in memory of Dr. John Hennessey, a professor of History and department chair at Humboldt State University who, after his retirement from the History Department, provided many years of service to the university. The award is given each year to a history major and graduating senior who has demonstrated academic excellence in the study of history.

Student Levi Mogg is the 2011 recipient of the Johnston-Aronoff Award. The Johnston-Aronoff Award is given each year to an outstanding student from Humboldt County who is pursuing a career in teaching history at the K-12 level. The award was established by Guy Aronoff, a professor in the HSU History Department, and his wife, Judy Johnston, in memory of Guy’s father, David Aronoff, and Judy’s mother, Aldy Johnston. Both were lifelong learners, and while neither were native Californians, they both very much loved California as their adopted home.

Students Matthew Herrera and Monica Mays won first and second place, respectively, in the 2011 Charles R. Barnum History Contest. The Charles R. Barnum History Awards celebrate original historical research of Humboldt County. The awards were established in 1952 by a grant from Charles Barnum, a realtor and insurance broker in Eureka who was a member of the Humboldt State College Advisory Board from 1946 to his death in 1953. Up to $2,500 in prize money is distributed each year.

Environmental Science students Rosalinda Gonzalez, Daniel Hernandez, and Jeremy Rude have all been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships for graduate study next year. The students receive $30,000 per year stipend and $10,500 cost of education allowance for three years at any institution in the US.

The Environmental Resources Engineering team claimed the top prize at the American Society of Civil Engineers Mid Pacific Regional Conference Water Treatment competition. The HSU-ERE team had an outstanding performance and a first place win over eight other university teams including UC Berkeley and UC Davis. Students were tasked with treating “polluted” water for common water quality problems in a timed, competitive setting. Designs were scored on cost, speed, efficiency, final water quality as well as an accompanying presentation and report. Local sponsors include ASCE North Coast Chapter, LACO Associates, Pierson’s, Winzler & Kelly and the President’s office.

Lori Dengler presented a paper "The Effects of the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami on the California Coastline" (with 22 co-authors including HSU Geology grad student Amanda Admire) at the Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee April 15.

Lori Dengler, HSU Geology alums Hans Abramson-Ward and Carrie Garrison Laney, and Geology emeritus professor Gary Carver were co-authors with Curt Peterson and Ken Cruikshank on a paper "Evaluation of the use of paleotsunami deposits to reconstruct inundation distance and runup heights associated with prehistoric inundation events, Crescent City, southern Cascadia margin" in the journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. (DOI:10.1002/esp.2126)

Yang Yang, a Geography and International Studies major at Humboldt State University, has won the $250 “Outstanding Student Paper” award from the Ethnic Geography Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers in 2011. Yang has also presented this paper at the annual conference of the Association of American Geographers in Seattle on April 15th, 2011, and has received the award as an invited guest at the awards Luncheon. Yang will be pursuing her Master in the Human Geography Research program at the London School of Economics and Political Science this fall.

Ryan Ziels, Environmental Resources Engineering major, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships for graduate study next year. Ryan will receive $30,000 per year stipend and $10,500 cost of education allowance for three years at any institution in the US. Ryan will be pursuing his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington.

Again this year, two HSU Environmental Resources Engineering teams entered the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) Mathematical Modeling Contest. The contest ran from February 10 to February 14, 2011, with over 3,500 teams competing from U.S. and foreign universities.

One team, consisting of Patrick Fox, Sam Speet and Jason Crowley, addressed the problem of determining the shape of a snowboard course (“halfpipe”) to maximize the production of “vertical air” by a skilled snowboarder. This team competed against 2,775 other teams and was awarded a "Successful Participant" ranking.

The other team, consisting of Zak Stanko, Brenda Howell and Rick Bailey, chose to address whether the widespread use of electric vehicles is feasible and practical. This team competed against 735 other teams, and received the highest award, "Outstanding Winner," one of just six teams to be honored with this designation.

More information on the Math Modeling Contest can be found at http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/contests/2011/results/#c.

HSU ERE students Zak Stanko, Brenda Howell, and Rick Bailey received the highest award, "Outstanding Winner" in the 2011 Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) Mathematical Modeling Contest. They were one of just six teams to be honored with this designation for their category. The contest ran from Feb. 10-14, 2011, with over 3,500 teams competing from US and Foreign universities. The team developed a model of the environmental, social, economic, and health impacts of the widespread use of electric vehicles and detailed key factors to consider to support the development and use of these vehicles.

The Lumberjack Newspaper took second place for General Excellence in the California Newspaper Publishers Association 2010 Better Newspaper Contest at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 16. It came in second in the state, in the university category, to The Daily Bruin at UCLA. The contest was judged on three consecutive issues of the newspaper produced by a team of students led by graduating journalism major Sara Wilmot. The Lumberjack Newspaper is produced as part of JMC 327: The Newspaper Laboratory at Humboldt State.

John W. Powell, Philosophy, will have his article, "Conceptual and Other Problems with Outcomes Assessment," appear in the American Association of University Professors May 2011 Journal of Academic Freedom.

He will also present to the East-West Philosophy Center conference, held every five years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, on the topic "Theory as Authority," May 18th.

Ashley Randall and Ezra Hayman presented research papers at the 3rd Annual Bay Area Undergraduate Communication Research Conference at San Jose State University. Randall's paper was a neo-Aristotelian rhetorical criticism of Harvey Milk's 19789 "Hope" speech, and Hayman's was an ideological rhetorical criticism of identity construction on Facebook user profiles. Both of them began their research for a Communication Research methods class in Fall 2010.

The paper "Effects of Harbor Modification on Crescent City, California’s Tsunami Vulnerability" authored by Lori Dengler and Burak Uslu (NOAA) was published in the journal Pure and Applied Geophysics. http://www.springerlink.com/content/81jlg83h80qg0r50/

Bruner & Meek are happy to report that their book chapter, "A Critical Crisis Rhetoric of Seafood," appears in Janet Cramer, Ed., "Food as Communication" (Peter Lang: New
York and Bern, February 2011), pp. 271-295.

HSU Children's Center will be celebrating 40 years of service to the students of Humboldt State at a potluck picnic on May 6, 2011 from 5:30-7PM at Redwood Park. The Children's Center was started in 1971 by a group of student parents who needed child care in order to attend classes. It is a nationally accredited program and serves around 100 families each semester. Another 60 or so students work in the center, which also serves many departments as a service learning site and a child observation site.

William Wood, Terrence McGlynn (CSU Dominguez Hills) and the student, Thuy-Tien Hoang, reported their research on the alarm pheromones of Costa Rican turtle ants ants.

Volatile components from the mandibular glands of the turtle ants, Cephalotes alfaroi and C. cristatus. William F. Wood, Thuy-Tien Hoang, Terrence P. McGlynn. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 39, 135-138 (2011).

Dr. Marisol Cortes Rincon presented on her research at the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) on April 1st, 2011. Her paper is titled “Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Settlement Survey Project: Preliminary Findings.” The research is based on her archaeological work in Belize, Central America.

Additionally, three of her students also presented at the SAAs: Sarah Nicole Boudreaux – (University of Texas at Austin) “Overview of Settlement Survey Studies at Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP)”; Robert Gustas (HSU) “Peoples of Humboldt County – A Cultural Center”; and Jeff Bryant (HSU-CRF) “Spatial Visualization: Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Settlement Survey.”

Micaela Szykman Gunther and colleagues had a paper published in Conservation Genetics:

Spiering, Penny A., Szykman Gunther, Micaela, Somers, Michael J., Wildt, David E., Walters, Michelle, Wilson, Amy S. and Maldonado, Jesus E. 2011. Inbreeding, heterozygosity and fitness in a reintroduced population of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Conservation Genetics, 2011(12): 410-412.