Latest Achievements

Kim Hall, Director of Humboldt State’s Veterans and Enrollment Transition Services, has been elected to the 2012 Board of Directors of the National Association of Veterans Program Administrators (NAVPA). Hall will serve as a Veteran Service Organizations Liaison and Region VIII Representative. NAVPA President Dorothy Gillman said Hall’s service will include work on initiatives to help improve the GI Bill. Her service will help keep Humboldt State abreast of year-to-year changes at the U.S. Veterans Administration, Gillman added. As a board member, Hall will be in direct contact with major federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Education as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs. Founded in 1975, NAVPA collaborates with universities, colleges and trade schools nationwide to assist veterans with making full use of their GI Bill benefits, including access to higher education.

Jon Forrest Dohlin ('92, Biology), is currently working on a new shark exhibit at the New York Aquariam. Dohlin was named director of the aquarium in 2008. He pursued a master's degree in architecture at Parson School for Design. There, he focused on sustainable and green building. Dohlin was able to combine his love for both fields working as a designer for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Read an "article":http://thelumberjack.org/news/alumnus-big-new-york-hsu-graduate-becomes… on Dohlin in HSU's student newspaper, "The Lumberjack":http://thelumberjack.org/home.

Professor Sing C. Chew was an invited panelist at the recent Annual Conference of the Social Science History Association held in Boston, Nov. 15-20, 2011. His talk was from his new book, The Southeast Asian Connection in the First Global Economy. He also chaired a panel on Macro Historical Dynamics: World History, World-System Analysis and Globalization.

KRFH.net, HSU's student-run radio station, recently picked up a $500 cash prize from RadioFlag.com for its outstanding performance during the first-ever College Radio Day, and was just extended an invitation to be a part of the College Radio Advisory Board, which aims to network stations that drive the RadioFlag platform and guide the resurrection of college radio in a time of budget cuts and economic hardship.

RadioFlag, an emerging social media platform that seeks to engage a new generation of internet radio listeners with a Twitter-like format, was a partner in the first-ever College Radio Day. The College Radio Day event sought to bring together over 300 college radio stations across the country, in part by utilizing the RadioFlag website and app.

Anthony Roman, founder of RadioFlag, says that "KRFH DJs consistently demonstrate the true essence of college radio with creative programming, listener engagement, unique promotions, and the courage to push the boundaries through innovation to reach new listeners, when challenged by shrinking budgets."

"I am proud that KRFH is heard on RadioFlag, and already considered one of RadioFlag's most popular stations," Roman adds.

For 16 years, Sheri Johnson, Director of Field Education, has co-hosted the KHUM Stop the Violence – Start the Healing radio education campaign occurring in the month of November.

Sheri helps identify guests for interviews, co-hosts the Friday “call in” radio panels and appears as the first guest to help launch the campaign.

Since 2009, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, professor and global scholar, has been a guest, helping the listening audience understand how the brain works, how trauma affects the brain and how mindfulness can help survivors cope in powerful, healing ways.

All programs are recorded and posted on the KHUM "website":http://www.khum.com.

Professor Pamela Brown, Department of Social Work, and Colby Smart, College of Professional Studies, presented with colleagues from UC Berkeley, CSU Chico and CSU San Bernardino on the “Distributed Learning Program for Social Work Students” at the Fourth International Conference on Ubiquitous Learning held at UC Berkeley Nov. 11-12. The panel shared their experiences of designing and delivering technology-enhanced curriculum to serve county and Tribal staff working in remote regions. The forum explored new forms of learning using various computing and networking capacities with emphasis on critical intellectual human concern and the blurring of traditional institutional, spatial and temporal boundaries of education. www.ULConference.com

Scott T. Paynton, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, recently published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education regarding the college's recent fundraising effort. Read the full text at this link: http://chronicle.com/article/Fund-Raising-Tip-Funny-Brings/129890/

Leah Sloan, graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, recently tied for first place for the Best Student Poster Award at the recent Western Society of Naturalists meeting held in Vancouver, Washington. The title of her poster was: "The Bane of Bullfrogs: Population Structure of Western Pond Turtles (Emys marmorata) in Lentic Habitats Along the Trinity River."

Noah Zerbe was elected co-chair of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS), the progressive caucus of the African Studies Association. ACAS was founded in 1977 as an organization of scholars and students of Africa dedicated to formulating alternative scholarly analysis of U.S. government policy, mobilizing support in the United States on critical current issues related to Africa, and developing communication and action networks among scholars in the United States and Africa. For more information, see "concernedafricascholars.org":http://concernedafricascholars.org.

The Northern California Prescribed Fire Council met in Humboldt County on Nov. 16 and 17. The first day was spent as a field tour looking at prescribed fire use in Redwood National Park for maintaining vegetation structure of grassland and oak woodland ecosystems. The second day was held at River Lodge in Fortuna where Drs. Morgan Varner and Kenneth Fulgham attended. Varner is the Council Chairman and provided the Opening Remarks to about 70 attendees. The mission of the NorCal Prescribed Fire Council is to provide a venue for practitioners, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, tribes, coalitions and interested individuals to work collaboratively to promote, protect, conserve and expand the responsible use of prescribed fire in Northern California’s fire-adapted landscapes. More information can be found at: "norcalrxfirecouncil.org":http://www.norcalrxfirecouncil.org and at "prescribedfire.net":http://www.prescribedfire.net.

HSU Wildlife students Phil Chaon, Aaron Spidal, Sam Aguilar, Amy Trost and Brian Fagundas have won the 2011 National Wildlife Quizbowl at the Annual Meeting of The Wildlife Society. Teams from across the nation competed, and the competition was fierce with several "down to the wire" matches. Second place went to Virginia Tech, Purdue captured third, and the University of Montana came in fourth.

HSU is unique at this meeting of 1300 wildlife professionals because it has such a large number of undergraduates attending the meeting.

Dr. Walter Duffy, Dr. Sharon Kahara and Research Associate Rosemary Records co-edited a U.S. Geological Survey technical report titled "Conservation Effects Assessment Project—Wetlands Assessment in California’s Central Valley and Upper Klamath River Basin."

The report covers results of an empirical study of ecosystem services provided by restored wetlands under the Wetlands Reserve Program and was funded by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. Ecosystem services assessed included soil and vegetation nutrient content, soil loss reduction, floodwater storage as well as avian, amphibian, fish and pollinator use and habitat availability.

Humboldt State Professor of Rangeland Resources Kenneth Fulgham, chair of the Forestry & Wildland Resources Department, has been elected director of the board of directors of the Society for Range Management. Fulgham’s three-year term starts in February, 2012. The professional society supports conservation and sustainable management of rangelands, which comprise nearly half of all the lands on earth. Fulgham is also second vice-president of The Buckeye, a local advocacy organization for working landscape. Additional information about the Society for Range Management is posted at "rangelands.org":http://rangelands.org/.

HSU Geography senior Alicia Iverson won top honors at the recent North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) conference in Madison, Wisc. Iverson’s map-rich poster titled “Insecure at Last: a Political Memoir. A novel by Eve Ensler,” won the NACIS Student Poster Competition.

In another nod to the Geography Department’s Kosmos Lab, the Student Dynamic Map award went to a student from the University of Montana—who studies under HSU geography alumnus Kevin McManigal. Iverson won $500 for her efforts and a permanent spot on the NACIS web site, where she joins a growing list of HSU cartographers tutored by HSU faculty Dennis Fitzsimons, Mary Beth Cunha and Margaret Pearce (1998-2001).

This year’s NACIS meeting drew over 350 cartography and GIS specialists from higher education, government and the private sector. The HSU contingent included Fitzsimons and Cunha, along with students Iverson, Kelly Muth and Aaron Taveras.

Two research papers were recently published in Western Journal of Applied Forestry. One paper deals with utilization of small-diameter logs generated as a result of fuel reduction thinning treatments. This topic has been an issue for many rural towns in the US West. The title of this paper is “Financial Feasibility of a Log Sort Yard Handling Small-Diameter Logs: A Preliminary Study.” The other paper addresses a spreadsheet-based tool to estimate road construction costs. The software will be loaded onto the department web site. The title of this paper is “ACCEL: Spreadsheet-Based Cost Estimation for Forest Road Construction”.

An article titled “The Triangle in Photographic Composition,” and four of his photographs were published in the October issue of Redwood Snapshots, a publication of the Redwood Camera Club.

The article explores the field of Gestalt psychology for possible reasons why the triangular form enhances photographic composition. Gestalt psychology explains why people perceive visual components as organized patterns or wholes, instead of many different parts. The generation of triangular images where none exist is a major illustration of the Gestalt theory. This helps explain why photographs that contain triangular forms can have higher impact than those that don’t.

Assoc. Professor Marcy Burstiner has been appointed to the 15-member Steering Committee of the Student Press Law Center. Founded in 1974, the SPLC is the nation's only legal assistance agency devoted exclusively to educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment and supporting the student news media in their struggle to cover important issues free from censorship.

Communication major Elizabeth Lara-O’Rourke was an invited presenter at the Creative Time Summit held at New York University on September 23, 2011. The Creative Time Summit is a forum to “share projects that expand our understanding of participatory arts practice” and to share interest in “the political implications of socially engaged art.” Ms. Lara-O’Rourke represented the United Indian Health Services, where she works as a Health Promotion and Education Manager while she pursues her degree at HSU.

See her speech at
http://www.creativetime.org/programs/archive/2011/summit/summit_schedul… and click on United Indian Health Services

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.

Five of six Humboldt State University students (83%) passed the rigorous “Fundamentals of Soil Science” exam offered on April 15, 2011, becoming Associate Professional Soil Scientists, according to tests results from the Council of Soil Science Examiners.

Ten Wildland Soils and four Forest Soils students graduated from Humboldt State University in 2011. Five Rangeland Resource Science students also graduated, one of whom had sufficient soil science courses to be qualified for the federal Soil Scientist position. This means that Humboldt State University graduated 15 fully qualified Soil Scientists, more qualified students than most institutions have enrolled at any given time!

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.