Updates about the latest accomplishments—including latest research, publications, and awards—by students, faculty, and staff
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.
William Wood and Warren Wood (University of Portland) and three of their undergraduate students had their research on western thatching ants published.
Chemical analysis of the defensive secretion from the western thatching ant, Formica obscuripes. Gloriane W. Faith, Brian G. Solliers, Rachel M. Feeny, Warren J. L. Wood and William F. Wood. Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 10, 15-17 (2011).
Received a Global Health Fellowship with USAID (US Agency for International Development) where he will work as an HIV/AIDS home-based care nurse in Uganda for 3 months. In the capital, Kampala, Ilan will work with TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) in local communities helping carry out their mission of "living positively with AIDS."
Lonny Grafman presented about Appropedia, a site for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development through the use of sound principles and appropriate technology, at the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Open 2011 Conference in Washington, DC on March 24th, 2011. He also co-facilitated a panel session on Fantastic Failures from the Field: Lessons learned in abroad programs.
May Patino and Graeson Harris-Young will present their research on mona monkeys at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists' conference in Minnesota in April 2011. Their paper is titled “Comparison of Boom Calls in Cercopithecus mona in Benin and Grenada”. This research is based on vocal analyses done in the Biological Anthropology Research Laboratory with Professor Mary Glenn. May and Grae also plan to submit this paper for publication in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Sandy Strayer presented her research at the Society for California Archaeology symposium on March 12th, 2011. Her paper is titled “Ribar High 2 Ground Stone Tool Analysis”. Her research is based on lithic analysis which she carried out as part of a course taught by Professor Marisol Cortes-Rincon. Sandy was invited to submit her article for publication in the Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology.
Drs. Sheila and Steven Steinberg contributed a book chapter entitled "Geospatial Analysis Technology and Social Science Research" to the newly released book: Handbook of Emergent Technologies in Social Research, edited by Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber, Oxford University Press, 2011.
David Stacey will attend the 8th Triennial Conference of the Kenneth Burke Society at Clemson University on May 26-29, 2011, where he will present a paper entitled "Listening to Jazz with Kenneth Burke: Identification as Improvisation."
Sam Sonntag's article, "The Changing Global-Local Linguistic Landscape in India," has just been published in English Language Education in South Asia, edited by Lesley Farrell, Udaya Narayan Singh and Ram Ashish Giri (New Delhi: Foundations Books, an imprint of Cambridge University Press India, 2011).
The Dean's office in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences has awarded the following students with an Undergraduate Research Fellowships in the Anthropology department: David Sandrock, Uri Grunder, Graeson Harris-Young, and May Patino.
HSU student, Leslie Scopes Anderson recently completed a beginner's fossil guide for Humboldt County entitled "Unearthing Evidence of Creatures form Deep Time". The work details five sites in our area where ancient marine fossils can be found, complete with maps, photos, descriptions and directions. It will be used for fossil classes in the geology dept., and is also available for download by any student at the Geology website. The project took three semesters to complete, under the direction of Dr. William Miller.
Professors Kenneth Ayoob and Steven Hackett have been chosen to participate as fellows in the Inaugural Executive Leadership Academy, co-organized by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, Inc. (AAHHE).
The Inaugural Executive Leadership Academy, to take place Feb. 28 - Mar. 2, will embark on an ambitious plan to train leaders of colleges and universities to steer their institutions in an increasingly multicultural global environment. The Academy is designed to enable persons of all backgrounds who may be interested in appointments to executive positions such as provosts and presidents.
The Marketing & Communications staff, et al., was recently named a silver medalist for the CASE District VII Special Program Publications Packages for the Parents & Family Program at HSU. HSU Admissions and Student Affairs were also instrumental in developing the program.
The staff will be honored at an Awards Luncheon held in conjunction with the CASE District VII Conference on Friday March 4, 2011 in Los Angeles.
CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) District VII annually recognizes excellence in the District. The Awards of Excellence recognize the best practices in alumni relations, fundraising, public/government relations, advancement services, special events and outstanding communications.
Doc Stull's Sports Today and in the Day Show on ESPN Sports Talk Radio 1340 AM every day at 7:55 AM and again during the day.
Sports Today and in the Day - A highly entertaining and informative cultural commentary on the world of sport. From baseball to boxing, from the athlete of the future to the those in ancient Greece, from steroids to Sparta, Sports Today and in the Day shows us the past is truly prologue!
Campus Photographer Kellie Jo Brown was recently named a silver medalist for the CASE District VII Photographer of the Year competition. She will be honored at an Awards Luncheon held in conjunction with the CASE District VII Conference on Friday March 4, 2011 in Los Angeles.
CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) District VII annually recognizes excellence in the District. The Awards of Excellence recognize the best practices in alumni relations, fundraising, public/government relations, advancement services, special events and outstanding communications.
On February 9, William Wood, HSU Chemical Ecologist gave a lecture to the California Native Plant Society: titled “Chemicals – the Language of Plants.” This talk covered how plants use chemical to "talk to other plants.” It also covered many of the toxic compounds plants make to keep from being eaten. Humans now use many of these toxic plant compounds as modern medicinal drugs.
The HSU School Psychology Program received national approval from the National Association of School Psychologists through December 2015.
Faculty submitted a folio describing the program, containing comprehensive data regarding graduate student outcomes including scores on the ETS national licensing exam, practica and internship performance, and a comprehensive and culminating portfolio.
This approval means that HSU meets the highest national standards for training sub-doctoral school psychologists, and can compete nationally for top graduate students. It also means that HSU graduates automatically qualify for their credential as a nationally certified school psychologist upon graduation.
Staff and Faculty lend their voices to raise $10,000!
James Floss (Communications), Pamela Lyall (Library), Peggy Metzger (Financial Aid), Rebecca Kalal (Admissions) and Clint Rebik (Registrar) recently raised $10,000 for a local arts organization during “The Road to ZOUNDS-ibar” live radio show.
Described as “Prairie Home Companion collides with Saturday Night Live in a Humboldt County twist” the original show was written in part by Floss, Metzger, and Rebik, and featured zany characters, songs, and sketches created by the ensemble.
The show is available as a podcast from the KHUM website. Link:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/liveatkhum
Lori Dengler represented the United States at the 7th International Workshop on Coastal Disaster Prevention, held January 26 - 28 in Tokyo Japan and presented a paper "Building Tsunami-Resilient Communities in the United States".
Brent Duncan recently returned from a research trip to Vietnam, his second in the past 6 months. In addition to delivering an invited paper to the 2nd International Conference on School Psychology in Vietnam, he visited 4 universities regarding collaboration with US universities to train school psychologists for work in Vietnamese public schools. With colleagues from Long Beach Unified School District, CSULB and Chapman University, he then conducted a 32-hour training on delivering mental health services in schools, sponsored by Hanoi National University of Education. More than 40 university lecturers and school-based psychologists from throughout Vietnam attended the workshop.
"Sweet Mother of God", a ten-minute play written by Theatre Arts graduate student and Office of Admissions staff member Kristin Mack, was selected as a finalist for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) for Region 7. It was one of only 6 plays selected in our region, which includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, northern California and northern Nevada.
KCACTF will be hosted on-campus at HSU this year, February 14-18th.
Published a paper in Marine Ecology Progress Series this week entitled:
"Role of the sea anemone Metridium senile in structuring a developing subtidal fouling community"
Vol. 421: 139–149, Jan 17th, 2011
link to full paper (open access):
Wilson, C.A., & M.A. Colwell. Movements and fledging success of Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) chicks. Waterbirds 33:331-340.
Co-authored several recent papers, including:
Colwell, M.A., N.S. Burrell, M.A. Hardy, K. Kayano, J.J. Muir, W.J. Pearson, S.A. Peterson, and K.A. Sesser. 2010. Arrival times, laying dates, and reproductive success of Snowy Plovers in two habitats in coastal northern California. Journal of Field Ornithology 81:349-360.
Muir, J.J., & M.A. Colwell. 2010. Snowy Plovers select open habitat for courtship scrapes and nests. Condor 112:507-510.
Mullin, S.M., M.A. Colwell, S.E. McAllister & S.J. Dinsmore. 2010. Apparent survival & population growth of Snowy Plovers in coastal northern California. Journal of Wildlife Management 74:1792-1798.
Wilson, C.A., & M.A. Colwell. Movemen
Humboldt State University’s Logging Sports team captured first and second overall in the annual California Conclave competition in November, hosted by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and held at the Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch just north of Santa Cruz. A contingent of 24 HSU students participated and many of them placed first in individual events. They competed with teams from Cal Poly, UC Berkley, Modesto Junior College and Central Oregon Community College. HSU senior Jess Engle captured the Belle of the Woods award for the overall best female competitor.
The event set the stage for the 72nd annual Association of Western Forestry Clubs Conclave, which will be hosted by Cal Poly at its San Luis Obispo campus March 21-25, 2011. It will feature competition among 12 schools from the Western U.S.
Jeff Dunk co-authored the following article which recently appeared in the journal Conservation Biology:
CARROLL, C., D. S. JOHNSON, J. R. DUNK, AND W. J. ZIELINSKI. 2010. Hierarchical Bayesian Spatial Models for Multispecies Conservation Planning and Monitoring. Conservation Biology 24:1538-1548.
A major focus of William Wood's research has been the investigation of antibiotics naturally excreted from mammalian skin glands. This December his latest contribution to this area was published in Scientia Pharmaceutica, the Austrian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. It describes a series of antimicrobial compounds that were prepared using a compound from an African antelope as a model.
William F. Wood, “Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Long-Chain 3,4-Epoxy-2-alkanones” Scientia Pharmaceutica 78, 745-751 (2010). doi:10.3797/scipharm.1009-02
Interviewed by Thrivable.net on Savoring Optimism - http://bit.ly/thr1ve.
Kim Hall, Director of Veterans' Affairs has been selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Veterans Program Administrators (NAVPA) representing Region VIII. NAVPA works with the U.S. Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs, and Defense to promote the improvement and development of opportunities to veterans and their dependents. Her selection is an honor to her and HSU.
An article titled “Bird Photography” and 12 photographs was published in the November issue of Redwood Snapshots, a publication of the Redwood Camera Club.
Photographing birds has long been an important aspect of William Wood’s nature photography. In this article he describes techniques for successfully photographing these animals
Students and faculty from the HSU’s Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources recently travelled to Albuquerque to take part in professional meetings and compete in the Society of American Foresters (SAF) Quiz Bowl at the society’s annual convention in October.
HSU sent five forestry students, Whitney Butler, Whitney Schimke, Alexander Taylor, Ryan Camera and Tyler Hullquist, to compete. The contest brought together student teams from universities across the country to demonstrate their knowledge in a wide variety of forestry disciplines.
Forestry and Wildland Resources Department Chair Ken Fulgham and Professor Han-Sup Han attended the five day convention, where Fulgham presented a poster titled “Long-term, Post-Fire Dynamics of a Sagebrush Steppe and Western Juniper Community.” It summarized nearly thirty years of post-fire vegetation monitoring of sagebrush rangelands in Modoc County in Northeastern California. Dr. Han participated in the McIntire-Stennis meetings as the HSU-Administrative Technical Representative (AT-R).
Biology majors Kymberly Gustus and Annayal Yikum, along with Wildlife major Yesenia De León, won the award for best poster in Neuroscience at the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) conference held on Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 in Anaheim, Calif.
The undergraduate student’s poster was entitled: The effects of histamine on escape behaviors and giant nerve fiber conduction velocity in the blackworm Lumbriculus variegatus. Their research was conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Bruce A. O’Gara. Annayal, Kymberly and Yesenia are interns in the Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) Program in the Biological Sciences.
Humboldt State University’s highly successful Wildlife Quiz Bowl Team won the 2010 National Wildlife Quiz Bowl Oct. 5 in Snowbird, Utah, marking HSU’s ninth victory in 11 years in the national and regional contests.
In the latest 17-team national competition, Humboldt State blanked Michigan Tech 135-0, beat Texas A&M;120-55, trounced the University of Wyoming 110-15 and downed Penn State 95-20.
The tournament was part of the National Wildlife Conference in Snowbird, and the HSU team comprised five undergraduates: Sam Aguilar (Wildlife major), Phil Chaon (double major, Wildlife and Zoology), Brian Fagundes (double major, Wildlife and Geography), Dave Spangenburg (Geography major, Wildlife minor) and Amy Leigh Trost (Wildlife major).
Jeff Dunk co-authored the following paper in the journal Forest Ecology and Management:
ZIELINSKI, W. J, J. R. DUNK, J. S. YEAGER, AND D. W. LAPLANTE. 2010. Developing and Testing A Fisher Landscape Habitat Suitability Model for interior Northern California. Forest Ecology and Management 260:1579-1591.
Rich Paselk (Chemistry) presented a paper (5 October 2010) at the XXIX Symposium of the Scientific Instrument Commission of the International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science in Florence, Italy : "The Display of 20th-Century Scientific Instruments at Humboldt State University,"
Along with HSU Environmental Systems - Geology graduate student, Paul Sundberg, participated in 10 day post-earthquake reconnaissance of the September 4, 2010, M 7.1 Darfield earthquake near Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand. Worked with members of New Zealand GNS Science, Canterbury University and Penn State University to describe and document surface rupture and strong motion evidence produced during the earthquake.
Named to the Board of Directors of the California Integrated Seismic Network, the automated rapid dissemination system of earthquake information for emergency responders and earthquake professionals in the United States.
Published an article in the journal Continental Shelf Research on the unusually high levels of bioavailable particulate iron and how it may be responsible for the high productivity found on the Bering Sea shelf.
Hurst, Matthew P., Aguilar-Islas, Ana M., and Kenneth W. Bruland (2010). Iron in the southeastern Bering Sea: Elevated leachable particulate Fe in shelf bottom waters as an important source for surface waters. Continental Shelf Research, 30, 467-480.
Dr. Han-Sup Han and Dr. Aaron Hohl, recently presented their research at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Hohl presented his research on modeling the potential risk and implications of forest and grassland fires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) in the Ukraine. Dr. Han presented his research on the collection and transportation of forest biomass for energy in the western United States.
Jeff Dunk (Environmental Science and Management) recently co-authored the following papers:
DUNK, J. R., AND J.J. VAN GELDER-HAWLEY. 2009. Red tree vole habitat suitability modeling: implications for conservation and management. Forest Ecology and Management 258:626-634.
CARROLL, C., J. R. DUNK, AND A. MOILANEN. 2010. Optimizing Resiliency of multi-species Reserve Networks to Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Global Change Biology 16:891-904.
Publication of co-edited book:
Jason Philip Coy, Benjamin Marschke, and David Warren Sabean, editors, The Holy Roman Empire, Reconsidered (Spektrum: Publications of the German Studies Association 1), New York: Berghahn Books, 2010. (ISBN 1845457595)
Janet Finney-Krull of Plant Operation and Craig Kurumada of Math and Computing Science, both musicians and singers with the international band, Chubritza, completed a successful tour of Israel in June and have just released their second CD, entitled, "OPSA!" Chubritza can be heard regularly in Arcata and at dance festivals in California and Oregon.
Steve Martin was nominated by the California State Office of the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) to participate in a national summit on the future of the National Landscape Conservation System, to be held in Nevada in November.
Drs. Steven and Sheila Steinberg and Sarah Keeble, a recent graduate of the Masters in Environment and Community published a short article titled: "Using PPGIS to Study Rural Ethnic Entrepreneurship" in the 2010 CSU Geospatial Review.
The Geospatial Review is available digitally at: http://csugis.sfsu.edu/CSU_Geospatial_Review/CSU_GeospatialReview.htm
Tasha published an article about her experiences as a Fulbright Scholar in Cyprus, working with Greek and Turkish Cypriots on issues related to child maltreatment. The article makes recommendations for social work instructors who wish to globalize their students' thinking and experience. The article is titled, "International Child Welfare: Guidelines for Educators and a Case Study from Cyprus." It was published in the Journal for Social Work Education, Vol. 46., No. 3, Fall, 2010.
Lindsay Weymouth, a recent graduate of the Master's Program in Academic Research (Developmental Psychopathology emphasis) was awarded the McConkey honor for outstanding thesis at HSU. Her thesis work evaluated a nationwide violence prevention parenting program. The American Psychological Association invited Lindsay to present her results to program implementers in Washington D.C., and her mentor, Dr. Tasha R. Howe, presented the work at the Conference for APA in San Diego.
Dr. Armeda C. Reitzel will give a presentation on teaching English as a Foreign Language in Nicaragua at the Michigan Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages conference on Oct. 2, 2010. This presentation is based on her experiences as a Fulbright Scholar in Nicaragua spring semester 2010.