Updates about the latest accomplishments—including latest research, publications, and awards—by students, faculty, and staff
Dr. Silvia Pavan received a grant from the National Science Foundation to implement a project that will digitize and georeference Cal Poly Humboldt’s mammal collection. The project will be part of a collaborative effort under the Ranges Thematic Collections Network (Ranges TCN), an initiative lead by the University of North Carolina, to digitize and mobilize trait data from mammalian museum specimens from across the American West, including standard external morphological measurements, reproductive and life history observations, and information on ecological associations. Resulting trait datasets will support next-generation anatomical and evolutionary research, and provide baselines for future population monitoring efforts.
Erik Jules (Biological Sciences) published a paper with ten Humboldt student co-authors in the American Journal of Botany (doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16112). The study -- titled "Genotype accounts for intraspecific variation in the timing and duration of life cycle events" -- was an experimental study of willows covering an area approximately the size of a football field. The results showed that the timing of key life events, such as leaf emergence, flowering, and fruit set, are all heritable traits, indicating that natural selection could favor some individuals under changing climate conditions. Of the ten students, six went onto graduate school after leaving Humboldt.
Professor Alison Holmes (INTL) has been invited to be on the international steering committee of a European Commission Jean Monnet grant hosted by George Washington University. The three-year grant is designed to explore the growing field subnational diplomacy through publications and the creation of executive education programming for city, county, tribal and state officials. Holmes was included on the basis of her scholarship on California’s unique role in international affairs.
Dr. Meenal Rana, along with Michigan State University and University of Michigan colleagues, guest edited the special issue of Research in Human Development (Issue Title: College Women of Color, CWOC). The issue focused on the resilience processes found among diverse groups of CWOC focusing on the key concepts in development (emerging adulthood), intersectionality, resilience and resistance. Included are the studies with African American and Latina young adult women, Latina mothers, and Chinese International students. Dr. Rana engaged two undergraduate students from Cal Poly Humboldt to contribute one article. Additionally, Dr. Rana co-authored the editorial. Vol 19 (3-4), July-Dec 22.
Dr. Aaron Gregory presented at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) in Cholula, Mexico (December, 2022). His panel, Abysmal Infrastructures: Energy communities in Maintenance, Repair and Abandonment, engaged with the problem of 'Indigenous Energy Sovereignty' as an infrastructural assemblage of technologies, materialities and modalities of governance drawn from non-Native, settler-state and private-sector actors. Dr. Gregory's presentation addressed the ways in which renewable energy projects developed in Native America often rely upon rare earth minerals and materials extracted from Indigenous lands in Africa and South America. Dr. Gregory's conference paper is scheduled for publication in a forthcoming edited book.
In collaboration with University of Arkansas, we recently published a journal paper at Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces. In this work, we mimicked soil-like porous media by microspheres at various densitiesm, simultaneously characterized the pores and tracked bacterial motion in pores, quantified changes in bacterial swimming due to pore-scale confinement, established correlation between bacterial trapping and geometric confinement, and proposed the importance of distinguishing bacterial motility from mobility.
Dr. Jun Ou, as a corresponding author, recently published a journal article which investigated the industrial scale Counter Pressure Casting (CPC) process at the journal Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B. Using an approach that combines advanced numerical modelling and industrial data acquisition, the work enhances the understanding of how the casting/die interface gap and pressure impact the temperature field in the casting.
This article was selected as the editor's choice and this honour is reflective of the work's comprehensive nature and its overall excellence
This paper summarizes an equity-focused STEM grant project that produced an openly-shared online professional development program, the Humanizing Online STEM Academy. Through the Academy, STEM faculty are introduced to a model of humanized online teaching that centers belonging as a way to address equity gaps. Participant survey responses present opportunities for future research about belonging in online courses.
Pacansky-Brock, M., Smedshammer, M., & Vincent-Layton, K. (2023). In search of belonging online: Achieving equity through transformative professional development. Journal of Educational Research & Practice, 12(0), 39–64.
In service as the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre National Member-at-Large for Design, Technology and Management, Rae traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to respond to design and technology work in Costumes, Scenic, Properties, Sound, Lighting and Allied Design for Region 2's multi state festival. Robison also served as a production respond to their invited production of Mud by María Irene Fornés.
Journalism student Ollie Hancock reported on and published two stories with NYT on the recent earthquakes. Following the jolt, they went to Fortuna, Ferndale, and Rio Dell to speak with those impacted.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/us/california-earthquake.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/01/us/california-earthquake.html
Published journal article: "Listening to Indigenous Voices, Interests, and Priorities That
Would Inform Tribal Co-Management of Natural Resources on a
California State University Forest" https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122165
Paul Michael L. Atienza’s essay “Sociotechnical Infrastructures: Tracing Gay Socio-Sexual
App Socialities in Manila” is included in Beauty and Brutality: Manila and Its Global Discontents edited by Martin F. Manalansan IV, Robert Diaz, and Rolando B. Tolentino (Temple University Press). The authors and contributors investigate the “messy, fleshy, recalcitrant, mercurial, and immeasurable qualities of the city,” examining Manila’s sensorial qualities, its representations in the visual and sonic arts, and digital technology, and its engagement with the legacies of colonialism and neoliberalism. https://tupress.temple.edu/books/beauty-and-brutality
Allyson Carroll (research associate) received a grant from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to support research that will use redwood tree rings to date earthquakes on the northern San Andreas Fault. Tree ring signals, such as changes in growth and dates of reiterated trunks, will be used to constrain the year of the large magnitude event that occurred prior to the 1906 earthquake. Project findings will improve earthquake recurrence models for this region. Collaborators include Dr. Stephen Sillett and Marie Antoine at Cal Poly Humboldt, as well as Dr. Belle Philibosian at USGS and Dr. Ozgur Kozaci.
Dr. Hunter Harrill (Forestry) was invited to give a presentation titled "Grapple Yarding Productivity Studies." His presentation was part of a panel on Grapple Yarding at the Western Region Council on Forest Engineering (WR.COFE) annual meeting on January 12th, 2023, in Lebanon, Oregon.
Published a paper titled: QUANTUM PROJECTIVE PLANES AS CERTAIN GRADED TWISTED TENSOR PRODUCTS in The Journal of Algebra; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalgebra.2022.11.033. The paper is joint with Dr. Andrew Conner at Saint Mary's College of California and will appear in the April 2023 issue. The main results of the paper are: (1) a classification up to algebra isomorphism of quadratic graded twisted tensor products of K[x,y] and K[z], and (2) the determination of which three-dimensional Sklyanin algebras contain a quantum P^1. Sklyanin algebras first arose in the late 20th century in the context of quantum inverse scattering problems in physics.
Drs. Cutcha Risling Baldy and Kaitlin Reed received a $1 million grant from the Sierra Health Foundation to support the Food for Indigenous Futures project, an initiative of The Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute (FSL). The program aims to develop tribally informed, place-based, and culturally informed programming for mental health and substance abuse interventions amongst Native American youth. FSL Coordinator Marlene' Dusek will serve as project director. Funding will also support the creation of an Indigenous youth council to serve in an advisory capacity to the FSL, and support the Lab’s annual Indigenous Foods Festival.
Two Child Development students, Elizabeth Osuna (2020 graduate) and Haley Huffaker (graduating fall 2022), with their advisor, Dr. Meenal Rana, have been accepted to publish their manuscript, "Resilience among Student Parents in College: Voices of Latina Student Mothers" in the special issue (College Women of Color) of Research in Human Development (RHD) Journal. The team has presented their research at the Society of Research on Child Development’s (SRCD) biennial meeting (April 2021); the CSU wide research competition (April 2020); HSU's 26th Annual Social Justice Summit (March 2020), and Society of Study on Human Development (SSHD) Conference (October 2019).
Michele Miyamoto, Arianna Thobaben, and Su Karl presented at the Association of Colleges for Tutoring and Learning Assistance (ACTLA) Conference a workshop titled Advancing Equity Beyond the Training Session that shared what Cal Poly Learning Center is doing to create Equitable Learning Spaces in their center. Here they contributed an Equitable Learning Spaces assessment for learning center professionals to utilize and provided an action-research model for training Tutors and Supplemental Instruction Leaders in developing equity-minded practices. Cal Poly Humboldt students and Supplemental Instruction Leaders Victor Garcia Balderas, Xander Roberts and Nicole Womack presented their findings during the session.
Dr. Taylor Bloedon received a grant to expand a collaborative project with Cal Poly SLO, examining the effects of wild blueberries (WB) on fat oxidation and exercise. The project aims to measure substrate oxidation in men and women at rest and various exercise intensities following 4 weeks of WBs. Project findings will enhance pilot data demonstrating significant increases in fat oxidation during exercise following 2 weeks of WBs. WBs are a safe and healthy alternative to many current methods used to increase fat oxidation in both athletes and non-athletes, they also significantly reduce cardiometabolic disease risk and improve overall health.
Dr. Susan Edinger Marshall received a planning grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to develop the California Rangeland Education (CRED) program in collaboration with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and Audubon California. The initiative aims to assist individuals in completing educational requirements to sit for the California Certified Rangeland Manager (CRM) exam, analogous to the Registered Professional Foresters (RPF) exam. The program will create a curated study guide for prospective candidates, and also inventory and suggest integrative range courses being offered in California, perhaps by collaborating with other campuses and ranches.
International Studies Professor Alison Holmes and Dr Susan Ross (San Jose State) presented to study abroad coordinators at the CSU International Forum at Sonoma State. Together with Dr Lily House Peters (CSU Long Beach) they are conducting research into ways to update and improve materials to support students before and after they return from study abroad that better represent the diversity of our students. The feedback was positive including interest from the Chancellor's Office.
With co-editors Sarah D. Wald, David Vazquez, and Priscilla Solis Ybarra, Environmental Studies professor Sarah Jaquette Ray's book, Latinx Environmentalisms: Justice, Place, and the Decolonial (Temple UP) won the Modern Language Association's prize for best edited book.
Dr. Troy Lescher and students Austin Maisler ('22) and Isabelie Montalvo ('23) published the “Doctoral Projects in Progress in Theatre Arts, 2022” report for the Association of Theatre in Higher Education [ATHE].
The Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, the western branch of American Association of Geographers, recently honored emeritus Professor Stephen Cunha with their Distinguished Service Award. During the awarding, a former student said “His passion for teaching geography through storytelling is unrivaled in the APCG. He has inspired generations of new geographers on the Pacific Coast and mentored many of them on to professions in the academy and industry for decades.” In February, Stephen heads to Senegal, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia to lecture on National Parks and World Heritage Sites.
Michael H. Pazeian published the interview “John Hewston, World War II Veteran: Aircraft Gunner, Mechanic, and Supply Sergeant” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Carrie Tully published their CSU Research Competition article and presentation “Working Towards Land Return in Goukdi'n: A History of Genocide and a Future of Healing” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Eli Baginski, Eden Marquez, and Skye Choi published their CSU Research Competition article and presentation “Normative Values of College-Aged Men and Women for the 1.5-Mile Test on a Treadmill for Cardiorespiratory Fitness” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Sondra P. Schwetman published her original artwork “S.O.S.” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Albert Ochoa Castillo and Dr. Joshua Smith published the peer-reviewed paper “Design of Possible Organic Photovoltaic Compounds and Their Initial Computational Assessment” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Kodiak E. Miller, Caleb J. Strait, Jacob I. Begorre, Brittney L. Mitchell, and Dr. Claire P. Till published the peer-reviewed paper “Concentration of Heavy Metals in Three Distinct Algae Families from Humboldt County, California” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Dr. Nikola Hobbel's co-edited collection titled *Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum: The Practice of Freedom* has been released from Routledge in a second edition. Co-edited by Cal Poly English Professor Nikola Hobbel and Thandeka K. Chapman, the book takes up the question: "What knowledge and tools do pre- and in-service educators need to teach for and about social justice across the curriculum in K-12 classrooms?" The collection synthesizes historical foundations, philosophic/theoretical conceptualizations, and applications of social justice education in public school classrooms. That the book is released in second edition is indicative of its significance in the field.
Michele Miyamoto, Arianna Thobaben, and Su Karl presented at the Association of Colleges for Tutoring and Learning Assistance (ACTLA) Conference a workshop titled Advancing Equity Beyond the Training Session that shared what Cal Poly Humboldt Learning Center is doing to create Equitable Learning Spaces in their center. Here they contributed an Equitable Learning Spaces assessment for Learning Center Professionals to utilize and provided an action-research model for training Tutors and Supplemental Instruction Leaders in developing equity-minded practices. Cal Poly Humboldt students and Supplemental Instruction Leaders, Victor Garcia Balderas, Xander Roberts, and Nicole Womack presented their findings during the session.
Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray will join a panel of experts on the topic of "Climate Education as Climate Action," organized by the Penn Program for Environmental Humanities, on December 13, 10-11am. Register to join at this link: https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/climate-education-climate-action-virtu…
Computer Science students Giselle Urquijo and Kana Voelckers, in collaboration with Assistant Professor Dr. Marjan Asadinia, presented their poster on Improving Reliability and Durability of Phase Change Main Memories at this years Northwestern Regional Conference hosted by the Consortium for Computing Sciences in colleges, winning Best Poster Award.
Professor Suzanne Pasztor published the book, La revolución Mexicana en Coahuila: El espíritu de Hidalgo. The book was published by Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, and was featured at the Feria Internacional del Libro in Saltillo, Cohauila, Mexico. Pasztor was the invited keynote speaker at that event.
Armeda C. Reitzel, Professor Emerita, was one of the co-authors of a new open educational resource titled: "Interpersonal Communication: Context and Connection (OERI)." This project was funded and facilitated by The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI).
Professor Mary Virnoche published in Teaching Sociology “‘You Make Your Own Luck’: Building Cultural and Social Capital in a Major-Based Career Course.” The piece is a call to action for sociologists and other faculty, particularly those serving first-generation and BIPOC students. Research indicates that first-generation students are more likely than continuing generation students to rely on posted ads for opportunities, while most opportunities are actually discovered through networking. The article outlines curriculum and a pilot assessment of a required sociology proseminar. The course focuses on integrating major-based skills into professional materials, developing soft skills, and organizing professional opportunities and contacts.
Professor Alison Holmes (Chair International Studies and Politics) presented to the Association of Interdisciplinary Studies hosted by Sonoma State University. She was attending the conference to promote the new online interdisciplinary journal, csuglobal. With a launch set for 2023, the journal will highlight the global work of faculty, students and staff of the CSU system. The goal is to better connect our campuses while showcasing the research, curricular and co-curricular work we do that connects California to the world. If you would like to know more about the journal or to submit your work email Dr Alison Holmes: csuglobalmanagingeditor@humboldt.edu.
Professor Alison Holmes and Professor Richard Marcus (CSU Long Beach) made a brief presentation via zoom to the CSU's Academic Council of International Programs enlisting their help to get the word out about the new online journal, csuglobal. This interdisciplinary journal will launch in 2023 and is designed to showcase the work of faculty, staff and students of the CSU as they connect California to the world. If you are interested in learning about the journal or submitting work email Dr Holmes: csuglobalmanagingeditor@humboldt.edu.
Johnathon A. Macias published the peer-reviewed paper “Highlighting the Disconnect Between Legislation and Sustainable Cannabis” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Erin J. Hanson and Dr. Jose R. Marin Jarrin published the peer-reviewed paper “List of Fish Species Present in Galápagos, Ecuador, and California, U.S.A., With Notes on Their Commercial Importance and Conservation Status” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Louis Antonelli, Alexandra Winkler, Theron Taylow, and Natalie Greenleaf published the peer-reviewed paper ”Variation in Coastal Macroinvertebrate Species Diversity on Intertidal Boulders in Trinidad, California” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Former ESM graduate student Jasmine Williamshen and co-authors Alison O'Dowd (ESM professor), Kyle De Juilio (Yurok Tribe Fisheries Program), Nicholas Som (USFWS), Darren Ward (Fisheries professor) and Brian Williamshen (UC Davis) published a paper entitled, "Restoration pulse flows from a California dam temporarily increase drifting invertebrate biomass concentration" in the Journal of Environmental Management (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479722022204).
Geneviève Marchand recently completed a national study on compensation in collegial outdoor programs. Findings were presented at the Symposium on Experiential Education Research and are published in a national report through the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education.
G. Webster Ross published the peer-reviewed paper “Injustice Within Renewable Energy Life Cycles: Can IRENA Offer a Solution?” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Drs. Micaela Szykman Gunther and Ho Yi Wan received a $170,000 grant from the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) to support a distribution study on the marten and fisher, two closely related members of the weasel family that are both species of special concern. The project aims to assess potential shifts in the species’ distributions after wildfires in Lassen County, and will support two Department of Wildlife graduate students. Findings will determine if certain management strategies or habitat types are more resilient to fire, potentially serving as refugia for martens and fishers.
Research Associate Dr. Pedro Peloso and collaborators have discovered and described a new species of frog from South America (Brazil and French Guiana). They revealed this discovery in a paper titled "A new Chiasmocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the eastern Guiana Shield with an amended definition of C. haddadi", published in the Journal Zootaxa.
Dr. Laura Johnson, a lecturer in departments of Geography and Environmental Studies, was interviewed on the Sacred Community Project Podcast. Her conversation with host Sitaram Dass, MSW, revolved around ecological grief, rest as radical practice, embodied activism, and postcapitalist futures, among other related topics. Feel free to listen or share here: https://sacredcommunityproject.org/digital-library/eco-grief
Dr. Bonnie Ludka and colleagues have published a paper in Coastal Engineering titled "Alongshore variability of a southern California beach, before and after nourishment." Their work investigates the link between wave-driven alongshore currents and hotspots of beach erosion and accretion on a southern California beach. Additionally, they analyze the effectiveness (both positive and negative impacts) of beach nourishment as a coastal management technique to manage the hotspots. The influence of alongshore sand transport on the migration and closure of a nearby river mouth is also discussed.
Wildlife graduate student Frank Juma Ong'ondo and his collaborators Drs. Frank Fogarty and Matt Johnson from Humboldt Wildlife, and Dr. Peter Njoroge from the National Museums of Kenya published a paper entitled "Bird abundance and diversity in shade coffee and natural forest in Kenya" in the journal Global Ecology & Conservation. Open access link here.