Achievements

William Wood

Chemistry

William Wood was the winner of the “Most Likely to Change the World” award for his research commentary on The Academic Minute. This broadcast was part of Northeast Public Radio’s daily program on research from campuses around the world.

Lonny Grafman

Environmental Resources Engineering

Lonny Grafman will be following up his presentation at the Bronx Museum of the Arts with a presentation at Poe Park in the Bronx, New York on the Flock House and a Dominican Schoolroom: Local Resources for Building Resilient Homes, Schoolrooms, and Communities.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/poepark/events/2012/07/27/flock-house-…

Yvan Delgado de la Flor

Wildlife

Yvan Delgado de la Flor, class of 2013 with a major in Wildlife Conservation & Management, is working with a faculty mentor to study Biotic Change in Declining Hemlock Forests.

The 11-week Harvard Forest summer research program, with funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and several universities, has been running for more than 20 years. Working with a faculty mentor, each student completes an independent project during the course of the program. Students then present their work at the annual research symposium.

Larry Fox

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Emeritus Forestry Professor Larry Fox has completed a volunteer project investigating the death of more than 1500 people fleeing Libya across the Central Mediterranean using geospatial and remote sensing technology. Fox and researchers from the University of London produced a report on a particular case of migrants’ death involving 63 people, where the military and other actors failed to provide assistance to seafarers in distress.

The report was the basis for a legal case against France and may be used to file cases against other countries that participated in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The full report is available at: http://www.forensic-architecture.org/homepage/fields/investigations/sea. The project was supported by GISCorps, which coordinates short term, volunteer-based GIS services to underprivileged communities.

Micaela Szykman Gunther

Wildlife

Associate Professor in Wildlife Micaela Gunther co-authored a paper with colleagues from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute entitled, "Inbreeding Avoidance Influences the Viability of Reintroduced Populations of African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus)."

This research, published in the online journal PLoSONE, matched genetic data with behavioral observations to determine that African wild dogs employ a mechanism to avoid inbreeding. Combined with the isolation of wild dog populations, inbreeding avoidance can rapidly lead to the extinction of small and reintroduced populations of this endangered species.

Iris Koski

Environmental Science & Management

Iris is a graduate student (class of 2012) presenting her research on oak woodland restoration at the Society for Ecological Restoration conference at UC Davis, May 15-17. The title of the presentation is "Landscapes in Transition: Private Lands Oak Woodland Management in the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion." This research was a collaborative project between HSU, private landowners, and numerous agencies and organizations who are concerned about oak woodlands in this region.

Matthew Johnson

Wildlife

Wildlife Chair Matt Johnson was nominated by the California State University to be featured on its (STEM)2 website, which highlights the science, technology, engineering and mathematics service-learning work of California State University faculty members. Johnson's service-learning course engages students in a local wildlife research project relevant to local land managers. (STEM)2 is a grant-supported initiative in the CSU that promotes student success in STEM disciplines. For more information, visit http://calstate.edu/cce/stem/.

Matt Mitchell

Environmental Science & Management

Matt Mitchell is a winner of Patricia O. McConkey Award for outstanding graduate thesis: A Comparison of Invertebrate Communities Occupying Spartina Invaded and Restored Salt Marshes of Humboldt Bay, CA.

Sharon N. Kahara

Wildlife

Adjunct Wildlife Faculty Member Sharon Kahara co-authored an article in _Great Plains Research_ titled "Wetland Hydrodynamics and Long-term Use of Spring Migration Areas by Lesser Scaup in Eastern South Dakota." The research modeled spring wetland use based on surveys carried out over two decades. Results dispelled scaup preference for semipermanent wetlands and established the importance of permanent, hydrologically dynamic wetlands for long-term use and therefore conservation concern.

William Wood

Chemistry

Professor William Wood and student co-authors Jay A. Brandes, Brian D. Foy, Christopher G. Morgan, Thierry D. Mann and Darvin A. DeShazer published a report on the maple syrup odor of the candy cap mushroom. The project culminated 25 years of research, since identification of the chemical responsible for the unique odor has been elusive. The odor causing chemical, quabalactone III, is not present in living candy cap mushrooms. It is only found in dried mushrooms and likely results from the reaction of a rare amino acid on desiccation.

This research was published in Biosystematics and Ecology [Volume 43, 51-53 (2012)].