Achievements

Jessie Hagadorn

Biological Sciences

Biological Sciences student Jessie Hagadorn (Advisor Dr. Jacob Varkey) has been awarded a 2012 Global Youth Advocacy Fellowship.

The fellowship, which begins in April 2012, will provide specialized training from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the opportunity to participate in youth-led global advocacy at the Commission on Population & Development (CPD) meeting at the UN in New York City. Fellows will also participate in a youth coalition at the International AIDS Conference, which will take place in Washington, DC in July 2012.

William Wood

Chemistry

William Wood published a report on the volatile organic compounds from first year canes of the invasive Himalayan blackberry. Succulent young leaves had chemicals that were not present in mature leaves. These chemicals showed significant activity against the feeding of banana slugs and are known to repel aphids.

Banana slug antifeedant in the growing cane tips of Himalayan Berry, Rubus armeniacus. William F. Wood. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 41, 126-129 (2012).

Lonny Grafman

Environmental Resources Engineering

Lonny Grafman co-facilitated an un-conference experience on "infusing innovation and entrepreneurship into engineering education" at the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Open 2012 Conference in San Francisco, Calif., on March 22, 2012.

William F. Wood

Chemistry

On Jan. 26, 2012, Professor Wood presented a worldwide American Chemical Society WebinarTM to 500 participants titled: Chemistry Stinks! And How Nature Uses These Noxious Chemicals. The webinar consisted of a 20 minute presentation of his research on skunks, giraffes, garter snakes, wolverines and weasels followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers from the audience. The program was moderated by Professor Darren Griffin, University of Kent, UK. In the future, this ACS Webinar will be available for viewing at http://acswebinars.org/.

Ginger Fletcher-Santillan, Ana Kolpin

Environmental Resources Engineering

Students Ginger Fletcher-Santillan and Ana Kolpin recently received a mention on MAKE Magazine’s blog (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2012/01/solar-heater-from-can-lids-and…) for their "parabolic solar cooker":http://www.appropedia.org/Parabolic_basket_and_tin_can_solar_cooker. The frame for the solar cooker was made by weaving together invasive blackberry canes. Recycled tin can lids provided the reflective surface. “I like to see the clever thinking that can result from radical design constraints,” says Sean Michael Ragan, the MAKE contributor in his "review of the project":http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2012/01/solar-heater-from-can-lids-and…. A clearinghouse for do-it-yourself projects and tips, MAKE is a quarterly publication, that is part magazine, part book, which celebrates the independent mindset.

Kyle French

Geology

Geology professor Sue Cashman and Kyle French (’11, Geology) have received a mention in the third edition of Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions, a collegiate, structural geology textbook. The text explores the on-the-ground research conducted by undergraduates in Cashman’s structural geology class, as they assess damage to Ferndale Cemetery caused by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck off the North Coast in January, 2010. In his senior thesis, French took that research further by comparing the directions of the toppled grave-site monuments to the likely direction of the seismic waves that caused the damage.

Jon Forrest Dohlin

Biological Sciences

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.

Leah Sloan

Biological Sciences

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."

Morgan Varner, Kenneth Fulgham

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

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.

Phil Choan, Aaron Spidal, Sam Aguilar, Amy Trost and Brian Fagundas

Wildlife

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.