Achievements

Melanie Michalak, Susan Cashman

Geology

Melanie Michalak (Geology) and Susan Cashman (Geology) published a paper in the Journal of Geology with co-authors Kevin Furlong (lead author; Penn State) and Paul O'Sullivan (GeoSep Services) titled "Tectonic Response to Siletzia Terrane Accretion Recorded in the Thermal and Displacement History of the Klamath Mountains Province". This work in the northeastern Klamath Mountains reconstructs how the landscape responded after a major tectonic terrane (the Siletz terrane) collided with the edge of North America about 50 million years ago. Their findings show that the effects of this collision were widespread over hundreds of kilometers and lasted tens of millions of years. Read the paper here.

Catalina Cuellar-Gempeler

Biological Sciences

Professor Catalina Cuellar-Gempeler's BIOL 412 General Microbiology class has published another successful volume of the Humboldt Journal of Microbiology, accessible at https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/hjm/. Congratulations to student authors Natalie S. Kozlowski, Leighanna Jake, Theo P. Murphy, Eve Wendley, Justice Laskowski, Tyler Paredes, Quigley D. Espinola, Scarlet Renner, Curtis Cline, Sophia Lopez-Orenday, Alex Yasumatsu, Mariska M. Kessler, Jocelyn Wolfinger, Destiny S. Alcaraz, Isabella N. Cerrone, Brooke Pirkle, Danielle Williamson, Gianna Vendrell, Chloe Kraft, Ryan A. Solorzano, Justin Paulin, Grayson Prater, Michael Lanier, Noah S. Schuhmann, Andrew McLaughlin, and Julian Barreran.

Elizabeth Meisman, Jadzia Rodriguez, Lauren Jackson, Ayla Zolwik, Matt Johnson

Wildlife

Four Wildlife graduate students (Elizabeth Meisman, Jadzia Rodriguez, Lauren Jackson, Ayla Zolwik) and their advisor (Matt Johnson) each presented their latest research findings at the 2025 Raptor Research Foundation's annual conference, held Oct. 13-18, in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Sherrene Bogle

Computer Science

Prof. Sherrene Bogle received a travel award from the University of Missouri, Kansas City to attend the 2025 Workshop on Large Language Models for CS Undergraduate Education. At the September 2025 workshop, she gave a presentation on “Experience Report of Generative AI for Contrasting Undergrad Courses”. This included how generative AI tools have evolved in the past two years to student prompts and best practices for incorporating the tool in both GE and STEM courses.

Sherrene Bogle, Cheyenne Ty

Computer Science

Prof. Sherrene Bogle, 2024-25 student of the year Cheyenne Ty and their collaborators in the NSF funded ACOSUS (AI Counseling System for Under-represented Transfer Students) research group had their double blind peer review paper entitled School or Student? A Mixed Method Analysis on Reddit Data for Transfer Barrier Identification was accepted for publication and presentation at the 2025 Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference in November. The paper examines the institutional and student-based barriers faced by computing transfer students.

Monica Sheffer and Kerry Byrne

Environmental Science & Management

Graduate student Jesse Laine, with Drs. Monica Sheffer and Kerry Byrne, are investigating how grassland restoration shapes insect populations in Northern California’s coastal prairies. Insects are declining globally due to threats like climate change and habitat loss, with huge consequences for conservation and agriculture since they provide essential ecosystem services. Yet their biodiversity remains poorly understood. This project will help fill that knowledge gap while informing grassland conservation, agriculture, and management. It also builds on Laine and Byrne’s ongoing research into how prairie restoration affects plants, soil health, and forage production.

This project is funded by the CSU Agricultural Research Institute.

Jeff Kane and Jackson Carrasco (2024)

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Jeff Kane (Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management) and graduate student Jackson Carrasco (2024) published a research paper in the journal Forest Ecology and Management entitled "Tree and stand characteristics moderate wildfire severity and promote resilience in secondary coast redwood forests". The findings of the research indicate that redwoods are highly resilient to wildfire but can result in substantial changes to forest structure and composition. However, the magnitude of forest changes was associated with tree and stand conditions, suggesting that management actions in these forests can be used to limit impacts from wildfire. 

Angelina Garcia, Adam Canter

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Graduate students Angelina Garcia and Adam Canter were selected for a competitive USDA-ARS NextGen Fellowship. Angelina will examine how rangeland invasive species management affects soil properties and plant traits. Adam will study how invasive species management and small-scale control burns can be used to restore species culturally in coastal prairies important to Wiyot people.

Logan Holey

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Logan Holey was awarded a competitive undergraduate research grant from the Northern California Botanists to conduct research on how air temperature and photosynthetically active radiation vary and potential effects on rangeland plant communities across microhabitats at local solar microgrids in Arcata, McKinleyville and Kneeland.

Ismael Chowdhury & Dana Johnstun

Biological Sciences

Two graduate students from Dr. Sean Craig's lab in Biology have won awards at the International Bryozoology Association (IBA) meeting in Tokyo, Japan! Current student Dana Johnstun won an "outstanding presentation" award, while former student Ismael Chowdhury won a "travel award" to go to the meeting and give 2 presentations.  Both students will publish their work in the Conference Proceedings (along with 1 additional former student from Sean Craig's lab, Sheena Stephens-Norton)