Achievements

Ammar jafaripournimchahi

School of Engineering

Dr. Ammar Jafaripournimchahi has published a new research article in Applied Thermal Engineering, an Elsevier journal, titled “Passenger-centered thermal comfort control in electric vehicles using attention-enhanced ResNet50 for ACHP systems.” The study applies an attention-enhanced ResNet50 deep-learning model to infrared facial images to identify passenger thermal sensation and support more personalized control of electric-vehicle air-conditioning and heat-pump systems. The article was published online on September 22, 2026.

Mihai Tomescu

Biological Sciences

Botany Professor Mihai Tomescu led an editorial team including scientists from the University of Montpellier (France), University of Edinburgh (Scotland), and University of Kansas, that prepared a special issue of the journal Annals of Botany. The special issue, which emphasizes the role of fossils in understanding plant evolution, includes 31 peer-reviewed studies conducted by scientists from all around the world that cover fossils from the entire spectrum of plant diversity and spanning 400 million years of plant evolution. Six of the papers include faculty or student authors from Cal Poly Humboldt.

https://academic.oup.com/aob/issue/137/6

https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/137/6/1467/8670066

Terry Henkel

Biological Sciences

Botany Professor Terry Henkel, with co-authors Todd Elliott (University of New England, Australia; Duke University) and Steven Stephenson (University of Arkansas), published a peer reviewed article titled "Myxomycetes associated with Dicymbe corymbosa in Guyana" in the journal Phytotaxa.

Mihai Tomescu

Biological Sciences

Botany Professor Mihai Tomescu published recently an invited review paper on the evolution of tall plants in the journal Current Biology. The paper, titled Evolution of arborescence at hydraulic, structural, and developmental limits, is co-authored with Martin Bouda (University of Hohenheim, Germany) and Craig Brodersen (Yale University).

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)00505-1

https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-trees-exist-it-may-come-down-to-one-surprising-challenge/

https://kymkemp.com/2026/06/30/what-made-trees-possible-new-research-points-to-drought-survival/

Jianmin Zhong

Biological Sciences

Dr. Jianmin Zhong has received funding (2026–2030) to investigate tick-borne pathogens in Northern California wildlife. The project unites Cal Poly Humboldt’s Biology Vertebrate Museum, the California Department of Public Health, IERC, and the Karuk Tribe. Researchers will study 11 pathogens and microbes, including the Lyme disease bacterium, in small mammals, gray foxes, deer, elk, and ticks. This first molecular surveillance of tick-borne pathogens on Karuk Tribal lands supports health priorities, advances One Health surveillance, assesses risks to people and animals, and provides graduate students with thesis research and training. Funding comes from NIH’s Support for Research Excellence award.

Mihai Tomescu

Biological Sciences

Botany Professor Mihai Tomescu was recognized by the Botanical Society of America with the 2026 Donald R. Kaplan Memorial Lecture Award that recognizes each year a leading scholar in the fields of comparative plant morphology, anatomy, and development. As this year's awardee, professor Tomescu gave a lecture titled Dead plants do tell tales at the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America in Tucson AZ, August 4, 2026.

Mihai Tomescu

Biological Sciences

Botany Professor Mihai Tomescu gave an invited lecture titled,What can we learn from 400-million-years old fossils about plant evolution?, at the 90th meeting of the Botanical Society of Japan in Noda, Japan, September 4, 2026.

Frazier D. Frazier, Robert W. Zoellner

Chemistry

Frazier D. Farrell and Robert W. Zoellner have recently published a peer-reviewed article entitled "[8]Radialene:  A density functional theory computational investigation of the theoretical conformational structure of the molecule" in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 2026, 25, 68-70.

Lucy Kerhoulas, Nicholas Kerhoulas

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Forest restoration that benefits wildlife can be challenging, but Cal Poly Humboldt researchers are helping bridge the gap. New research by Drs. Nicholas and Lucy Kerhoulas found that the Klamath River separates Sonoma and red tree voles into distinct species, with no evidence of interbreeding. The team also discovered that while Sonoma tree voles are most abundant in old-growth forests, simple nest platforms can encourage them to use second-growth forests. Together, these findings provide practical tools for restoring forests while supporting the long-term conservation of these unique canopy specialists. Watch a short video of photos collected here. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W4j0tRp0Zs&gt;

Funding for this project was provided by the Save the Redwoods League.

Ammar Jafaripournimchahi

School of Engineering

Published a peer-reviewed research article in Energy (Elsevier) titled “Thermodynamic Modeling and Experimental Validation of a CO₂ Scroll Compressor for Automotive Heat Pump Systems.” The study developed and experimentally validated a thermodynamic model for CO₂ scroll compressors, achieving prediction errors below 7.8% and providing insights into compressor performance under different operating conditions.