Achievements

Erik S. Jules

Biological Sciences

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.

Diksha Shrestha, Jun Ou, Ariel Rogers, Amani Jereb, Deborah Okyere, Jingyi Chen, Yong Wang

Environmental Resources Engineering

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.

Chunying Wei, Jun Ou, Farzaneh Farhang Mehr, Daan Maijer, Steve Cockcroft, Lateng A, Yacong Zhang, Zhi Chen, Zhihua Zhu

Environmental Resources Engineering

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

Allyson Carroll

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

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.

Hunter Harrill

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

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.

Susan Edinger Marshall

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

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.

Albert Ochoa Castillo and Dr. Joshua Smith

Chemistry

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

Chemistry

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/

Giselle Urquijo, Kana Voelckers, Dr. Marjan Asadinia

Computer Science

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.

Johnathon A. Macias

Environmental Science & Management

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/