Achievements

Jasmine Westbrook

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Rangeland Resources Science major Jasmine Westbrook won the $1,000 Paul Zinke Memorial Scholarship Award at this summer’s 30th Anniversary California Forest Soils Council meeting near Mt. Shasta. Westbrook is a double major in molecular and cellular biology and is minoring in chemistry. She was raised on a Napa Valley sheep ranch and has been working the past few summer for Six Rivers National Forest. She joins four past HSU Zinke Award winners: Barbara Witmore (’05), M.S. New Mexico State University, currently employed by the Bureau of Land Management; Rosemary Records (’06) now in a Ph.D. program at Colorado State University; Sarah Schuette (‘09), starting a Ph.D. program at Washington State University Spring 2012; and Allison Rofe, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Rangeland Resources Science in 2012.

Lori Dengler, Bud Burke

Geology

Professors Lori Dengler and Bud Burke are among the scientists featured in a new book about the Cascadia Subduction Zone published by HarperCollins in Canada and Counterpoint Press in the U.S. in April 2011. Cascadia’s Fault is a history and a cautionary tale of the West Coast’s most dangerous place—and the scientists who are solving its deadly mysteries.

Melissa Dougherty

Biological Sciences

Melissa Dougherty participated as an intern with the Humboldt State Marine Mammal Education and Research Program (MMERP) this summer. One of the projects that she was involved with was observing the Gray Whales in the Klamath River.

"Being able to spend an extended amount of time observing these animals gave me a whole new appreciation for marine mammals. Specifically, watching the interactions between mother and offspring is something that I'll never forget," she says. "As an added bonus, I also had the chance to observe throngs of excited sightseers. Seeing how one animal can unite so many disparate people was pretty amazing."

Lisa Voelker

Biological Sciences

Lisa Voelker received the Lee Hartwell Poster Award "in recognition of contributing to innovative research, delivering an outstanding presentation, and creating an exceptional visual arrangement for a scientific poster" at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Summer Undergraduate Research Program competitive poster session for her work on the molecular basis of electrical synapse formation.

Alison Purcell O'Dowd

Environmental Science & Management

Alison Purcell O'Dowd co-authored a chapter in _Fluvial Geomorphology_, entitled "Urbanization in river systems," as part of a series put out by the Geological Society of America called "Treatise on Geomorphology."

Steve Martin and Kristen Pope

Environmental Science & Management

Steven Martin and recent graduate student Kristen Pope published a peer-reviewed article based on Kristen's thesis research in the current issue of _International Journal of Wilderness_. Visitor Perceptions of Technology, Risk and Rescue in Wilderness. _International Journal of Wilderness_ 17(2):19-26,48.

Ken Pimlott

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Ken Pimlott, 45, of Cameron Park, has been appointed director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). He has served in multiple resource management and fire protection positions with the department since 1993 and has served as acting director since 2010. Pimlott began his career as a seasonal fire fighter in 1987 and is a Registered Professional Forester. Pimlott received an Associate of Arts degree in Fire Technology from American River College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Resource Management from Humboldt State University.

Soil Scientists

Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management

Five of six Humboldt State University students (83%) passed the rigorous “Fundamentals of Soil Science” exam offered on April 15, 2011, becoming Associate Professional Soil Scientists, according to tests results from the Council of Soil Science Examiners.

Ten Wildland Soils and four Forest Soils students graduated from Humboldt State University in 2011. Five Rangeland Resource Science students also graduated, one of whom had sufficient soil science courses to be qualified for the federal Soil Scientist position. This means that Humboldt State University graduated 15 fully qualified Soil Scientists, more qualified students than most institutions have enrolled at any given time!

Du Cheng, Jianmin Zhong

Biological Sciences

Du Cheng, a HSU Cellular/Molecular Biology major undergraduate student attended the 111th American Society for Microbiology General Meeting as an invited speaker. He gave an oral presentation titled:"The Rickettsia Species in Ixodes pacificus is Transmitted by Transovarial and Transstadial Transmissions" in session "The Best and Brightest in Diagnostic Microbiology and Epidemiology I" at 5:00pm, May 23,2011 in New Orleans. Du's mentor Dr. Jianmin Zhong of Department of Biological Sciences also attended this meeting.

http://gm.asm.org/index.php/scientific-program/daily-schedule/monday-ma…

William Wood

Chemistry

William Wood published a report on the identification of 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine from the scent glands of male pronghorn antelope. Previously, this hazel nut odor compound has only been identified from plants and is likely used in territorial marking by these animals.

2-Ethyl-3-methylpyrazine in the subauricular and median glands of pronghorn, Antilocapra americana. William F. Wood. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 39, 159-169 (2011).