May 3, 2024 | Digital Showcase | Humboldt Library
All Presenters & Abstracts
The Sound of Coastal Grove
Presentation Year: 2025
Jaelyn
Flores
College Corp
For our creative project, the Coastal Grove Charter School fellows presented a 2025 Pitchfest proposal in collaboration with Coastal Grove, the Cal Poly Humboldt Music Department, and the broader school community. Our pitch aimed to support a more equitable and engaging learning environment for students in the music program. We proposed acquiring additional classroom supplies, organizing a dedicated classroom setup day, and fostering community involvement to help shape the future of music education at the school. The Coastal Grove staff and administration expressed deep gratitude for our support, noting how these efforts meaningfully enhance the music program and benefit the community.
Touch the Tides
Presentation Year: 2025
Ashley
Bowers
Other
Touch the Tides is a free educational seminar developed to educate people on tidepool safety, etiquette, locations, and how to use them, rooted in connecting people with nature and making recreation accessible for all people.
Toward Automated Thesis Classification: Open-Sourced AI Foundations for Libraries
Presentation Year: 2025
Courtney
Rowe
Computer Science
University libraries often face challenges in making student research more accessible. Manual tagging of theses is time-consuming, while commercial AI tools can be costly and limit institutional control. This project, in collaboration with the Cal Poly Humboldt Press and the TIDE computing cluster, fine-tuned an open-source AI model, ModernBERT, to automatically classify theses using the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The model performed well, demonstrating a promising, cost-effective approach for libraries to enhance research discoverability while retaining ownership and flexibility.
Transfer Student Panel Panelist
Presentation Year: 2025
Andres
Felix
Journalism & Mass Communication
I’m a journalism transfer student that has been to hell and back during my transfer and time here. However, I have still found success. I earned prestigious awards such as the CSU’s Board of Trustees Award, the Sally Casanova Pre-doctoral scholarship and membership, and recently I earned a grant to do research in New Mexico studying the impacts of COVID 19 on migrants in the region. I will be working with the Sociology Department at University New Mexico. Currently, I’m working on my own research project on campus to determine the credibility and impact of the Lumberjack Newspaper, according to the campus community.
Using Deep Learning Models to Map Homeless Encampments in Eureka, CA
Presentation Year: 2025
Nicholas
Perdue
Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis
This project explores the use of deep learning models to map homeless encampments in Eureka, CA, with a particular focus on areas within flood zones that may potentially impact the coastal ecosystem of Humboldt Bay. The project critically examines the ethical implications of using artificial intelligence in this context, particularly with respect to the privacy and dignity of homeless individuals. The study balances technological advancements in geospatial data analysis with the need for responsible and humane applications of AI, ensuring that the potential environmental impacts of encampments are addressed without stigmatizing vulnerable communities.
Utilizing Interventions to Assist Collegiate Athletes through Sports Injury and Mental Health Adversities
Presentation Year: 2025
Miguel
Farias
School of Applied Health
Poster still in progress N/A
Utilizing PCR to Test Oysters from the Humboldt Bay for Toxoplasma gondii
Presentation Year: 2025
Porter
Ellis
Wildlife
Toxoplasma gondii is an extremely ubiquitous parasite that can be found in most terrestrial species, with the potential to infect marine species as well. T. gondii has been found to encyst in bivalve species across the world, with some cases finding market oysters testing positive. This study tested 22 oysters, 11 from 2 different farms in the Humboldt Bay, for Toxoplasma gondii utilizing Polymerase Chain Reaction and Gel Electrophoresis.
Water Adsorption on Environmental Metal Oxides Determined by the Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) Technique
Presentation Year: 2025
Chris
Harmon
Chemistry
Clouds are a critical component of the atmosphere, which predominantly cools the planet by scattering solar radiation back to space. Particulate matter (PM) are small solids suspended in the air that can initiate the seeding process for cloud formation, where environmental metal oxides (EMO) are one of the dominate types of PM. This process is directly related to the relative humidity (RH) above the PM surface and how much water it absorbs. PM collects sparingly small molecular layers of water before undergoing bulk scale water uptake. Details of water uptake at this level are still lacking in the literature, and we desire to quantify water uptake on atmospheric PM to enhance climate models.
Water Bears in the Wild: Seeing the Unseen in Moss and Lichen
Presentation Year: 2025
Marcus
Barela
Biological Sciences
Water bears—known to science as tardigrades—are found from polar ice caps to tropical jungles, yet only about 90 researchers study them. With so much ground to cover, there’s still so much to discover. Here in Humboldt’s temperate rainforest, you'd expect documentation, but there’s almost none. We set out to catalog the tardigrades of Cal Poly Humboldt, with plans to expand across the county. By studying their morphology, habitats, and behaviors, we hope to uncover new insights, and maybe even new species.
Weather Impacts on Insect and Arthropod Diversity and Abundance
Presentation Year: 2025
Megan
Solimine
Wildlife
This project examines the effects of weather on insect and arthropod diversity and abundance in Arcata, California. Data captured was keyed out to taxonomic family, then Jaccard's Index and beta diversity tests were used to identify differences between sites.
What are the Effects of Weight Management Techniques on Female Athletes' Mental Health in Weight-class Sports?
Presentation Year: 2025
Paige
Cato-Stahl
School of Applied Health
This project explored the psychological effects of weight management techniques on female athletes in weight-class sports. Drawing from personal experience in MMA and jiu-jitsu, I conducted a literature review to examine how weight cutting impacts mental health. Findings revealed high rates of anxiety, emotional burnout, disordered eating, and long-term distress. The research emphasizes the need for mental health support, athlete-centered interventions, and policy reform to protect female athletes from the unseen psychological costs of making weight.
What Determines Field Use by Shorebirds?
Presentation Year: 2025
Samantha
Bacon
Wildlife
What determines field use by shorebirds? Assessing habitat characteristics of fields used as supratidal feeding habitat by shorebirds.
What Frames A Life?
Presentation Year: 2025
Marti "McFly"
Smith
Other
My dad Ricky Wayne Fischer died on September 8th, 2024, after a lifetime struggle with addiction. An estimated 28.9 million Americans had an Alcohol Use Disorder in 2024 (NIAAA, 2024). Families who have a parent with a Substance Abuse Disorder are “characterized by an environment of secrecy, loss, conflict, violence or abuse, emotional chaos, role reversal, and fear.” (Lander, 2013). To tackle the wicked problem of addiction, this paper focuses on the psychological, biological, sociological, economic disciplines, and my own primary source of having a parent with a Substance Abuse Disorder. Additionally explored, are the creative disciplines of photography and writing to honor his life.
Wheels of Change: Addressing Transportation Barriers for Native Youth in Eureka
Presentation Year: 2025
Jessa
Gomez
College Corp
The Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC), founded in 1976, is a nonprofit organization. They are dedicated to serving the needs of Native communities across Northern California, around 15,000 clients annually. Our youth-focused initiative aims to highlight the importance of transportation and accessibility in connecting Native youth to The Nest Youth Center and community events. We strive to improve engagement by offering culturally relevant activities that strengthen identity and connection to one another. By fostering leadership and providing essential tools and resources, we aim to empower Native youth to grow, thrive, and become strong leaders within their communities.
Wicked Problems
Presentation Year: 2025
Sarah
Peters Gonzalez
Other
Wicked problems are complex issues that resist straightforward solutions due to their interconnected nature, uncertainty, and ambiguity. These problems defy simple solutions, are shaped by countless variables and often lack clear boundaries. No single discipline holds the key to addressing them. By integrating diverse perspectives, knowledge, and methodologies, students in the Individualized Degree Program (IDP) explored a range of wicked problems, examining them from multiple disciplinary angles, drawing on insights from various fields: science, humanities, and more. The aim of the project is to showcase the power of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing the challenges of our time.
WLDF 495W Senior Project Spring 2025
Presentation Year: 2025
Justin
Packham
Wildlife
Particular prey preferences observed from the feeding behavior of captive raptors
Women with Heart: Beating the Odds with Stronger Communities and Stronger Hearts
Presentation Year: 2025
Sparrow
Linderborg
School of Applied Health
This project aims to increase CR participation among rural women, women of color, and Native American women in Humboldt County. The Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model proposes hybrid and online continuing professional development (CR) programs that are culturally responsive and community-driven. Key interventions include peer mentoring, automatic electronic referrals, and collaboration with tribal and local health leaders. The goal is to reduce access barriers, enhance health equity, and improve cardiovascular outcomes through sustainable, patient-centered care.
Reclaiming Turtle Island: Decolonizing Anthropological Narratives of Migration
Presentation Year: 2024
Sadie
Neff
Anthropology
The Western-centric focus on early habitation of Turtle Island (North America) has often disregarded Indigenous oral histories as myths. It is critical to question how migration theories can dismiss Indigenous credibility. This objectification of western science perpetuates oppression of Indigenous peoples and assists in validating settler-colonial narratives. Academia has historically denied, or labeled controversial, North American archaeological sites older than 12,000 years, silencing advocates in the process. My goal is to highlight these injustices and underscore the importance of honoring Indigenous oral histories. I advocate for an inclusive, decolonized approach to archaeology.
The Therapeutic Potential of Exercise for Substance Use Disorder: Targeting Stress Resilience, Neuroplasticity, and Reward Pathways
Presentation Year: 2024
Lillian
Maddock
Other
The purpose of this research is to investigate the therapeutic potential of exercise as an adjunctive treatment for substance use disorder, with the focus on three target problematic areas, in chronic use and relapse. 1. Regulation of the stress response or the HPA axis. 2. Promotion of neuroplasticity through BDNF expression. 3. Activation of natural dopamine reward pathways. This research will evaluate exercise's efficacy in building stress resilience, facilitating neural repair, and satisfying altered reward circuitry - thereby reducing susceptibility to relapse triggers. Potentially legitimizing its use as a low-cost, sustainable adjunct to current rehabilitation strategies.
2024 International Social Work Day - Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change
Presentation Year: 2024
Cheuk-Shan
Kuang
Social Work
A project in collaboration with Nord University in Norway to highlight students' perspectives on International Social Work day 2024. The theme for this year's international social work day is "Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change" with an emphasis to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature. The video project interviewed social work students at both universities on their perspectives of what it means to be a social worker contributing to a shared future for transformative change.
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