Arcata—Humboldt State alum Hank Kashdan ('73) has been named associate chief for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service based in Washington, D.C.

With the growing concern over climate change and because the lack of pre-existing federal regulations, California has struck out on its own to reduce its carbon emissions. The Golden State is known for being the country’s environmental trendsetter and is now setting the pace for carbon emissions policy with the California Climate Change Solutions Act (AB 32). AB 32 is a mandate to lower carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to have an 80 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.

A Humboldt State alum is the recipient of a national fellowship designed to advance the work of individuals with outstanding potential to help shape a brighter environmental future.

Eureka — After five years of searching the Humboldt Bay Sustainable Living Center has found a home along the Eureka waterfront, near Halverson Park. The center will feature an eco-hostel, a conference center, office space for green businesses and non-profits as well as a 100-mile café.

In the foggy Maya Mountains of western Belize there is a salmon colored mushroom growing on the sides of fallen logs. While the mushroom has an interesting appearance, it’s notable for another reason: it represents a new genus of polypore, a group of mushrooms bearing significant medical potential. Dr. Timothy Baroni, a mycology professor at "State University of New York, Cortland":http://www.cortland.edu/ and a Humboldt State alum, discovered the new genus during a recent research expedition to Belize.

The dim, stuffy room was packed with excited students. Strains of conversations continued from the earlier "Renewable Energy Student Union":http://resu.humboldt.edu/~resu/ meeting floated through the air. These conversations were not your typical engineering talk; they were revolutionary engineering talk.

The new $44 million Kinesiology and Athletics Building, designed by Yost Grube Hall Architecture, ushers in a new era in education and athletic competition for Humboldt State students, faculty, staff and alumni. The campus and the community will benefit from top-notch educational spaces, labs, health programs and a spacious, modern arena. Kiewit Building Group constructed the 91,598 square-foot facility using 325 tons of structural steel, 400 tons of rebar and 4,800 yards of concrete.

For some high school students, nothing is quite as terrifying as cracking open an algebra book to find a dizzying array of numbers, letters and peculiar Greek symbols peering back at them.

For Humboldt State photography Professor Tom Knight (’50, ’54), light was everything. Whether it was illuminating the crescent outline of a subject’s face or highlighting the opalescent luster of a common washbasin, Knight made finding the right light at the right moment his life’s passion.