CSU research, scholarship and creative activity positively impact student success and faculty excellence with opportunities to explore, investigate and solve the issues facing California’s diverse communities, the nation and the world.

The hallmark of a CSU education includes experiential learning to engage, retain and propel students to successful careers. Within the following pages are delightful exemplars from our 23 campuses and 10 affinity groups that showcase innovative applications of discoveries and the creation of new knowledge.

Our own Humboldt State University researchers are featured on pages 8, 16, and 69-72. We hope you enjoy it.

 Click Here to Read Transforming Tomorrow

BIOMASS-TO-ENERGY—CARISSE GERONIMO’S RESEARCH HELPS FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

(Excerpt): “After Geronimo graduated from CSU Bakersfield in May 2018, she found a program at the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State that combined the technical side of science with science advocacy and policy. She applied for, and received, the Donald and Andrea Tuttle Fellowship for Clean Energy Studies. This scholarship supports students interested in reducing the effect of climate change on humanity and ecosystems. She is working under Dr. Sintana Vergara and Dr. Kevin Fingerman, both faculty research associates at the Schatz Energy Research Center.”

OCEAN WARMING, ACIDIFICATION, PURPLE URCHINS AND BULL KELP

(Excerpt): “Recently, Northern California bull kelp forests have been rapidly reduced to unproductive urchin barrens by a multitude of climate-driven events and widespread disease that wiped out many sea stars, the urchins’ main predator. Humboldt State University faculty members Dr. Paul Bourdeau, assistant professor of biological sciences, Dr. Brian Tissot, professor of biological sciences and director of the HSU marine laboratory, and Dr. Eric Bjorkstedt, adjunct professor of fisheries biology, are working together to better understand the dynamic interactions among ocean acidification, bull kelp and purple urchins.”

MICROGRID PROVIDES CRITICAL SERVICES DURING OUTAGE

(Excerpt): “The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe’s main campus remained up and running when Humboldt County went dark, thanks to its fully integrated solar+storage microgrid developed by the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State. The Rancheria’s gas station also stayed operational, running on a backup diesel generator that has now been replaced by a second solar+ microgrid. Schatz played a leading role in the design and development of both microgrids, working in collaboration with the Rancheria and other project partners.”

EXPLORING INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN APPROACHES TO NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH

(Excerpt): “Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the program operated from 2016 to 2018. Each summer intensive was facilitated by Dr. Matt Johnson, wildlife professor, and Seafha Ramos, research associate, Indigenous scholar and National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in biology. Ramos’ current research project on elk habitat and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is the first formal study to address elk diet and habitat, as well as Indigenous science and the cultural value of elk, to take place on the Yurok reservation.”

HSU RESEARCHERS JOIN STATEWIDE EFFORTS TO MONITOR MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

(Excerpt): “Researchers from Humboldt State University will continue studying marine life in protected areas on the North Coast, thanks to $9.5 million in total funding. The new awards—administered by California Sea Grant in partnership with the California Ocean Protection Council and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife—will support up to three years of research for the state’s network of 124 marine protected areas (MPAs).”

To learn more about CSU Research, visit https://www2.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/research