Professor of Biology Terry McGlynn says it’s not the technical details that really drive research, or the “very minute questions” scientists seek to answer. He believes the best fundamental questions are often asked by those who are new to the field. McGlynn has always treasured the curiosity-driven insights his students bring to his research of the natural world, and the “really big questions” they have asked often during field research in remote locations such as the rain forests of Coast Rica, in Australia, or while just exploring a location’s raw beauty. McGlynn began teaching at CSUDH in 2007 as an assistant professor of biology, but he began traveling to rain forests to study ... Read More
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
Anthropology Student Rubi Landa Awarded National Science Foundation Fellowship
While the pandemic may have put a damper on anthropology student Yesenia “Rubi” Landa’s plans to travel abroad to research the water management strategies of the Maya, her thirst for knowledge still resulted in sound data-driven conclusions. As an undergraduate researcher at CSUDH, Landa has examined climate change data gathered in Cerro Hul, a small Maya site in the Puuc region of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. She worked under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Anthropology Kenneth Seligson. “My research was conducted to estimate the total water storage capacity of underground cisterns – known as Chultuns – at Cerro Hul, and whether they would have been enough to support the ... Read More
Innovative Research Earns Students Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship
For their innovative research on the transportation industry, four California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) students have been named to the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) 2021 Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP). The merit-based DDETFP awards 150 to 200 fellowships annually to students across the nation to help strengthen the national workforce in the field through education and research. CSUDH received $35,000 through DDETFP’s local grant competition for Hispanic-serving institutions to offer the fellowship to its students through a competitive application process. The CSUDH DDETFP fellows are graduate ... Read More
Professor Terry McGlynn Named Earth Leadership Program Fellow
To help address some of the world’s most pressing environmental and sustainability challenges, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Professor of Biology Terry McGlynn has been named a fellow for the 2021-22 North American Cohort of the Earth Leadership Program. Emphasizing new forms of individual and collective leadership, the Earth Leadership Program enables skilled scientists with theoretical approaches to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to address in a significant way environmental issues and policy on campus, in their fields, and in government. “I plan to be deliberative and effective at leveraging my platform in the scientific community to make a ... Read More
Inside Higher Ed: ‘College Science Teaching’
Source: Inside Higher Ed Terry McGlynn is constantly promoting better teaching of science in American colleges and universities. A professor of biology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and author of the blog Small Pond Science, he believes that good teaching is essential at every kind of college. But to achieve that, he thinks some of the incentives of American higher education (think of what generates raises at research universities) need to change. He's put his ideas together in a book, The Chicago Guide to College Science Teaching (University of Chicago Press). McGlynn answered questions about his book via email. Q: What are the major flaws of science teaching at ... Read More
