Peter Halcrow, a graduate student in the biology department, presented his research on “Non-Contact (Air-Coupled) Ultrasound Applied to Cortical Bone Phantoms” at a special symposium on ultrasound technology during the annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), which was held jointly with the annual meeting of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP) in Vancouver, BC on July 31. An abstract of the work was published in AAPM's journal, Medical Physics. Ganezer and Halcrow's travel and accomodations for AAPM/COMP were made possible by a Department of Energy grant (3P031m105068) written by Leena Furtado, director of the Program for Excellence ... Read More
College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
Juan Ramirez: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Intern Gains On-the-Job Experience
As an anthropology major at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Juan Ramirez has learned the value of understanding beliefs that in one culture may be the norm but to another may seem strange. However, through his internship with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a wildlife inspector trainee who patrols the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, he has had to acknowledge when the law is broken by the trade of products made with endangered animals - products that are often based on cultural superstition or practice. “When I started as a criminal justice student, it was black and white,” he says. “The law dictates what's wrong. Then when I got into anthropology, I realized ... Read More
New desert tortoise species named for former CSUDH biologist
A new species of desert tortoise has been named for the late Dr. David J. Morafka, who taught in the biology department from 1972 to 2002. The discovery was made by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center, the Royal Ontario Museum in Ontario, Canada, the California Academy of Science, the University of Arizona, and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, after a lengthy study on the historical identification and taxonomy of the desert tortoise found in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of California, Arizona and Mexico. Since its initial discovery in 1861, the desert tortoise, also known as the Agassiz's land-tortoise or by the scientific name ... Read More
Scott Bigney: Senior Awarded Membership in International Obsidian Studies Society
Senior Scott Bigney was selected for membership in the International Association of Obsidian Studies (IAOS) in recognition of his research on “Characterization of Obsidian from Five Late Postclassic Sites in the Soconusco Region of Chiapas, Mexico.” He presented his findings, which were co-authored by mentors Janine Gasco, associate professor of anthropology, and Dr. Hector Neff, professor of anthropology at CSU Long Beach, at Student Research Day at California State University, Dominguez Hills last February and at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Sacramento last March. In addition to the two-year membership and access to IAOS's archives and materials, Bigney's ... Read More
Esther Castillo: Alumna Returns to CSU Dominguez Hills to Teach
By Erin Hardy, Class of 2011, B.A., communications For many students, California State University, Dominguez Hills is a great place to learn, make new friends, and form relationships that will last a lifetime. Alumni of the school often return to lecture, sponsor students and participate in school activities. To alumna Esther Castillo (Class of '07, B.A., sociology), the opportunity to return to her alma mater offered her the chance to see the school from a brand new perspective–as a professor. “Working at Dominguez as a part-time instructor this spring has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career. The exchange of knowledge that my students and I have ... Read More
