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
Biology
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
Cathy Jacobs: Ornithologist Creates a Bird’s-eye View of “the Big Picture”
While recalling her experiences of growing up in rural environments across the United States, Cathy Jacobs says that her career as an educator was inspired by a childhood spent outdoors. “I've been a naturalist since I could remember,” she says. “I was always catching snakes and wading in ponds, catching tadpoles. When I was a kid, I used to watch the salmon spawn in the riffles of the Sacramento River. You used to see all these dorsal fins in the river at night, and I remember watching this enormous sturgeon - it must have been about six or seven feet long - come up to the surface and go back under.” Jacobs, who has won the Excellence in Service Award at California State ... Read More
Terry McGlynn: Biology Professor Seeks the Social Creature in Insects
Through his work with ant societies in the rainforest, associate professor of biology Dr. Terry McGlynn has been able to show students the benefits of altruism within a species, in the hopes of teaching them about more than just insect behavior. “In a way, social insects are the pinnacle of evolution,” says McGlynn, who is this year's winner of the Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Award. “There's this popular image that in insect colonies, individuals sacrifice themselves for the whole. But social insects are animals, just like we are. It is more often that it is in their [individual] interest to work for the benefit of the group. “In social insect ... Read More
Thomas Landefeld: Preparing Students to Tackle Health Disparities in the South
Professor of biology Thomas Landefeld presented, “Careers in the Sciences for Minority Students: How to Make the Right Choice and Then How to Be a Competitive Applicant” to students at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, Bennett College for Women, and Albany State University in Georgia last month. The students are members of National Institute of General Medical Sciences Minority Opportunities in Research (NIGMS MORE) programs. Landefeld notes that students in the South face similar health disparities in the medical field as the rest of the nation. However, these are more severe due to fewer educational opportunities and lower income levels. “Overall, the ... Read More
