California State University, Dominguez Hills Noyce Scholar Lyzbeth Becerra learned how to be a research scientist this summer–and in the process has taken major steps to become the best teacher she can be. Becerra was among the approximately 200 students from either within the California State University system or at other universities with a Robert Noyce Scholarship Program who were selected to participate in STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR), a summer internship organized by the Center for Excellence in Science and Math Education (CESAME) at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. STAR partners with national research labs to provide aspiring STEM (science, technology, engineering ... Read More
Environmental Science
McNair Scholar Gabriel Jones: In his Element in Environmental Research
It would be fair to say Gabriel Jones wants to help save the world. But he's not doing it wearing a cape. The senior majoring in anthropology with a minor in geography at California State University, Dominguez Hills is working toward making positive changes in environmental justice and policy based on research. A lofty goal to be sure, but with the opportunities that being a scholar in the Ronald E. McNair Program at CSU Dominguez Hills provides him, he is well on his way to the education he will need to ensure his ability to attain that goal. Named after the late African-American physicist who perished in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, the post-baccalaureate ... Read More
Jenny Greer: Volunteerism Started while Student Results in Award
Recent CSU Dominguez Hills alumna Jenny Greer ('13, B.S. geology; environmental science) was honored as Outstanding Volunteer by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC), which since 1988 has successfully preserved 1,600 acres of open space on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The award was presented at the PVPLC's annual Volunteer Appreciation luncheon in July. "I had no idea I was going to be given an award," Greer said. "Cris Sarbia, the stewardship manager, surprised me when he went in front of the crowd and proceeded to explain some of the various projects I had been working on throughout the year. I was embarrassed but thrilled that I was being acknowledged for doing what I ... Read More
$249K National Science Foundation Grant to Send Students to Australia to Study Climate Change
California State University, Dominguez Hills associate professor of biology Terry McGlynn has been awarded a three-year $249,922 National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) grant to establish the Fire, Carbon, and Climate Change in Australia program. The IRES grant will fully fund the opportunity for 12 undergraduate and graduate science majors at CSU Dominguez Hills to conduct climate change science research in collaboration with the CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre (TERC) in the Northern Territory of Australia. The first group of four students will leave in January 2014, with subsequent four-student cohorts going in 2015 and ... Read More
CSUDH Students, Faculty Aid in Release of Endangered Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly
This spring, as part of a multi-organizational collaboration with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy to bring back the Palos Verdes blue butterfly from the brink of extinction, California State University, Dominguez Hills earth science students and faculty participated in the release of hundreds of the propagated animals back into the wild at the Linden H. Chandler Reserve, a 28.5-acre property located in Rolling Hills Estates. “I was really excited that I was able to join everybody and release some of the butterflies. It was just a spectacular event and they are absolutely beautiful insects. I'm glad I was a part of that,” said Jenny Greer, who graduated from CSU Dominguez ... Read More