Whether contending with torrential rains, viscous mud or venomous snakes, all under the din of screeching monkeys and the clatter of exotically feathered fliers, things in a densely vegetated rainforest can seem larger than life. But it was a wee creature that captured Erica Parra's imagination. “Once you really stop and observe them you realize they are not just ants but they are individuals who are working together to make their colonies function efficiently. And not only that, but they each have their own personality and mission, which in turn helps the environment that surrounds them,” Parra asserted. The California State University, Dominguez Hills senior, who is majoring in biology ... Read More
Research
Alumna Alexxandra Salazar Immersed in Cambodian Culture
Alexxandra Salazar, 24, has come a long way since graduating magna cum laude as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar in May of this year with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from California State University, Dominguez Hills. In fact, the California native is about 8,000 miles away immersed in Cambodian culture. Salazar was selected in spring by the nonprofit Teach Cambodia, Inc. to serve for a month as a volunteer and intern in Cambodia. Within days following commencement, she arrived at the South-East Asian village of Wat Bo in Siem Reap to assist Sambour Primary School with the undertaking of an international Peace Pals project, which teaches children about peace through various art ... 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
University Retrofit Project Sheds Light on Energy Savings
“Turn off the light!” Those who remember their parents calling out the admonition–and possibly their own respondent groan–likely know it was dispensed in an effort to save money when a room was unoccupied. In today's strained economy, this frugal habit now reaches beyond the home–and comes with the added imperative of reducing environmental impact. To that end, central plant and energy manager Kenny Seeton is leading a cost- and energy-saving lighting retrofit project at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Anyone who has walked the corridors of Welch Hall since December–when a contract crew completed installation of 244 smart sensors in the hallways–will have noticed ... Read More
Nop Ratanasiripong: A Career Dedicated to Research, Teaching, and Caring
“One day I walked into the gynecology ward. There was a row of patients with cancer. I approached a lady, she was about to die. I helped her turn from one side to the other side. She looked at me and said, 'Thank you.' She was crying. Just turning a patient, it makes a difference. That moment I realized, I need to be a nurse.” That was the life-changing moment for Nop Ratanasiripong, a registered nurse and assistant professor for the School of Nursing at California State University, Dominguez Hills. On a full four-year scholarship and graduating with honors–in fact, ranking the highest among her peers within the major–Ratanasiripong earned a bachelor's in nursing from Boromarajonani ... Read More
