Department of Applied Environmental Science (AES) Highlights

Department of Applied Environmental Science

Department Highlights | October 6, 2023| Issue 12

About the Highlights

The Department of Applied Environmental Science (AES) is home to 3 degree programs: Environmental Studies B.A. (ENSTU), Environmental Science, Technology and Policy B.S. (ESTP), and Environmental Science M.S. (ENSCI). In an effort to stay connected, we created a bi-semester highlights series to keep all AES students, staff, and faculty informed of current AES news & events. If you need to get in touch with the AES office, please feel free to email us at aes_office@csumb.edu. Check out our social media sites!

Faculty Highlight

Monica Galligan, Lecturer

Monica joined the CSUMB community as a staff member in Fall 2002. She was also part of the first graduate student cohort of the Coastal and Watershed Science and Policy Master's program (now known as Environmental Science).

Since completing her degree, Monica has been a faculty member for the AES Department (which was formerly the School of Natural Sciences) and has taught a wide range of classes centered on economics, environmental policy, and GIS. Additionally, she teaches classes at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

We recently reached out to Monica to learn more about her career and what led her to CSUMB over 20 years ago.

Read more about Monica

Campus Resource

Transfer Student Success Center (TSS)

The Transfer Student Success Center (TSS) provides services to assist transfer students with navigating the academic and cultural landscape of CSUMB. They work with various campus partners to connect students with services to aid them in their academic, professional, and personal endeavors. This includes:

Adding/dropping classes
Important CSUMB dates and deadlines
Navigating OASIS and Canvas
Discovering transfer student events and resources
Connecting with a transfer peer mentor

Students can also get matched with a transfer peer mentor, who can help:

Identify challenges
Set goals
Navigate CSUMB systems
Make connections
Develop strategies for academic success

Visit the TSS Website!

Please spread the word and join us on Saturday, October 21, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm for Open House! You will have the opportunity to meet AES professors, learn about our degree programs, and participate in various activities.

All of our demonstrations and activities will take place in the courtyard of the Chapman Science Academic Center. We hope to see you there!

RSVP today!

Undergraduate Students Highlights

Ánh Cao, ENSTU

Lisa Irvine, ESTP

Ánh Cao, a current Environmental Studies major, studied abroad at the National Taiwan University (國立臺灣大學), where she had the opportunity to learn more about the natural resources and natural resource management in Taiwan.

Lisa Irvine, a current Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy major, recently won the Outstanding Research Poster Award at the UROC Summer Symposium for her research on sedimentation rates in coastal estuaries after wildfires with Dr. Jimmy Guilinger.

We recently touched base with both Ánh and Lisa to learn more about their experiences.

Check out Ánh's interview

Learn more about Lisa's research

Graduate Students Highlights

Sarah Winkel, ENSCI

Skylar Wolfe, ENSCI

Sarah Winek and Skylar Wolfe, both current Environmental Science master’s students, completed/are completing internships as part of their Professional Science Master's degree requirement. Sarah worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife while Skylar is working with the US Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett.

We reached out to Sarah and Skylar to learn more about their projects and overall experiences as graduate students at CSUMB.

Check out Sarah's PSM!

Check out Skylar's interview!

Alumni Highlight

Michelle Cone, ENSTU

Candi Rivera, ENSTU

Michelle Cone and Candi Rivera (Whitehead), both Environmental Studies graduates, were selected to be GrizzlyCorps Fellows. Michelle works as the Tribal Wildfire Resilience Coordinator with the Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance while Candi works with the Western Shasta Resource Conservation District.

We recently touched base with Michelle and Candi to learn more about their work and how their experiences at CSUMB have helped them on their current career pathways.

Check out Michelle's interview!

Check out Candi's interview!

Message from the Department Chair

Dear AES Students,

I hope your classes and semester are going well! As you can read in our newsletter story links, we have a lot of summer and early fall accomplishments to celebrate! AES students and alumni were busy working on research projects, volunteering in the community, attending conferences, completing internships, learning new skills, and winning scholarships and awards. Congratulations to all!

Although next summer is many months away, now is a great time to explore the Science Internship Program (SIP) resources and dig into the weekly Currents email (with current internship, job, and volunteer opportunities) that goes out every Wednesday. Becoming familiar right now with these opportunities and deadlines will help you prepare for a successful year ahead.

Do you have questions, ideas, or suggestions for our Department of Applied Environmental Science? I’d love to hear them! Stop by my office (Chapman S314) or send me an email (salexander@csumb.edu).

Warmly,

Dr. Susan Alexander

Professor and Chair, Department of Applied Environmental Science

salexander@csumb.edu

AES In the News!

Connor Quiroz and Lexi Yokomizo, along with Dr. John Olson, attended the Freshwater Sciences 2023 Conference in Brisbane, Australia. Both students presented their research projects and won awards.

Freshwater Sciences 2023 Conference

Dr. Dan Fernandez and seven of his students (Olivia Equinoa, Michelle Cone, Crystelle Vargas, Hayli Stewart, Joab Pimentel, Kathleen Krasinski, and Tianyi Luo) attended the 9th International Conference on Fog, Fog Collection, and Dew in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Check out their interviews!

Dr. Jennifer Duggan and Matthew McGee (a recent graduate of the Environmental Science Master's program) attended the joint meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists and the International Federation of Mammologists in Anchorage, Alaska. Dr. Duggan hosted a workshop on "Using networked Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) and open-access digitized collections data to engage your students in Mammalogy" while Matt presented his thesis research "Mesopredator occupancy and songbird richness along an urbanization and songbird richness along an urbanization gradient in central coastal California."

Interested in having your story highlighted in our next AES highlight email? Complete one of the following forms for a chance to be featured on our website & in our upcoming email(s).

Undergraduate Student Highlight Form

Graduate Student Highlight Form

Alumni Highlight Form

Department of Applied Environmental Science | https://csumb.edu/aes