Whiteness is the foundation on which academia is built. It shapes the institutions and methods of knowledge making that form what we call education. If we hope to make radical, meaningful change to our systems of learning and knowledge, a critical step will be decentering whiteness. This project uses the work of James Baldwin to conceptualize whiteness and examines rhetorical genre theory as an example of the ways academia's systems of knowledge making are based in the assumptions of whiteness.

The rapid expansion of urban areas has reduced and eliminated habitats for birds. For the purpose of this study, the goal was to evaluate how bird abundance and species richness varied from sunrise to sunset along a gradient of human activity, and how it influenced the presence of species richness and abundance of birds throughout the day.

The community project will consist of a manual that addresses the wellness and sustainability of social workers. Our community partner is Liora Levenbach and the finished project will be applicable to all social workers and supervisors, regardless of placement or role in the community. We are looking at how to decrease burnout and improve retention rates of social workers. We would like to take a strengths based approach by researching the effects of resiliency on social workers and their organizations.

"A Journey Through a Mind (an interactive labyrinth game)" is an exploration of my personal experiences as someone with bipolar. It will take you through the daily choices and struggles a person may go through as they are experiencing hypomania or depression. The point is for the viewer to get lost in the labyrinth and for them to struggle to find a suitable solution. It also expresses my frustration with the medical/mental health system.

With the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria’s Ts’ Denoni Youth Program, I developed a curriculum that covers cultural teachings such as ceremony protocol, regalia, Tribal histories, gender roles, etc. This curriculum focuses on the following: (1) for youth and their families to familiarize themselves with the local Tribal histories, ceremony protocol, regalia, basketry, etc., (2) to help Native youth and families become more comfortable in their own cultural knowledge and identity, and (3) provide a foundation of local cultural knowledge that our youth and families can pass down to the next generation, to help create a cycle of healing.

Environmental Storytelling for a Hopeful Planet is a website collaboration with original content -- from videos to slideshows -- created by students in journalism and environmental studies. Students met in Spring 2024 to practice a mix of environmental journalism and science communication, devising innovative storytelling modes to communicate verifiable ecological truths -- curated and presented with a healthy dose of hope. Students crafted stories about the removal of the Klamath Dam, the Arcata Marsh as wastewater treatment, Humboldt's Birding Club, composting, foraging for edible native plants, and the bliss of living near the world's tallest carbon sequestering trees.

Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) is a form of infrared spectroscopy specific to analyzing powder solids. The DRIFTS apparatus contains a controlled environment in vacuum or atmospheric pressure conditions. Heterogeneous interactions of gas-solid samples in the DRIFTS cell allow for in situ measurements under a variety of environmental conditions to characterize functional groups and structural evolution during the process of a chemical reaction. Experiments studied the effect of acetone adsorption on Titanium dioxide (TiO2) surface for oxidation reactions on the surface.

Sport-related concussions are defined as the somatic and cognitive instabilities caused by direct, biomechanical forces colliding with an individual’s head or body. Health professionals utilize a series of tests to identify these instabilities at the time of injury and throughout recovery; however, each test measures the deficits individually. Alternatively, by combining two tests into a dual-task assessment, subtle impairments are better detected after a concussion. The purpose of this study is to determine if the Tandem Gait with a secondary cognitive task is a valid and reliable tool to distinguish prolonged gait deficits after a concussion in collegiate athletes.

Autism is a neurological condition that impairs cognitive function(CF). Changes to the CNS and diminished neuro physiologic pathways could contribute to the pathology of autism and the decreased responsiveness of neuronal networking and neurotransmitter release. Growth factors are important in regulating neuronal function. This study investigates exercise as an effective therapy for improving CF in autism. We hypothesize that the contraction of skeletal muscle during moderate intensity exercise will upregulate BDNF into a cascade of cellular events that enhance neuroplasticity. The study will involve a 6-week exercise intervention with bio fluid analysis to measure BDNF and changes in CF.

Hydrogels are water-containing gels that have a hydrophilic polymer network and can absorb a large quantity of water without the dissolution of the polymer network. The current research focuses on producing hydrogels from chitosan, a bio-renewable polymer, and trans-cinnamic acid. The resulting solutions are photo-crosslinked in a catalyst-free environment under broad band ultra-violet (UV) radiation to produce hydrogels. The hydrogels show an average 75% swelling capacity in H2O. Initial cell growth studies have been carried out on sterilized hydrogels. Current efforts are being directed towards optimization of gels towards cell growth.