Faculty
David L. Brown
Professor and Department Chair
Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences
530-898-4035
dlbrown@csuchico.edu
Webpage
Expertise: Watershed Hydrology, Riparian Systems, Ecohydrology, Soil Science
Research Interests: Dr. Brown joined the Geological and Environmental Sciences Department at CSU, Chico in August 1997. Prior to coming to CSU, Chico, Dr. Brown was an assistant professor in Watershed Hydrology at the University of Kentucky for two years. He teaches courses in hydrology and environmental science with an emphasis on interdisciplinary studies such as ecohydrology and watershed hydrology. He supervises undergraduate and graduate students with a broad range of research topics, including: agricultural nonpoint source pollution, riparian hydrology and restoration, groundwater-surface water interactions, hyporheic zone processes, watershed analysis, and pesticide runoff. He has published papers in groundwater hydraulics, agriculture and forestry water quality, mine reclamation, and forest hydrology. He has received, and completed, more than $1 million in grants and contracts. Dr. Brown regularly reviews grant proposals for the National Science Foundation and has served on several national grant program review panels.
Tag Engstrom
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
530-898-6478
tengstrom@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Ecology, Amphibians and Reptiles
Research Interests: Dr. Engstrom's general research interests are in the systematics, ecology, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles; with a focus on turtles. He currently has active research projects, or is supervising masters students with active research, in: conservation ecology of Western Pond Turtles; conservation genetics of Giant Garter Snakes; conservation genetics of marine turtles; conservation and invasive species issues, in Hawaii; systematics of softshell turtles; eco-morphology of garter snakes; and sexual selection and asymmetry in fence lizards.
Kathy Gray
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
530-898-6329
klgray@csuchico.edu
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Statistics
Research Interests: Ecological applications of statistics, spline regression, as well as bootstrap and randomization methods.
Colleen Hatfield
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
530-898-4235
chatfield@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Landscape Ecology
Research Interests: Dr. Hatfield studies landscape ecology and the interaction between spatial patterns and ecological processes. She is particularly interested in riparian ecosystems and watershed processes, landscape change, and invasion ecology. Dr. Hatifield's research utilizes the principles of landscape ecology to study topics ranging from: invasion dynamics and conservation biology, to understanding implications of changing landscapes. The unifying theme of her research is how the spatial pattern of resource distribution on a landscape affects ecological processes, from individual behavior to population and community dynamics. She approaches these topics with a variety of tools including empirical investigations, computer modeling, and spatial analysis.
Chris Ivey
Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
530-898-5812
ctivey@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Plant Biology, Ecology
Research Interests: Dr. Ivey studies the evolution and ecology of plants and insects. His work focuses on plant-insect interactions, the evolution of mating systems, reproductive ecology, and plant defense. His current projects include: studies of genetic variation and the phenotypic selection of mating system and physiological traits; measuring prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive isolation between and Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus glaucesens; testing predictions of Price's "Plant Vigor Hypothesis," regarding how host inbreeding affects defense against plant parasitic attack; and the conservation biology of a rare endemic Phacelia.
Don Miller
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
530-898-6153
dgmiller@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Entomology, Behavioral Ecology of Invertebrates, Ecology and Evolution of Social Behavior and Social Parasitism, Insect-Plant Interactions
Research Interests: Dr. Miller’s research involves natural populations of galling aphids (Tamalia spp.) on their food plants, manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), both of which occur in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range near the California State University, Chico campus. A remarkable fact about Tamalia aphids is that they sometimes initiate galls in groups (rather than singly, as do all other known galling aphids), raising questions about what factors favor this social behavior. Other species of Tamalia act as inquilines by invading and co-occupying these galls. He is applying both field and molecular methods to answer questions about the role of kinship in intraspecific interactions, as well as the impact of inquilines on the host aphids. Other current and recent projects include: sex allocation of galling aphids, sociobiology of honey bees and yellowjackets, pollination ecology of solitary bees, migration in Black-Tailed Deer, and population biology of Spotted Owls.
John Nishio
Adjunct Professor/Director PSM Program
Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences
530-898-4589
jnishio@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Plant Productivity, Plant Nutrition, Plant Biochemistry, Photosynthesis, Environmental Education, Environmental Science
Research Interests: Plant Stress Physiology, Agriculture, Proteomics
Dr. Nishio is also the director of the Professional Science Master's Program at CSU, Chico.
Lisa Ott
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry
530-898-6563
Fax: 530-898-5234
lsott@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV
Expertise: Analytical Chemistry, Biofuels
Research Interests: Dr. Ott’s research involves the application of advanced distillation curve metrology to understanding the properties of biodiesel and other fuels. She leads a research group focused on the preparation and analysis of biodiesel fuels; specifically preparing biofuels with local agricultural-waste products. The research uses a variety of methods for the characterization of biodiesel fuel samples, but, perhaps the most important is the advanced distillation curve method.
James Pushnik
Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
530-898-6362
jpushnik@csuchico.edu
Webpage
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Physiological Response Mechanisms of Plants to Environmental Stresses and their Impact on Growth and Development.
Research Interests: Dr. Pushnik studies the physiological response mechanisms of plants to environmental stresses, and their impact on growth and development. His current specific areas of research are: the use of remote sensing technologies to monitor physiological processes of plant canopies; growth, physiological, biochemical, morphological, and molecular responses of forest species to elevated atmospheric CO2 and and the associated climate-change conditions; responses of agricultural plant species to nutrient-deficiency conditions; effects of atmospheric pollutants on plant growth and productivity; and the avoidance, accumulation, sequestration, and partitioning of heavy metals by plants and their potential use in phytoremediation.
Dr. Pushnik is also the director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and the Jack Rawlins Endowed Professor of Environmental Literacy.
Randy Senock
Associate Professor
Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences
530-898-5603
rsenock@csuchico.edu
CV (pdf)
Expertise: Applied Ecology and Land Management
Research Interests: Tropical Forest Applied Ecology, Environmental Physics, Sustainability
Rachel Teasdale
Associate Professor
Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences
530-898-5574
rteasdale@csuchico.edu
Webpage
Expertise: Volcanology, Igneous Petrology, Submarine Geology, Ocean Island Geology, Science Education, Informal Science Education
Research Interests: Dr. Teasdale’s research is based on physical processes in volcanology, primarily focused on the emplacement of lava flows; this has included work on the emplacement and crystallization of lava erupted in Lovejoy Basalt, Northern California, in the Galapagos Islands, and from Mt. Cameroon, Africa. Teasdale also examines crystallization processes with experiments that replicate magma conditions in the conduit during eruption.
Dr. Teasdale’s recent work has been inspired by collaborations with students, and other faculty from California State University, Chico, on projects related to monitoring the hydrothermal systems in volcanoes in Northern California and in Costa Rica. Additional work includes the emplacement conditions of the debris flows of the Tuscan Formation and the distribution of nomlaki pyroclastic flow units in Northern California.
Dr. Teasdale is also the acting executive director for the Gateway Science Museum.