Center for Water and the Environment

Meet Our Staff

Tag Engstrom, Ph.D.
Science Director

head shot of tag engstrom in creek

Center for Water and the Environment

Office: HOLT 221
Email: tengstrom@csuchico.edu 
Phone: 530-898-6748

CWE’s mission is to cultivate collaborative research and education to better understand and address the complex and interconnected issues of water and environment in Northern California and beyond. The CWE Science Director’s role is to help advance the research of water and the environment in northern California by engaging faculty and students in research, promoting interdisciplinary collaborations, and networking off-campus.

Research Staff

Dan Pickard
Taxonomist

Dan Pickard

Chico Aquatic Bioassessment Lab
Office: Holt 233
Email: dpickard@csuchico.edu
Phone: 530-898-4792
Web: http://www.csuchico.edu/cwe/research/abl.shtml

Dan is a Taxonomist with the Aquatic Bioassessment Lab (ABL). Dan has worked with aquatic macroinvertebrates for over 20 years and joined the ABL in October 2000. He is experienced with macroinvertebrates from across the U.S. with an emphasis in western states. Currently, he is involved with the identification of all of the projects of the ABL. He is also developing a digital reference collection for aquatic macroinvertebrates of California. He received a B.A. Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and M.S. Biology/Aquatic Ecology from the University of Alabama.

Brady Richards
Taxonomist

Brady Richards

Chico Aquatic Bioassessment Lab
Office: Holt 115
Email: arichards@csuchico.edu
Phone: 530-898-4792
Web: http://www.csuchico.edu/cwe/research/abl.shtml

Brady joined the ABL in October of 2001. He has 20 years of experience with aquatic macroinvertebrates from all across the U.S. His taxonomic specialty is with Coleoptera, Heteroptera, and Trichoptera. He is currently involved with the identification of a wide range of projects with the ABL, and external QC for other labs in California. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Arkansas State University.

Joseph Slusark
Taxonomist

Joseph Slusark

Chico Aquatic Bioassessment Lab
Office: Holt 115
Email: jslusark@csuchico.edu
Phone: 530-898-4792
Web: http://www.csuchico.edu/cwe/research/abl.shtml

Joe joined the ABL in 2001. He has over 20 years of macroinvertebrate identification from across the US. His current work includes identification of all ABL projects and internal QC of other ABL projects. Joe is involved with the development and implementation of bioassessment QA and standardized data reporting efforts for the state of California. Joe is a member of SAFIT’s board of directors and is active in organizing taxonomic workshops and web-based taxonomic training sessions for professionals and citizen monitors. His taxonomic expertise is with Ephemeroptera and Chironomidae. He holds a B.S. in Wildlife Science and M.S. in Entomology/Ecology from Penn State University.

John Sandberg
Taxonomist

John Sandberg

Chico Aquatic Bioassessment Lab
Office: Holt 233
Email: jsandberg@csuchico.edu
Phone: 530-898-4792
Web: http://www.csuchico.edu/cwe/research/abl.shtml

John joined the ABL in 2006. He has over 20 years of macroinvertebrate identification. His current work includes the identification of all ABL projects. His taxonomic expertise is with Plecoptera. He has a B.S. in Fisheries and Biology and an M.S. in Natural Resources/Limnology from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He also has a Ph.D. in Biology/Aquatic Ecology from the University of North Texas.