College of Science

ENSCI Sweeps the 2024 CSUMB and CSU Grad Slam! 

Alyssa Anzalone and Gerhard Gross, both current Environmental Science Master's students, competed in CSUMB's third annual Grad Slam competition. Alyssa won first place for her presentation, while Gerhard won the People's Choice award.

Alyssa represented CSUMB at the statewide competition on May 3 and won the entire CSU-wide Grad Slam!

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on the Removal of Arundo donax During Wet and Dry Years

Savannah Saldana recently defended her thesis research “Evaluating Ecological Conditions of the Salinas River after the Removal of A. donax during Wet and Dry Years” in front of her committee and a public audience on Friday, May 3, 2024. 

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Developing Ecological Integrity Metrics for Wetlands

Rebecca Baggott recently defended her thesis research “Developing Metrics of Ecological Integrity for Wetlands on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation” in front of her committee and a public audience on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. 

ENSCI Student Conducts Research with California State Parks

Caroline Bolen, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, is currently completing a 400-hour internship with California State Parks as part of her Professional Science Master’s degree requirement. Caroline’s research focused on assessing species richness and abundance. 

AES Lecturer Reflects on CSUMB Journey 

Erin Stanfield joined the CSUMB community in 2006 and is a valued lecturer in the AES Department. She is also an alumna of the Coastal Watershed Science & Policy (now known as Environmental Science, MS) program.

AES Professor Interviewed by KSBW-8 for Landslide Expertise 

Dr. James Guilinger, assistant professor and PI of the Watershed Geology Lab, was interviewed by KSBW 8 for his expertise on landslides and how climate change has impacted the Central Coast, including the landslide at Highway 1.

AES Professor and ENSCI MS Student Featured in the News! 

Dr. Fred Watson and Katherine Hardisty-Cranstone, a current Environmental Science Master's student, were featured in the Monterey County Weekly for their work at Rana Creek Ranch. 

ENSCI Student Conducts Thesis Research on Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems

Alyssa Anzalone, a current graduate student in the Environmental Science Master’s program (ENSCI), has been working on her thesis project over the past year. As a thesis student in Dr. John Olson’s lab, Alyssa is focusing her research on microplastic abundance in freshwater ecosystems and the influence of agricultural and urban activities on microplastic abundance. 

ENSCI Student Presents Research at Western Society of Naturalists Conference

Alicia Del Toro, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, recently attended and presented her research with Dr. Alison Haupt at the Western Society of Naturalists conference this year. 

BIO and AES Alumna’s Career Takes Wing

Amanda Preece, an alumna of both the Biology and Environmental Science MS program, now works as the Environmental Advocate with the Monterey Audubon Society. She will be our seminar speaker on March 18, 2024. The seminar will be in Chapman E104 at 4 pm. 

AES Professor Reflects on Her Career and What We Can Do to Make a Difference 

Dr. Suzanne “Suzy” Worcester joined the CSUMB community in 1996 and is a valued faculty member in the AES Department. She has taught numerous courses in AES and other departments, and she served as the Chair of the School of Natural Sciences for many years.

ENSCI Student Attends CSU Water Conference 

Mary Snook, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, attended the CSU Water Conference this past year. She is also completing a thesis project as part of her thesis degree requirement.

ENSCI Student Conducts Research with BLM

Sarah Beilman, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, is currently completing a 400-hour internship with the Bureau of Land Management as part of her Professional Science Master’s degree requirement. Sarah’s research focused on monitoring grassland biomass and biodiversity to evaluate the success of the goat grazing program in Fort Ord National Monument.

ESSP and CWSP Alumnus Works with NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center 

Dr. Miles Daniels, an alumnus of both the Earth Science and Systems and Policy (now known as Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy) and Coastal Watershed Science and Policy (now known as Environmental Science) alumnus, now works as an assistant researcher with the Fisheries Collaborative Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz and as an affiliate of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

ENSCI Student Conducting Research for US Army Garrison

Skylar Wolfe, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, is currently completing a 400-hour internship with the US Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett as part of her Professional Science Master’s degree requirement. 

We reached out to Skylar to learn more about her research and overall experience as a graduate student at CSUMB. 

ENSCI Student Conducts Research for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Sarah Winkel, a current Environmental Science master’s student, recently completed an internship with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of her Professional Science Master's degree requirement.

We reached out to Sarah to learn more about her research and overall CSUMB experience as a graduate student.

JP Dundore-Arias earns two prestigious awards 

Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry, recently received the American Phytopathological Society’s Excellence in Teaching Award and was invited to participate in the June 2023 Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute. 

Congratulations to our Spring and Summer 2023 Graduates! 

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Pesticide Remediating Microbes 

Kieran Szelong defended their thesis research "The genomics of pesticide-remediating microbes relevant to agricultural specialty crops grown on California's Central Coast" in front of their committee and a public audience on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Relationships Between Apex Predators, Mesopredators, and Songbirds Along a Local Urbanization Gradient

Matt McGee recently defended his thesis research “Mesopredator occupancy and passerine richness along an urbanization gradient in central coastal California” in front of his committee and a public audience on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. 

ENSCI Alumni Founds His Own Company 

Danny Wright, an alumnus of the Coastal and Watershed Policy graduate program (now known as the Environmental Science Master’s program), was recently featured for his founding his own non-profit company.

ENSCI Student Places at Grad Slam 

CSUMB recently hosted its second annual Grad Slam - a campus-wide competition for the best short oral research presentation by a graduate student. The Environmental Science master's program (ENSCI) was well represented by several graduate students during this competition. Most notably, one ENSCI graduate student was chosen as the winning recipient at the end of the competition. 

ENSCI Students Present Research at American Fisheries Society Meeting

Michael Biedebach and Caleb Yakel, two current Environmental Science Master's students, recently attended the California-Nevada American Fisheries Society Conference in Long Beach, California. 

ENSCI Student Conducts Research for the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy 

Erika Garig, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, recently completed an internship with the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy as part of her Professional Science Master’s project. Erika was tasked with developing a 400-hour internship that helped employ the skills she gained in the classroom. We recently touched base with Erika to learn more about her internship.

ENSCI Student Conducts Camera Trap Research for Big Sur Land Trust 

Michael Biedebach, a current Environmental Science Master’s student, recently completed an internship with Big Sur Land Trust as part of his Professional Science Master’s project. Michael was tasked with developing a 400-hour internship that helped employ the skills he gained in the classroom. We recently touched base with Michael to learn more about his internship.

AES Professor Reflects on His Careers at CSUMB

Dr. Fred Watson, Professor in the Department of Applied Environmental Science, has been a valued part of the CSUMB Community since 1998. He’s been an advisor to many graduate and undergraduate students and runs the Watson Lab.

We recently touched base with Fred to learn more about his extensive career and what led him to CSUMB. 

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Understanding Salmonid eDNA Fate at Reach Level

Shawn Melendy defended his thesis research “Understanding Salmonid eDNA Fate at Reach Level” in front of his committee on Thursday, December 8, 2022. We reached out to Shawn to learn more about his thesis research and overall experience as an Environmental Science graduate student. 

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Estimating Natural Background Water Quality in California Rivers

Emma Debasitis recently defended her thesis research “Estimating Natural Background Water Quality in California Rivers” in front of her committee on Monday, December 5, 2022.

We reached out to Emma following her successful defense to learn more about her thesis research and overall experience as an Environmental Science graduate student. 

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Comparative Metagenomics Study on Bioreactor System in Salinas/Salinas River Valley and the Tijuana River Valley

Connie Machuca recently defended her thesis research “A Comparative Metagenomics Study on Bioreactor System in Salinas, CA, The Salinas River Valley, and The Tijuana River Valley” in front of her committee on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

We reached out to Connie following her successful defense to learn more about her thesis research and overall experience as an Environmental Science graduate student. 

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on DNA Barcoding for Diet and Intestinal Microbiota of Juvenile Rainbow Trout/Steelhead on the California Coast

Bryan Van Orman recently defended his thesis research “DNA Barcoding for Diet and Intestinal Microbiota of Juvenile Rainbow Trout/Steelhead on the California Coast” in front of his committee on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. 

Mason Donny, a current Environmental Science master’s student, recently presented their research at the Western Society of Naturalists Conference on November 11. Mason's presentation was entitled "Use of Automatic Classification Image to Determine Historical trends of Mussel Bed Percent Cover on Bird Rock, SCI, CA." 

Jessica Sutton, a current Environmental Science master’s student, recently completed an internship with Burleson Consulting as part of her Professional Science Master’s (PSM) project. Jess was tasked with developing a 400-hour internship that helped employ the skills she gained in the classroom.  We recently touched base with Jess to learn more about her internship.

Dr. Jimmy Guilinger joined the CSUMB Community this year. We recently touched base with Jimmy to learn more about his research and what he looks forward to doing during his time here at CSUMB. 

Kaitlyn Chow, an alumnus of both the Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy program (ESTP) and the Applied Marine Science and Watershed Science Masters program (AMWS, now known as ENSCI), participated in the 2022 Water Leaders team. The 2022 cohort  includes engineers, lawyers, resource specialists, and scientists from throughout the state.

CSUMB was recently awarded $1.54 million in funding to partner, develop and implement a mentorship program with UC Santa Cruz. Dr. Nathaniel Jue is one of the principal investigators of the project. 

Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry, has been named CSUMB’s next Bob and Sue Johnson Professor. 

ENSCI Students Attend Summer Conferences

Over the summer, Environmental Science M.S. (ENSCI) thesis students from the Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab engaged in sharing their research at national and international conferences.  

Congratulations Spring & Summer 2022 ENSCI Graduates!

Congratulations to our Spring & Summer 2022 Environmental Science M.S. graduates! We look forward to seeing where your new skills take you. 

ENSCI Student Serves as Research Assistant with the Central Coast Wetlands Group

Aubrie Heckel recently completed her Professional Science Master's internship with the Central Coast Wetlands Group (CCWG). While serving as a Research Assistant, Aubrie had the opportunity to expand on the skills she has gained in the classroom as an Environmental Science graduate student.

ENSCI Student Defends Thesis on Genomics of Pesticide-Remediating Bacteria

Rahil Ryder recently defended her thesis research titled '"Genomics of Pesticide-Remediating Bacteria" in front of her thesis committee and a general audience on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

ENSCI Student Serves as Lead Researcher alongside Dr. Alison Haupt

Brooke Fulkerson recently completed her Professional Science Master's (PSM) internship in the Coastal Ecology Lab alongside Dr. Alison Haupt. As an intern, she served as a lead researcher on a coastal urbanization and kelp biomass research project.

ENSCI Student Tackles Climate Action Planning as a PSM Intern

Kierra Rambonga recently completed her Professional Science Master's (PSM) internship with LandWatch Monterey County. While serving as a Climate Action Intern, Kierra assisted the County in conducting essential research towards the development of their Climate Action Plan.

ENSCI Students Place at CSUMB Grad Slam

CSUMB recently hosted is first annual Grad Slam - a campus-wide competition for the best short oral research presentation by a graduate student. The Environmental Science master's program (ENSCI) was well represented by several graduate students during this competition. Most notably, two ENSCI graduate students were chosen as winning recipients at the end of the competition.

Provost’s Award Recognizes Breadth and Depth of Student Achievement

When Matthew McGee entered CSUMB as an M.S. student, all he knew was that he wanted to study wildlife. Completing his undergraduate studies at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, he admits he had “two degrees, and a poor GPA,” and didn’t find his footing within academica and the sciences until he came to CSUMB.

ENSCI Student Participates in Professional Project With Santa Clara County

Adrian Gonzalez, a current Environmental Science master's student, recently completed an internship with Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture as part of his Professional Science Master's (PSM) project. As a PSM student, Adrian was tasked with developing a rigorous 400 hour internship alongside his internship supervisor that helped employ the skills he has gained in the classroom.

ENSCI Graduate Student Conducts Thesis Research on Soil Microbes

Connie Machuca, a current graduate student in the Environmental Science master's program (ENSCI), has been working on her thesis project over the past year. As a thesis student in Dr. Nathaniel Jue's lab, Connie is focusing her research on soil microbes found in a bioreactor system in Salinas, CA.

Associate Professor Engages Students in Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Research

Dr. Jennifer Duggan, Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Environmental Science, has been actively engaging students in research through her Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology lab. In addition to lab experiences, Jenny also dedicates her Sunday afternoons towards informally advising students on Step & Prep walks throughout Fort Ord.

ENSCI Graduate Student Collaborates with California State Parks

Michelle Tarian, a graduate student in the Environmental Science master's program, is currently immersed in a professional internship with California State Parks. As a Professional Science Master's (PSM) student, Michelle is tasked with securing and completing a rigorous 400-hour graduate internship as part of her degree requirement.

Graduate Student Uses Camera Traps to Collect Data on Carnivore Species in the Salinas Valley

As a thesis student, Matt uses camera traps to collect data on select carnivore species (coyotes, bobcats, gray foxes, and domestic cats) along an urbanization gradient in the Salinas Valley. 

Graduate Student Selected as American Phytopathological Society Representative on Master Plant Science Team

Karla Jasso, a current Environmental Science graduate student, was recently selected to be part of this year's Master Plant Science Team representing the American Phytopathological Society.

Assistant Professor Leads Summer Research Projects Across Western United States

This past summer, eight undergraduates and one graduate student dispersed across the Western United States to conduct research alongside Dr. John Olson as part of the Watershed Environments & Ecology Lab (WEE).

ENSCI Graduate Received CSUMB President's Graduate Award for Exemplary Regional Stewardship

Mikaela Bogdan, a recent graduate of the Environmental Science master's program, was awarded the President's Graduate Award for Exemplary Regional Stewardship in Spring 2021.

Graduate Student Conducts Bat Research for Thesis Dissertation

Bethany Schulze, a graduate student in the Department of Applied Environmental Science, is currently conducting bat research as part of her thesis dissertation. We recently touched base with Bethany to learn more about her unique research experience. Check out her interview below for more insight into the world of bat research.

ENSCI Faculty Elected to AGU Board of Directors

Dr. Corey Garza, Professor in the Department of Marine Science, was recently elected to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Board of Directors. AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values.

ENSCI Graduate Student Develops 3D Models of Maritime Heritage Sites

Ryan Solymar, a current graduate student in the Environmental Science (ENSCI) master's program, has been interning with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) and CSUMB's Ecosystems Electronics Lab (EEL) as part of his Professional Science Master's (PSM) project. As a 3D photogrammetry intern, he has spent the past year developing three-dimensional models of maritime heritage sites throughout MBNMS.

ENSCI Graduate Students Assist with Wildfire Response

Environmental Science graduate students, Eric Walmsley and Ryan Brown, have been allocating their time towards completing their Professional Science Master's (PSM) internships with local agencies. In doing so, both had the unique opportunity to assist with wildfire response in our region during California's record-breaking wildfire season.

A Society of Scientists: Corey Garza (ENSCI faculty) inducted into California Academy of Sciences.

Corey Garza, Ph.D., professor of marine science in CSUMB’s College of Science, was recently inducted as a 2020 fellow in the California Academy of Sciences. He joins a cohort of 13 other scientists from California and beyond as new members.