CREST program supports student climate research

Students and faculty working on climate issues

By California State University, Bakersfield

June 25^th, 2020

When it comes to studying climate change, there isn’t one area of research that encompasses it all. Different regions will have their own unique set of challenges to overcome, with various scientific fields coming together to better understand them.

At California State University, Bakersfield’s School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering, students and faculty are working together on climate issues specific to our region. Through a Phase II Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) grant funded by the National Science Foundation, CSUB conducts this research as the Center for Climate Science and Natural Resource Solutions for Water-Limited, Paired Mountain/Valley Systems.

“Our overarching goals are to conduct research leading to mitigating the effects of anticipated climate change on the people, industries, and environment of the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada, as well as to improve our students' educational experience through research that equips them with skills toward their future career and educational goals,” said Dr. Eduardo Montoya, Associate Professor of Statistics and CREST director.

Students involved in CREST run the gamut of NSME’s majors, including biology, geology, engineering, and mathematics. The program first started in started in 2011 with the Phase I grant and expanded with the Phase II grant in 2016. This year, CREST provided support for 21 students, eight undergraduates and 13 graduate students.

“The CSUB CREST grant provides support (financial support, strong mentorship, and professional development) for students to work collaboratively with CSUB faculty in carrying out STEM research relevant to the San Joaquin Valley and beyond, while allowing them to pursue their degree and potentially move on to a doctoral program,” Dr. Montoya said. “This grant matters because we (CSUB) attract large numbers of underrepresented students, many of whom are first-generation and many of whom lack the resources to pursue post-graduate studies, and our CREST center is highly diverse in the students it attracts.”

One of the researchers in CREST is Jaycie Fickle, a biology graduate student set to defend her thesis later this summer. As an undergraduate at CSUB, she became interested in plant biology and helped biology professor Dr. Anna Jacobsen in her lab. Encouraged by the experience to continue her education and earn her master’s, Fickle has since been studying how plant anatomy and physiology change how plants function when they are water stressed, she said. She also compares different parts of the plant, like the roots and stems, to see how they are built and how they function.

Fickle, 23, said CREST made grad school possible for her. By funding her research, the program gave her the freedom to focus on her work without worrying about paying the bills.

“Beyond financial support, CREST has given me countless opportunities to grow as a researcher,” she said. “I was able to use expensive equipment, learn how to manage a large project, and practice communicating with others in the scientific community. This has given me the confidence I needed to continue on in my scientific career.”

In the fall, Fickle will start the PhD biology program at the University of Utah. She hopes to continue in academia after that and would love to run her own research lab and give other students the chance CSUB professors like Dr. Jacobsen gave her.

Raquel Pimentel Contreras, an engineering major who will start her senior year in the fall, has been researching carbon dioxide sequestration, a relevant interest as her degree emphasis is in petroleum, an industry that contributes a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

The first in her family to go to college, Pimentel Contreras has excelled both in her regular studies and in her CREST research, presenting her work in competitions and to industry professionals.

“One of the requirements to be a CREST student is that you have to meet a certain GPA so that has motivated me to work diligently and keep my grades up so that I am not at risk of losing this amazing opportunity I have to do research in my field of studies,” she said.

Pimentel Contreras, 21, said her supervisor, associate professor of engineering Dr. Dayanand Saini, has been a big help to her throughout her time in CREST.

“He always goes above and beyond for his students and helps me not only on the research, but also on my academics to make sure I am successful in all areas,” she said. “I am very thankful and honored to be one of his research students.”

Through CREST, geology graduate student Cindy Rodriguez studies the post-wildfire impacts on soil’s physical properties as a function of burn severity, following the 2016 Erskine Fire not far from Lake Isabella. Conducting tests on soil that was unburned, slightly burned, moderately burned and highly burned, Rodriguez wants to know which soil classification was impacted more and if it has recovered.

“The reason this is important is because post-wildfire debris flows (mudslides/mass movements) are common and pose a threat to the surrounding communities,” she explained. “So, by looking at how the fire affects the soil, we can learn more about how these debris flows happen. Our study/results can potentially help in future post-fire mitigation plans for the areas that have been affected by fires.”

Rodriguez, 26, has presented her research at the 2019 American Geophysical Union conference, and she also won first place in the 2020 CSUB Student Research Competition. Though COVID-19 has delayed her research and possibly pushed her summer graduation back a semester, Rodriguez is on track to finish the program soon and hopes to find work related to her research.

The benefits of working with CREST have been great for Rodriguez. The faculty and students offered feedback and advice, she said, and the small size of the group gives the students time to practice presentations, boosting their confidence when presenting to a large crowd.

“The program encouraged us to push toward success,” Rodriguez said. “I am really glad I got to be part of such a great program that helped us throughout our academic journey.”

For Dr. Montoya, students like Fickle, Pimentel Contreras and Rodriguez are perfect examples of CREST’s importance. By offering mentorship, financial support, resources and the opportunity to research topics relevant to the region, CREST gives its students a competitive edge when heading into the work force or furthering their studies in a PhD program.

“We truly have had a great group of CREST student researchers,” Dr. Montoya said. “Our CSUB CREST center continues to see success by promoting an environment of place-based research that addresses problems relevant to the local area and beyond.”