Research

PARADISE U Helps Elementary Students Rediscover the Joy of Movement

PARADISE U, a physical education program created by kinesiology professor Cathrine Himberg, helps students discover the benefits and joy of movement.

A valley oak tree spreads its branches as the sunlight filters through

The Princeton Review Honors Chico State as One of its Green Colleges

The Princeton Review recently listed Chico State on its 2023 Guide to Green Colleges.

A teacher stands in front of a classroom discussing what is displayed on the screen

‘Latinx and Immigration’ Class Dives Deeper into Lived Experiences

With a course as relevant and impactful as "Latinx and Immigration," MCGS faculty Gabby Medina Falzone is also preparing her students for their post-graduation goals.

A college student drives a tractor beneath a sign that says Chico State University Farm

Chico State University Farm Celebrates 60th Anniversary on November 5

As Chico State's University Farm marks its 60th anniversary, it will host a free event to the public to celebrate its impact of serving the North State on Saturday, November 5.

Kids look on as a pumpkin drops to the ground in physics display

Messy Science: Pumpkin Drop Set for Halloween Day

Put on by the Society of Physics Students the 33rd Chico State Pumpkin Drop demonstrates physics to elementary students in a creative and explosive way.

Farhan Rehman and Esteban Teran adjust the lasers that work to cool the atoms.

Ultracold Atom Lab Attempting to Cross ‘Unreachable’ Threshold

With the ultra-high vacuum chamber up and running, the University's ultracold atom chamber is ready to cool atoms to near absolute zero so they display their true quantum nature.

Nicholas Esparza looks through the high vacuum chamber in the ultracold lab.

Student Researchers Share Insight into Summer Projects

CSC² has supported nearly 300 students in undergraduate research projects across the three colleges.

A grid of diamond-shaped images shows students engaging in various kinds of research, from looking through a vaccum chamber to attaching wildlife cams to trees to working with mushrooms, to looking through a container filled with zebrafish.

Multimillion-Dollar Grants Provide Undergraduate Research Opportunities to Underserved Students in STEM

Since 2016, the Chico STEM Connections Collaborative has provided academic and other support services to historically underserved students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and agriculture.

An eclipsed moon in a starry sky between two academic buildings

Civil Engineering Faculty Awarded $1 Million Grant to Study Lagoon Wastewater Treatment

Civil Engineering faculty Pablo Cornejo was one of two recipients nationally to receive a $1 million grant to study wastewater treatment systems.

Alumna Chooses Nature to Nurture Others

Blake Ellis is at the leading edge of harnessing the natural world’s healing powers—even when that environment itself may trigger anxiety.

Chico State Earns Coveted Top Spot in Prestigious AASHE Sustainability Rankings

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education recognized Chico State for its environmental practices, honoring it as the top performer in its Master’s Institutions category.

Bringing Mental Health to Light

Chico State alumni and family find healing through mental health awareness advocacy and the creation of a Senate bill to improve youth mental health in schools.

Wearing a labcoat and safety goggles, Anna Vo reaches for a test tube while another student works in the lab behind her.

Natural Sciences Students Put Themselves Under the Microscope During Summer Research

The College of Natural Sciences’ Summer Research Institutes provide students with hands-on experience with a research topic in their field of study.

Karina Haddad walks through the woods in fall with a drip torch and shovel to conduct a prescribed burn.

Innovative Program Strives to Protect the Wildlands of the West

The first of its kind in the CSU, the interdisciplinary master's degree in wildland management is graduating students from its inaugural cohort.

Thousands of Physical Maps Need a Home—Students Helped Find One

With a move from Butte Hall looming, GIS students helped find a new digital home for hundreds of physical maps.

David Hassenzahl stands behind a dais speaking into a microphone

College of Natural Sciences Dean Recognized with Environmental Lifetime Achievement Award

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences has recognized College of Natural Sciences Dean David Hassenzahl with its William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dancers illuminated in pink and purple light dance at a rave.

Office Hours: Sociology Professor and Dance Music Culture Researcher Danielle Hidalgo

Danielle Hidalgo spent four years physically and digitally following three women DJs in an immersive research experience into dance culture.

Aubrey Miller holds a handful of tootbrush fibers in her hand in the concrete lab.

Students Set the Future in Concrete

Just one of five programs of its kind in the United States, our Concrete Industry Management Program is creating the workforce for a $200 billion industry. With a 100 percent job-placement rate and a cross-disciplinary approach that ensures our graduates can lead in the boardroom and at the job site, CIM students are solving some of the industry’s greatest challenges.

Kendall Hall with spring flowers in the foreground

Chico State Students to Present Research at Statewide Competition

Ten Chico State student delegates will compete against scholars statewide at the California State University’s 36th annual Statewide Research Competition.

Maurice Ledoyen stands in a white coat in a lab with equipment in his hands.

Student Fly-Fisherman Casts His Line into Researching Local Creeks

Ten years after leaving college, Maurice Ledoyen returned and is conducting research studying metal accumulation in aquatic organisms in creeks downstream of the Camp Fire.

Photo of Kendall Hall seen through the branches of bloomed flowers.

Faculty Showcase Offers Chance to Be ‘Inspired’

Three faculty members who published amid the pandemic share their passions and stories of persistence.

Dan Wheeler stands on a rooftop and smiles under a building

5 Questions with Construction Management Executive and Alumnus Dan Wheeler

As an executive at Turner Construction, Dan Wheeler has put up new buildings on campus, recruited more than 100 Chico State grads, and mentored countless more. This month, he will be honored as the 2022 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of ECC.

A student pulls a sample of wastewater from a large jug.

Poop Sleuths: Student Researchers Track COVID-19 in Residence Halls

Two biological sciences faculty and eight students are conducting complex wastewater monitoring in the residence halls to research the virus that causes COVID-19.

Office Hours: Regenerative Agriculture Leader and Professor Cindy Daley

Professor Cindy Daley honors her roots through regenerative agriculture education and carbon-smart solutions to fight climate change.

An all-electric street sweeper is parked outside an academic building.

Making CSU History: Chico State Adds All-Electric Street Sweeper to Fleet

In its push to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, Chico State became the first CSU campus to purchase and use an all-electric street sweeper.

Constantin Raether, wearing a mask and squeezing a syringe, works in the RAD Lab and Soil Preparation Area at the University Farm.

Seeding the Future: Center for Regenerative Agriculture Receives $1 Million Gift

Looking to improve communities one at a time, Bruce Burnworth discovered Chico State's Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems—and found it worthy of a $1 million donation.

Angelica Rodriguez collects water samples along a stream in the mountains.

Multimillion-Dollar Grants Ensure Hands-On Research Continues for STEM Students

Chico State was awarded a pair of multimillion dollar grants, ensuring that STEM students in three different colleges will be able to continue receiving hands-on research opportunities with faculty.

Sunshine breaks through the tops of trees over a ranch-style setting.

Where Education Meets the Land

The Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve is a living laboratory for students of all ages, ground-breaking research, and innovative land management practices.

A rock decor inscribed "Home Sweet Home" is placed at a destroyed home from the Camp Fire along Newman Avenue in Paradise.

Paradise Continues to Rebuild and Evolve Three Years After the Camp Fire

Three years after the Camp Fire scattered the residents of Paradise, the town continues its rebuilding process—while also evolving.

Kendall Hall is framed by trees as a student walks up its entry path.

Fulbright Program Names Chico State to Prestigious List of National Higher-Education HSI Leaders

Chico State has been named a Fulbright HSI Leader in the designation’s inaugural year, and is one of just 35 higher education institutions nationwide to receive the honor.

Sean Nies uses a paintbrush to brush soil away from mastodon teeth.

New Gateway Exhibit Showcases Fossils Unearthed in Northern California

This extensive paleontology exhibit gives visitors a chance to explore our region’s rich evolutionary and geological history, including fossils from one of California's most remarkable discoveries.

Vivian Hernandez poses on the steps in front of brick building

CSU Trustees’ Award Adds to Accolades for History and Latin American Studies Major

Vivian Hernandez keeps racking up honors and awards at Chico State. Her latest, a prestigious CSU Trustees' award and scholarship.

Lee Altier stands among the plants in the aquaponics garden at the University Farm

Professor Receives Fulbright Scholar Award To Teach and Study Agricultural Best Practices in Turkey

Lee Altier is taking nearly 40 years of farming expertise to Ege University in Izmir, Turkey to focus on agroecology.

Sunlight breaks through branches and leaves of trees that are surrounded by grass and volcanic rocks

Land Donation Doubles Size of BCCER, Now CSU’s Largest Ecological Reserve

Chico State's BCCER received an anonymous land donation—doubling its size and making it one of the largest college- or university-operated reserves in the entire state.

Jesse Dizard stands on an open ridge in the foothills in front of a wooden pole with clothes and hats hanging from it.

Anthropology Professor Selected for Prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award

Jesse Dizard is interested in how natural resource management—or lack thereof—impacts individuals, subcultures and bureaucracies. In Jordan, he'll be studying impacts of its water scarcity crisis.

Unearthing California’s Prehistoric Past

Geological and environmental sciences students and faculty are assisting on one of the biggest paleontological finds in state history.

A student walks past the Science Building in the evening light.

Science Takes Center Stage

This fall—three years after breaking ground— the new Science Building will open fully with more than 523 in-person class sessions serving thousands of students.

CRARS Awarded Five-Year, $7 Million Grant to Help Counter Climate Change Challenges

Chico State’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems was awarded a five-year, $7 million grant by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Jordan Beach smiles while inspecting a wooden skyscraper model

Jordan Beach Shook Up the Chico State Civil Engineering Department

As an outstanding student, tutor, club leader, and mentor, Jordan Beach shook up Civil Engineering at Chico State.

Edward Berdan smiles and leans against a wall.

Diversity Fellow Finds Niche in AAPI Politics

As a master’s student in political science, Edward Berdan has bloomed into a scholar destined to change the study of AAPI politics.