Alumni Updates
Albert Ochoa-Castillo, 2022
Submitted: June 17, 2024
Albert is currently in the second year of his PhD studies at Colorado State University, focusing on the fundamentals of plant cryopreservation. He recently received the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, one of the country’s top STEM fellowship programs. Albert crafted a method to visualize sucrose in plant cells and proposed a technique for simultaneous imaging of two molecules in plant tissue. His research explores cryoprotectant-cell interactions using advanced microscopy methods. After graduating, Albert aims to teach chemistry at a primarily undergraduate institution, prioritizing research inclusion for first-generation and Hispanic students to enhance diversity in scientific fields.
Albert Ochoa Castillo, 2022
Submitted: April 4, 2024
Albert researched organic and computational chemistry with Dr. Joshua R. Smith as a student at Cal Poly Humboldt. He focused on designing possible organic photovoltaic (OPV) compounds and using computational methods to characterize their electronic properties and assess their estimated efficiency. Now as a Ph.D. chemistry student at Colorado State University, Albert is enthusiastic to study the fundamentals of plant cryopreservation and the mobility of cryoprotectants within plant cells. He received the 2024 National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellowship. https://www.research.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList
Lester B Garrison, 1978
Submitted: March 23, 2022
After a most successful career in Clinical Chemistry and developing tests for inborn errors of metabolism in newborn infants, Lester Garrison (Chemistry, '78), has retired. His training in Chemical Oceanography was a good basis for his subsequent work in clinical chemistry. Driven by a passion for applying enzymology to solving clinical chemistry diagnostic issues, he was most pleased to develop a method to diagnose Galactosemia by measuring the lack of activity of the enzyme Galactose 1 Phosphate Uridyltransferase. This changed the accuracy of the previous galactosemia test from 60-70% reliable to 99%+ reliable, a great step forward in screening.
Joni McAtee, MD, 2008
Submitted: January 28, 2022
After HSU, Joni McAtee attended UC Davis school of medicine. McAtee did her residency in Family Medicine in Duluth, MN. McAtee returned to Humboldt County to work in a broad spectrum family medicine with obstetrics. McAtee opened a business in Fortuna, Ikigai Physician Group with a clinic. Working as hospitalist in Fortuna and Eureka. Working in Hospice with Hospice of Humboldt.
Stephen Bowlus, 1970
Submitted: December 24, 2019
After graduation, Stephen Bowlus, Chemistry, 1970, attended University of Illinois (MS '72, PhD '74, postdoc entomology '75), and went into industrial research. He worked primarily in the agricultural chemistry field, starting as a synthesis chemist, then migrating to computational chemistry, molecular modeling and statistics. He retired from industry in 2003. In 2006, Bowlus started teaching as an adjunct instructor at Columbia College in Sonora, California, before retiring in 2019.
Alissa Sobo, 2010
Submitted: June 4, 2019
After graduating from Humboldt State University, Alissa Sobo, Chemistry, 2010, stayed in the community and opened a restaurant called Naan of the Above. Alissa sold this business and moved to the bay area to teach science in after school programs. Alissa then had two children, and while staying at home with them, taught herself to code. She built a web application called Ample that was recently mentioned in the New York Times. She now works as a software engineer for Mozilla.
John Giraldes, 2003
Submitted: June 15, 2016
John Giraldes, 2003 Chemistry, graduated from University of Minnesota with a degree in Medicinal Chemistry in 2006 and went on to work for Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Global Discovery Chemistry, Oncology in Cambridge, Mass., until 2015. Giraldes then relocated to Baltimore, Md., and currently working as a Project Manager and Scientific Analyst for the National Cancer Institute's Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program.
Hadasa Villalobos, summer 2014
Submitted: February 5, 2016
Hadasa Villalobos, ’14 Chemistry, worked for E&J Gallo Winery for a harvest season after graduating HSU. Villalobos went on to working for an agricultural chemical company doing plant, water, and soil analysis. While working for the agricultural chemical company, Villalobos was also helping out a local brewery set up a QC program. She was then recruited by The Dudes Brewing Company to run their QC program, where Villalobos is currently working. Villalobos is content with her choice of attending HSU and is very appreciative of the knowledge she gained from the Chemistry Department and the time spent in it.
Mark S Fesler, 1984
Submitted: March 20, 2015
Mark S. Fesler, 1984 Chemistry, worked for more than 25 years as an analytical chemist. For the last eight years, Fesler has worked as an environmental scientist and consultant with the engineering company CH2M Hill.
Marshall R Ligare, 2009
Submitted: February 5, 2015
Marshall R. Ligare, 2009 Chemistry, finished his PhD at University of California Santa Barbara and is starting a postdoctoral research position at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
J, 2013
Submitted: October 31, 2013
Jeffrey Herr, 2013 Chemistry, found a job working as a laboratory technician in the quality control lab for Traditional Medicinals, which produces tea. Herr’s work is in testing and sampling herbs with names he can barely pronounce. Herr writes, “I already miss HSU.”
Thierry Mann, 1993
Submitted: March 5, 2012
Ph. D. University of Arizona 1998 Micromass/ Waters 1999-2003 Novartis Pharma 2003-present Moved to Basel Switzerland 2011
