NRES News and Highlights - Summer 2025

Team Competitions, Student Achievement, NRES LEAD Scholars, and Retirements: Lisa Rice, Chris Dicus & Doug Aversano

Team Competitions

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Logging Team 

The Cal Poly Logging Team traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado, for the annual Association of Western Forestry Clubs Logging Conclave. “The team competed in cold and snowy conditions,” said coach and Professor Samantha Gill. “We had a great time even in the cold weather.” 

There were 190 competitors from 11 colleges and universities at the competition. Cal Poly’s A-team placed fourth overall out of 24 teams. In overall male competitors, Joe Carniglia, a junior forestry and fire sciences major, placed sixth, and Ben Holtzen, a senior agricultural systems management major, placed fourth.   

The team consisted of a record 29 students accompanied by Coach Gill, Assistant Coach Jaqueline Rose and Honorary Coach Walter Ruzzo (Natural Resources Management, ’78). 

Student competitors included forestry and fire sciences majors Daniel Auten, Nathan Bonilla, Miller Brichan, Joe Carniglia, Jess Conley, Cadence Estermann, Nolan Hayes, Casey Jones, Micah Mathew, Ethan Mulhair, Meghan O'Malley, Henry Olson, Preston Patterson, Gavin Smyth, Ollie Topper, Cole Underwood, Avalon Van Leeuwen, Samantha Wilton and Fiona Worrell. Other competitors were political science student Libby Bowie, bioresource and agricultural engineering major Fiona Chamberlin, mechanical engineering student Anden Holley, agriculture systems management student Ben Holtzen, business major Luke Levine, environmental management and protection majors August Nielsen and Alex Ulitchny, plant sciences student Beckett Ross, agricultural science student Nathan Van Boxtel and English major Adam Wanlin. 

 

Soil Judging Team 

The team posing with a Typic Durorthod and pointing at/posing
with the Ortstein. Photo credit: Gordon Rees.

The Cal Poly Soil Judging Team attended the 2025 National Collegiate Soils Contest in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. “The team had another outstanding year,” said coach and Associate Professor Gordon Rees. “We took fifth place overall in the nation as a team, out of 27 qualifying teams, making our fourth year in a row in the top 10.” 

Sarah Hoffman, a senior, environmental earth and soil science major, took sixth place overall in the individual contest out of 106 students. Cody Cameron, senior environmental earth and soil science student, placed fourth in the alternate individual event out of approximately 120 students.  

The nine students who made up this year’s team included environmental earth and soil science majors Nicholas Baham, Cody Cameron, Sarah Hoffman and Nabila Wildman as well as environmental management and protection majors Mollie Bressler, Abby Evans, Chase King and Kayla Matheson. Gavin Wong, a biochemistry major also competed on the team. 

Student Achievement: Change the World Challenge 

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(From left) Grace Kathryn Hurley (manufacturing engineering), Lea
Joan Graham (natural resources management and environmental
sciences) and Zoila Anuri Kanu (computer science and software
engineering) won first place in the 2025 Change the World Challenge
for their product, Buzz Off.
Photo credit: Change the World Challenge.

A transformative, multidisciplinary student design competition that addresses the world’s most pressing contemporary problems. 

Lea Graham, a third-year environmental management and protection major, was part of the winning team in Cal Poly’s Fourth Annual Change the World Challenge, which carries a first-place prize of $15,000 to continue product development.  

Graham teamed up with students from across the university, including Grace Kathryn Hurley, a manufacturing engineering student, and Zoila Anuri Kanu, who is studying computer science and software engineering. The team was supported by NRES Professor Priya Verma in developing a product that could make a global impact.   

“Their project, ‘Buzz Off,’ was designed to address the ongoing global issue of honeybee population decline due to the Varroa mite parasite,” Graham explained. “Its entrance designed for initial mite removal combined with its central infrared heat detection technologies are designed to help commercial and hobbyist beekeepers prevent rapid colony collapse.” 

"This experience was one of the most rewarding of my college career,” said Graham. “Not only did I gain a deep understanding of the ecological significance of honeybees and pollinators in general, but I also developed valuable skills in research, marketing, public speaking and interdisciplinary collaboration. I'm so thankful that this opportunity allowed me to work with and learn from faculty mentors across all of Cal Poly's colleges." 

Read more here: Fourth Annual Change the World Challenge

NRES LEAD Scholars

Leadership – Education – Application – Discovery  

Twenty-two student scholars. Fifteen projects. Another successful year!

In three years, the LEAD (Leadership – Education – Application – Discovery) Scholars program has grown in student numbers and in the development of new and exciting projects. Through the generous support of alumni, parents and industry, this program supports the development of the next generation of environmental leaders.

A first-of-its-kind LEAD Scholar “Poster Party” was held at the end of the academic year to highlight student projects. The effort put into these projects and posters was impressive.

LEAD SCHOLAR	PROJECT
Alexa Cango Ruiz	Compiled Field Guide for Tide Pooling Hotspots Around SLO
Amelia DeEulio and Julian Durante	SLO Canopy Crew: Stewards of Our Urban Forest
Andrea Hernandez	Plate the Planet: A Website to Fight Food Waste Through Cooking
Anushe Irani and Isabella Nava	Partnering with Local Organizations to Make an Impact
Bahar Vasli and Erin Kennedy	Assessing Lunch-Time Food Waste and Waste Sorting Practices at Sinsheimer Elementary School
Collin Durfee and Gabriella Lewis	Campus Dining Waste Reduction
Ella Wodrich, Sean Bernard, Zeke Pearl	Vegetation Surveys, Morro Bay
Kaitlin Davey	Rinconada Mine Mercury Testing
Keegan Fish	Shoulderband Snail Sweet Springs Ecological Restoration Initiative
Lotte de Jager and Solana Herold	Student Experimental Farm Seed Library
Luke Mendoza	Waste Education and Infrastructure
Mariel Dawson	Small Farms in Global Food Production: City Farm SLO Collaboration
Madeline Mouw	Reducing Single Use Plastics: GIS Mapping Water Bottle Stations Around Campus
Sophia Kast	Recreational Use Monitoring in the Morro Bay Estuary
Sophia Slucky	Student Experimental Farm Internal Compost Project

Retirements

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The Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) Department has bid farewell to three longtime members, Administrative Support Coordinator Lisa Rice, forest and fire Professor Chris Dicus and forest and fire Lecturer Doug Aversano. Each made significant impacts and contributions to our programs during their careers. We are grateful for their dedication and wish them all the best in retirement.  

 

Lisa Rice 

By Amelia DeEulio (second-year environmental management and protection) 

For more than 37 years, Lisa Rice has served the Cal Poly community with excellence. She worked for 16 years in Payroll Services before taking an administrative services coordinator position in NRES, where she has served since 2003. 

Rice has impacted the lives of many people through her dedication, expertise and kindness. She contributed greatly to the success of students, staff and faculty, helping to manage budget expenses, student payroll, class scheduling, and faculty and lecture recruitments. She brought a positive, can-do attitude to her work and is a beloved colleague. 

Some of her favorite moments include getting to know and build relationships with students, observing the evolving leadership in the department and observing how each department head brought fresh perspectives over the years that kept her job dynamic and engaging.  

Looking ahead, she’s excited to travel with her husband, Doug, spend time with her grandchildren, explore new recipe, and build a new circle through volunteer opportunities.  

Her message to the Cal Poly community: “Respect each other’s opinions, find common ground and take the time to know the people around you – good working relationships make the work more meaningful and fun!”

 

Chris Dicus 

By Lea Graham (third-year environmental management and protection) 

“If you like to light stuff on fire and figure out why and how it burns, then you’ve come to the right place!” This is commonly how Professor Chris Dicus introduced himself to prospective students. Over the past 24 years, he brought an enthusiastic approach to teaching and research that has impacted countless Cal Poly students.  

As a certified senior fire ecologist and California registered professional forester, Dicus taught several different wildfire-focused courses, established the fire ecology and hazard planning minor, served as a faculty fellow to the provost and led the university’s Wildland Fire and Fuels Management program. 

Among his memorable experiences, Dicus notes his unique sabbatical opportunity in Tasmania in 2009, when he studied the aftermath of Australia's Black Saturday fires and collaborated with partner agencies in field research. In addition, he notes the opportunity to visit 22 different countries since becoming a faculty member in 2001.  

In retirement, Dicus is moving back to Arkansas and looks forward to birdwatching on his back deck, spending time with his wife, three children and two grandchildren. He also plans to stay active as a consultant on fire-related litigation.  

His message to the Cal Poly community: “Make the system work for you because the world’s going to try and beat you down, but try to utilize the opportunities you can to live your life in a way that sets you up for success.” 

 

Doug Aversano 

By Cadence Estermann (third year forestry and fire sciences) 

Lecturer Doug Aversano retired after 16 years of dedicated service to Cal Poly’s forest and fire sciences and forestry and natural resources programs. Throughout his career, Aversano taught several fire-related courses, but his Wildland Fire Control class stood out as one of the most valuable experiences for students in the department. 

Aversano placed high value on giving students access to real-world expertise, which he demonstrated through dynamic field labs, where he often invited multiple fire engines and agency professionals to coach and connect with the students. His own background, 32-plus years with the U.S. Forest Service, including more than a decade as a crew supervisor for the Santa Lucia Crew 7, allowed him to give students valuable perspectives and skills that ultimately prepared them for competitive jobs and leadership roles. 

While relaxing is part of his retirement plan, Aversano’s passion for teaching remains. He plans to explore teaching opportunities in Monterey, California. He even expressed his desire to begin writing a screenplay for a fire-themed movie — a testament to his love for the field. 

Some of his favorite Cal Poly memories included the Wildland Fire Control labs, particularly those that went well because of the students’ confidence, teamwork and camaraderie.  

In his message to the Cal Poly community, he emphasized the importance of hiring instructors with practical field experience and fostering strong agency connections to support student success.

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Read more stories in the Summer 2025 Newsletter