About the Honors Program

The College of Natural Resources Honors Program is designed to support undergraduate students interested in developing, executing, and evaluating a year-long independent research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Students who successfully complete the Honors Program will earn recognition at graduation and will also receive a notation of Honors in their major on their diploma. The Honors Symposium, held once each semester, gives all Honors students the opportunity to present their research to fellow students, faculty, Deans, friends, and family.

Testimonials

"I'd recommend this program to every CNR student regardless of whether they are interested in research. You apply classroom theory to real world problem solving. It's about thinking beyond textbooks, adding dimension to what you learn, and developing professional relationships. This experience extends beyond research by providing you with essential skills no matter what your plans are after you graduate."
-Sankar Sridaran, Molecular Environmental Biology, Class of 2007

"For me the valuable part of the experience was learning how to research and read information regarding my topic and then take a step back, try to look at all of the info collectively and objectively and figure out what was actually going on. I would recommend it only if someone was really passionate about an issue that they wanted to spend significant amounts of time researching. If someone is passionate about an issue then this is a unique opportunity to guide your own education."
-Judith Harwood, Environmental Economics and Policy, Class of 2007

"I found great value in working with highly qualified researchers to focus my initial scientific interest into a research project of scientific merit. Parallel in value to working with exceptional researchers is having access to other opportunities like scholarships, joining other labs, and being a member of the Berkeley/CNR intellectual community. Lastly, by participating in the CNR Honors program I solidified my plans to pursue a career in science and research."
-Scott Stevenson, Microbial Biology, Class of 2007

Qualifications

Be a declared major in the CNR department in which you are seeking Honors.
Possess an overall GPA of 3.6 or higher.
Have no more than 2 Incomplete grades on your academic record.
Have completed a minimum of 60 semester units (attained junior or senior status).
Junior Transfer students must have completed at least one semester at UC Berkeley with a 3.6 GPA.

Requirements

Complete 8 units of a two-course H196 series (4 units per course) in a College of Natural Resources department under the guidance of a Faculty Research Mentor/Sponsor. You must enroll in both H196 courses for a letter grade; the courses do not have to be completed in consecutive semesters.
Earn grades of a B or better in each H196 course.
Maintain a 3.6 GPA or better through graduation.
Write an honors research thesis and submit copies to your Faculty Sponsor/Research Mentor. Thesis format will conform to the expectations for submission of a "publishable" paper to the relevant research discipline. A one page summary of your paper is due to the Honors Program Coordinator the day of the oral presentation.
Give an oral presentation at the CNR Honors Symposium.
Attend a mandatory meeting the beginning of each semester.

How to Apply

Complete the CNR Honors Program Enrollment Form.
Write a 300-word research proposal.
Identify a Research Mentor, who can be any faculty member or other qualified instructor on campus.
If you choose to do research with a Research Mentor from another a department outside CNR, you must also identify a CNR Faculty Sponsor in your home department in CNR.
Submit your Enrollment Form to the Undergraduate Staff Advisor, in your CNR Research Mentor’s Department or if your research mentor is not in CNR, submit your Enrollment Form to your CNR Sponsor’s home department by the last day of the first week of the semester in which you plan to enroll in the Honors Program.

SPUR and the Honors Program

CNR encourages students applying to the Honors Program to apply for SPUR funding as well. SPUR (Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research) awards CNR student-faculty mentor pairs a research grant for a Student-Initiated project.

Double Majors

If you wish to participate in the Honors Program in one major, the guidelines described above are exactly the same.

If you wish to pursue Honors in both majors, you must meet the full requirements of the Program for both. You will need two research projects with two Research Mentors, and a Faculty Sponsor in each department. You must take 8 units of H196 with each Sponsor and write two publishable papers. This kind of endeavor will almost certainly take two years to accomplish, so careful planning is a must.

Simultaneous Degree Students

Simultaneous Degree Students are welcome to pursue Honors in their CNR major, with all the same requirements and opportunities. However, only students whose home college is CNR can apply for SPUR funding for their Honors Program.

Spring 2008

View abstracts of all presentations

View photos from the Spring 2008 Honors Reception

Lucy H. Allen, Conservation and Resource Studies (ESPM)
Soil organic carbon dynamics across a gradient of earthworm invasion in a northern Michigan hardwood forest
Mentors: Professors Gordon Frankie and Margaret Torn

Aditi L. Ananth, Nutritional Sciences: Physiology and Metabolism (NST)
Phosphorylation and acetylation of USF-1 functions as a sensor for nutritional status
Mentor: Professor Hei Sook Sul

Barruch Ben-Zekry, Environmental Economics and Policy (ARE)
Effect on sales of popcorn from a "Seal of Approval" made on its nutrition claims
Mentor: Professor Sofia Villas-Boas

Pierre-Alain Blosse, Genetics and Plant Biology (GPB)
Toward development of a gene-targeting tool in wheat using maize AC/DS
Mentor: Professor Peggy G. Lemaux

Jessica A. Castillo, Conservation and Resource Studies (ESPM)
Endangered feces: An analysis of predator diet at Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Mentor: Professor Justin Brashares

Katherine Chadwick, Environmental Economics and Policy (ARE)
Market structure and consumer preferences for livestock products in Lao PDR
Mentor: Professor David Roland-Holst

Man Sharon Chan, Environmental Economics and Policy (ARE)
Land uses, planning and their environmental implications: the case of Hong Kong, China
Mentor: Professor Sofia Villas-Boas

Amanda Cocking, Conservation and Resource Studies (ESPM)
Establishing a suitable after-school garden club in an urban elementary school
Mentor: Professor Gordon Frankie

Ismael Corral Jr., Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Search for new alternative anti-epileptic drugs using the seizure model Drosophila
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye

Desirae Early, Environmental Economics and Policy (ARE)
Consumer demand for dish detergents: the influence of eco-labels, regional and household characteristics
Mentor: Professor Sofia Villas-Boas

Marissa Engleman, Conservation and Resource Studies (ESPM)
Hydroelectric Dams: conflicting interests along the Tana River, Kenya
Mentor: Professor Claudia J. Carr

Tay Feder, Environmental Economics and Policy (ARE)
An empirical comparison of net energy metering and feed-in tariffs for residential solar photovoltaic users
Mentors: Professors Alex Farrell and Larry Karp

Emily Fox, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Functional analysis of the Arabidopsis pollen receptor Kinase3 (PRK3) family during pollen tube growth
Mentor: Professor Sheila McCormick

Joel R. Gonzalez, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Expression apttern of EMF2-3XFLAG in Arabidopsis Thaliana
Mentor: Professor Z. Renee Sung

Fletcher Halliday, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Complex wetland interactions: How bird migration and habitat degradation mediate parasite dynamics in the marine snail Cerithidea californica
Mentors: Professors Wayne Sousa and Mark Tanouye

Zachary Hanna, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Phylogeography of the orange-crowned warbler (Vermivora celata)
Mentor: Professor Rosemary Gillespie

Claudia Henriquez, Genetics and Plant Biology (PMB)
Molecular and Morphological analysis of the Mexican Milla complex
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Specht

Yuen Wai Hung, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Development of a real-time PCR assay to quantitatively detect Chistosoma japonicum cercariae in water
Mentors: Professors Robert Spear, Public Health and Steven Lindow

John Ikeda, Nutritional Science (NST)
Effects of a high salt diet on the gut, visceral adiposity, and insulin resistance
Mentor: Dr. Mark Shigenaga, Sponsor: Professor Nancy Amy

Maxwell Jen, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Characterization of synapsin|CRE-LOXP transgenic mice construct
Mentors: Dr. Nele. Tamberg and Professor Nancy Amy

Min Kim, Genetics and Plant Biology (PMB)
The effect of the stage specific inhibition of EMF1
Mentor: Professor Renee Sung

Kourosh Kolahi, Microbial Biology (PMB)
Functions of specific genes in Caulobacter crescentus
Mentor: Professor Kathleen Ryan

Stanley Kwong, Microbial Biology (PMB)
Detecting the presence of BLV in beef and dairy products and testing their infectiousness toward human mammary epithelial cells
Mentors: Professors Gertrude Buehring and Kathleen Ryan

Laura Lagomarsino, Genetics and Plant Biology (PMB)
**Melis Medal Winner for Outstanding GPA and Honors Research
Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of Heliconia
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Specht

Lesley Lara, Molecular and Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Engineering novel gene-regulatory RNA aptamers
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye

Alexander Lau, Nutritional Sciences, Physiology and Metabolism (NST)
Non-random symbiotic interactions between nitrogen-fixing Brady Rhizobia and legume plants
Mentors: Professors Ellen Simms and Ben de Lumen

Angie Lee, Conservation Resource Studies & Forestry and Natural Resources (ESPM)
A comparative study of park usage in lawn versus woodland area in San Francisco Mountain Lake Park
Mentor: Professor Joe McBride

Kevin Lee, Conservation Resource Studies (ESPM)
Cellulosic ethanol: challenges in its venture (2008)
Mentor: Professor Lynn Huntsinger

Zuh Jyh Daniel Lin, Genetics and Plant Biology (PMB)
Agrobacterium mediated transient expression of pepper pathogen Xanthomonas campestris PV. Vesciatoria effectors on Nicotiana benthamiama detects non-host resistance
Mentor: Professor Brian J. Staskawicz

Spencer Lindsey, Microbial Biology (PMB)
Characterization of norflurazon sensitive Chlamydomonas reinhardtii insertional mutants
Mentor: Professor Krishna Niyogi

William Liu, Molecular Toxicology / Environmental Economics (NST)
In silico modeling of kinase binding in the context of the AKT/PI3K/MTOR pathway
Mentor: Professor Dale E. Johnson

Miguel A. Martínez-Romo, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Glycemic control among diabetes patients living in the bay area
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye

Kathryn McGown, Forestry and Natural Resources (ESPM)
**Melis Medal Winner for Outstanding GPA and Honors Research
Essense of Place: The lens through which you look determines what you will see
Mentor: Professor Jeff Romm

Michelle S. McKenney, Microbial Biology (PMB)
Detection and quanitification of shiga toxins from Escherichia coli 0157:H7
Mentors: Dr. Beatriz Quiñones, USDA and Professor Steven Lindow, PMB

Eva Montes, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Learning scientific inquiry through role playing
Mentors: Professors Barbara Y. White, School of Education and Mark Tanouye, ESPM

Miguel Padilla, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Molecular identification of the Drosophilia bang senseless (BSS) gene
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye

Katherine Saad, Environmental Sciences
Determining photosynthesis levels of wetland vegetation using high-resolution spectral reflectance data
Mentor: Professor Dennis Baldocchi

Peter Schulte, Conservation and Resource Studies (ESPM)
Examining aquaculture as a restoration tool for declining capture fisheries in Ghana
Mentor: Professor Justin Brashares

Rodolfo Silva, Molecular Toxicology (NST)
3, 3-Diindolymethane upregulates interferon gamma receptor expression in MCF-7 Breast cancer cells through the production of reactive oxygen species
Mentor: Professor Leonard Bjeldanes

Colin M. Sweeney, Environmental Economics & Policy (ARE)
The resource curse in Brazil
Mentor: Professor Elisabeth Sadoulet

Han-Qi Tan, Genetics and Plant Biology (PMB)
Improving the nutritional value of sorghum
Mentor: Professor Peggy G. Lemaux

Madison Thomson, Forestry and Natural Resources (ESPM)
Vegetative biomass, road surface deformation, and douglas-fir sapling growth on decommissioned haul roads in Mendocino County
Mentor: Professor Kevin O’Hara

Mayuko Totsuka, Conservation and Resource Studies (ESPM)
Environmental policy of Japanese Aid: Towards a sustainable agroecosystems in Bangladesh
Mentors: Professors Kate O’Neill and Claudia Carr

Linda Truong, Nutritional Science-Physiology and Metabolism (NST)
Body perception among Korean college females
Mentor: Professor Nancy K Amy

Anna Ward, Molecular Toxicology (NST)
Blockade of endocannabinoid metabolism leads to activation of the endocannabinoid system and modulation of arachidonic acid levels
Mentor: Professor John Casida

April Yang, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Development of rapid behavioural screen for novel antiepileptic drugs
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye

Angela Yu, Molecular Environmental Biology (ESPM)
Prevention of pancreatic ß-Cell lipotoxicity by inhibition of fatty acid transport proteins
Mentors: Professors Andreas Stahl and Melissa Kazantzis

Dawn X. Yu, Microbial Biology (PMB)
Cytokine production in raw 264.7 macrophages under presence of 3,3'-Diindolymethane
Mentor: Professor Leonard F. Bjeldanes, Sponsor: Professor Steven Lindow

Fall 2007

View photos from this symposium

Alexandra Liu, Molecular Environmental Biology
Effective Intellectual Property Protection: Why Such a Challenge for China?
Mentor: Professors David Winickoff & Brian Wright

Grayson Vincent, Environmental Economics & Policy
Impact of Water Transfer between the Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority on Migrant Labor.
Mentor: Professor David Sunding

Lisa Friedman, Conservation Resource Studies
Transformation of Banana Production in Costa Rica: Socioeconomic and Other Factors.
Mentor: Professors Carolyn Trist & Claire Kremen

Eric Meux, Environmental Economics & Policy
Water Poverty, Health, and Economic Development.
Mentor: Professor David Roland-Holst

Delicia Nahman, Conservation Resource Studies
Logging in Suriname: The Environmental, Social and Economic Effects of Global competition for natural resources within the context of Surinamese Development.
Mentor: Professor Claudia Carr

Aimee Sprague, Conservation Resource Studies
Evaluating the Role of Climate in Tree Growth in a Sierran Conifer Forest.
Mentor: Professor John Battles

Tim Jeong Ho Seo, Molecular Environmental Biology
Behavioral and Physiological Response of Hellgrammite, Neohermes filicornis (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) to Stream Drying and Desiccation.
Mentor: Professor Vince Resh

Victor Rodriguez, Molecular Toxicology
Expression of Estrogen Receptor-Alpha in Mammary Epithelial Cells of Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Unactivated C-Neu and Its Relationship to Onset of Cellular Senescence and Tumorigenesis.
Mentor: Dr. G. Shyamala & Professor Leonard Bjeldanes

**Amy Lin, Molecular Environmental Biology
Melis Medal Winner for Best Honors Presentation
Recombinant Neuropathy Target Esterase Protects Cells from Lysophosphatidylcholine-Induced Cytotoxicity.
Mentor: Professor John Casida

Jenna Hua, Nutritional Science & Toxicology Dept, Dietetics
California PLATE- Evaluating New Nutrition Education Curriculum to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.
Mentor: Professor Pat Crawford

Leonora Bittleston, Molecular Environmental Biology
Life Inside a Bug: The Pathogenic Bacterium BEV and its Leafhopper Host.
Mentor: Professor Rodrigo Almeida

**Kavita Rangan, Microbial Biology
Melis Medal Winner for Best Honors Research
Characterization of a Baculovirus Gene Involved in Nuclear Localization of Actin.
Mentor: Professors Matthew Welch & Loy Volkman

Shahrzad Abbassi-Rahbar, Molecular Environmental Biology
Role of Phospholipase D-mediated Signal Transduction in the Exposure of Phosphatidylserine (PS) in Red Blood Cells.
Mentor: Kitty DeJong & Professor Mark Tanouye

Spring 2007

View photos from this symposium

Judith Harwood, EEP
The Relationship Between Agricultural Support In the United States and Povery in Developing Countries
Mentor: Professor Larry Karp

Kyle Hubbard, EEP
Assessing California's Ethanol Future
Mentor: Professor David Sunding

Aminta Raffalovich, EEP
Atmosphere and Agriculture: A Survey of Research on Global Dimming and its Impacts
Mentor: Professor Maximilian Auffhammer

Laura Safdie, EEP
Barriers and Solutions for the California Water Market
Mentor: Professor Michael Hanemann

John Dingman, FNR
Improving Spatial Accuracy of VTM Plots at Mt. Diablo State Park
Mentor: Professor N. Maggi Kelly

Lisa Forma, CRS
Redesigning the Yellow Brick Road: Making the Right Choices for Road Closures and Restoration Projects in California Watersheds
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth W. Boyer

Danielle Fuchs, FNR
Strategies to Promote Old-Growth Giant Sequioa Stands: An Evaluation Of The Group Selection Approach
Mentor: Professor John Battles

Lauren Selman, CRS
Lights, Camera, Eco-Action: The Greening of the Motion Picture Industry
Mentor: Professor John Hurst

Stephanie Stephanie, NT-Toxicology
Mechanism Underlying Eye Elongation in Continuous Light
Mentor: Professor Christine Wildsoet

Ginevra Ryman, MEB
Investigating Species Richness Patterns of Terrestrial Mammals
Mentor: Professor Rosemary Gillespie

Samantha Weintraub, CRS
Nitrification in Model Grassland Ecosystems: Edaphic and Environmental Controls
Mentor: Professors Mary Firestone

Georgia Green, CRS
Investigating Microbial Communities Involving Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195, a Halorespiring Bacterium
Mentor: Professors Lisa Alvarez-Cohen and Mary Firestone

Kim Hung, MEB
Impact of Temperature on Maintenance of Gut-Associated Bacteria and Stinkbug Fitness
Mentor: Professor Rodrigo Almeida

Kenneth Takeoka, MB
Evaluating Fecundity in Neurospora
Mentor: Professor John Taylor

Michelle Bailey, CRS
Missing the Regenerative Pieces: Land Management in California's North Coast Forests
Mentor: Professor Claudia Carr

Hillary Cooper, MB
New Insights into the Evolutionary History of Ruscaceae
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Specht

Hong Dinh, NST-Physiology & Metabolism
Enchance of Anacardic Acid on Lunasin's Chemopreventative Properties
Mentor: Professor Ben O. de Lumen

Sankar Sridaran, MEB
The Labellum of Costus (Zingiberales) and the ABC Model of Floral Development
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Specht

Catherine Murray, MB
The Dual Use Dilemma: Microbes as Both Tools and Weapons
Mentor: Professor Dan Portnoy

Naz Nami, , MB
Induction of Resistance to Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus
Mentor: Professor Andew O. Jackson

Subhajit Poddar, MB
Characterization of Two Novel Carotenoid Biosynthesis Genes In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii
Mentor: Professor Krishna K. Niyogi

Leona D. Scanlan, Molecular Toxicology
Thymoquinone Toxicity in B16-F10 Murine Melanoma Cells
Mentor: Professor Isao Kubo

J. Scott Stevenson, MB
Genetic Characterization of the Dominant Rough Sheath4 Mutant in Maize (Zea Mays)
Mentor: Professor Sara Hake

Haleh Sakkaki, MEB
Breast Cancer Research
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye and Chris Vulpe

Rose Tran, MEB
The Potential Role of the Notch Pathway in the Reversion of Malignant Mammary Epithelia
Mentor: Professor Mark A. Tanouye

Sarah Daniels, MEB
Effects of Mainstream Tobacco Smoke Effects on the Function and Genetic Integrity of Mouse Sperm
Mentor: Professor Sally K. Fairfax

Sameen Ghazali, CRS
The Plight of A Predator: A Review of the Status and Future of International Shark Conservation
Mentor: Professor Roy Caldwell and Sally Fairfax

Daria Mazey, CRS/EEP
Public Transportation and Liveability in Los Angeles
Mentor: Professors Sally Fairfax and Karen Frick

Dorothy Kaslow, CRS
Air Pollutions Effect on Climate Change
Mentor: Professor Dennis Baldocchi