Directory

Faculty

Jean Moran

Professor & Chair

Isotope Hydrology, Contaminant Transport

North Science 336A

(510) 885-2491

jean.moran@csueastbay.edu | Faculty Profile

Dr. Jean Moran's research focuses on applying naturally-occurring and introduced isotopes to examine geochemical and transport processes during recharge and groundwater transport. Over the last 20 years, she has led numerous projects on groundwater recharge and contamination vulnerability, water quality including fate and transport of nitrate, and surface water-groundwater interaction under the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment program sponsored by the California State Water Resources Control Board. Dr. Moran has a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Rochester, Bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Geology from the University of Rochester and a Master’s degree in Geophysics from the University of Washington. She has been an author on more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. Graduate and undergraduate students are fully integrated in the research group she leads, and carry out field work, laboratory analyses, GIS, and data interpretation.

Dr. Mitch Craig

Professor

North Science 351

(510) 885-3425

mitchell.craig@csueastbay.edu | Faculty Profile

Mitchell Craig is a Professor of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He teaches courses in Applied Geophysics, Near Surface Geophysics, Exploration Seismology, Geographic Information Systems, and Natural Disasters.

He uses geophysical methods to study sedimentary environments. Current projects include earthquake hazard assessment in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and geophysical imaging of lake deposits in a mountain meadow in the Sierras.

Jeff Seitz

Emeritus Professor

North Science 331

jeff.seitz@csueastbay.edu | Faculty Profile

Dr. Seitz’s professional activity has focused on STEM education and molecular astrobiology. He has led numerous projects in STEM education developing K-12 science curricula, providing professional development services, and assisting with the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards. His research in molecular astrobiology focuses on experimentally determining the thermodynamic properties of organic and biomolecules in order to improve prediction methods that can be used to develop a chemical model for the origin of life. He has been the author on 30 peer-reviewed articles and has been the principal investigator on nearly $24 million in grants. He joined the faculty in 1997 and served as department chair and associate vice president for research and sponsored programs at CSUEB. Dr. Seitz has his A.B. and A.M. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. in Geosciences from Virginia Tech. He was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Distinguished Post-doctoral Research Fellowship at Oak Ridge National Lab.

Luther Strayer

Associate Professor

North Science 353

(510) 885-3083

luther.strayer@csueastbay.edu

Luther Strayer is a structural geologist. His research is currently focused on seismic surveying in local fault zones including the Hayward and Chabot faults.

Patty Oikawa

Assistant Professor

Biogeochemistry, Greenhouse Gas Measurements

North Science 350

(510) 885-4068

patty.oikawa@csueastbay.edu | Website | Faculty Profile

Dr. Patty Oikawa specializes in biogeochemistry and greenhouse gas measurements. She is currently studying how wetland restoration in the Bay Area and Sacramento Delta can be used to mitigate climate change. Dr. Oikawa received her B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at UC Santa Barbara before moving to the east coast for graduate school. She received her PhD in Biology from the University of Virginia in 2011 on trace gas emissions from leaves and plant carbon cycling. She then moved back to California for a postdoctoral position at UC Riverside where she studied nitrogen oxide emissions from high temperature agricultural systems and how they influence air quality. Finally, Dr. Oikawa received a USDA Postdoctoral Fellowship to measure and model greenhouse gas exchange in restored wetlands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta at UC Berkeley. She joined the Cal State East Bay faculty in 2016 and is currently accepting undergraduate and graduate students in her lab. Please contact her for more information.

Emilio Grande

Assistant Professor

North Science 352

(510) 885-3433

emilio.grande@csueastbay.edu | Website

Dr. Emilio Grande (he/him/his) studies hydrology and biochemistry from catchment headwater to coastal groundwater. He is interested in understanding how rainfall becomes runoff. The pathways water takes through landscapes and the biogeochemical implications of these pathways from headwater catchments to the coastal ocean. He integrates field and quantitative analyses to investigate rainfall-runoff relationships and surface water- groundwater exchanges across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales and environmental settings. He uses and integrates knowledge from several disciplines to address the numerous challenges at the terrestrial-marine interface. Currently, these challenges include hydrology, remote sensing, and biogeochemistry. In the future, he intends to grow his research efforts to include related socio-economic issues in his investigation. Dr. Grande is a CSUEB alumnus. He received a B.S. and a M.S. in Geology from the Earth and Environmental Sciences department in 2017 and 2019, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2022. He is always looking for interested undergraduate and graduate students. Contact him for more information.
Twitter: @egrandeHYDRO

Staff

Stephanie Gunter

Department Technician

North Science 341

(510) 885-3440

stephanie.gunter@csueastbay.edu

Stephanie Gunter is the Instructional Support Technician for the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at Cal State East Bay. She got her start at Oberlin College, where she earned her Bachelor's in Biology and Environmental Studies in 2018. Later, she went on to complete her Master's in Biology at University of Dayton in 2021. Ever since she was a child, she always loved animals, and wanted to learn more about the natural environment. Her most recent interest has been insects and habitat restoration, which was the focus of her thesis at UD. In the future, she hopes to work with insect collections in a museum setting. Her current favorite insects are the hemipterans (aka true bugs), so you can talk to her if you'd like to learn more!

Stephanie is thrilled to be working for the EES Department here! This is her first time living in California, so she is looking forward to learning about the local environment and geology while supporting the department however she can. In her spare time, she loves to go walking or running, playing games, drawing, and baking bread.

Karina Mendez Martinez

Administrative Support Coordinator

North Science 329

karina.mendezmartinez@csueastbay.edu

Karina Mendez is the Administrative Support Coordinator of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department. She is an alum at East Bay, where she received her BA in Sociology and Minored is Spanish. She is currently studying for her Masters Degree in School Counseling at California State University East Bay. She identifies as a Latina and enjoys spending her spare time with her family.

Lecturers

Kelly Decker

Lecturer of Earth and Environmental Sciences

South Science 303C

kelly.decker@csueastbay.edu

Gita Dunhill

Lecturer of Earth and Environmental Sciences

North Science 329

(510) 885-3486

gita.dunhill@csueastbay.edu

Dr. Gita Dunhill is a marine geologists whose interests range from climate records to general oceanography. Gita has participated in many scientific cruises in and around the Arctic region obtaining sediment cores to reconstruct past climates and changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet.

She teaches a variety of courses including sedimentology/stratigraphy, geomorphology, oceanography, global change, and Hands on Science Teaching. In addition to teaching undergraduate courses, she is involved in conducting workshops for middle school teachers looking to include global change into their curriculum. This work combines her passion for the Arctic, climate change, and teaching.

Dr. Dunhill received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado, Boulder after completing a M.S. at CSU East Bay focused on sea ice.