Biology Student Receives Research Scholarship Named After CSUSB Professor

Colleagues at Cal State San Bernardino recall biology professor Richard Fehn as a caring and dedicated instructor known for his passion for teaching and his commitment to student research. Fehn, who died in 2007, was remembered in a way that fellow faculty members in the CSUSB biology department felt would best pay tribute to him – the awarding of the inaugural Richard Fehn Memorial Scholarship in early December. “The scholarship was created to help meet the cost of education for CSUSB biology students who have demonstrated a commitment to biological research,” said Mike Chao, the chair and professor in the CSUSB biology department. The inaugural scholarship was awarded to Lowell Iporac, a biology major with a 3.8 grade point average and an impressive record of research, said Chao, who added that Iporac’s goal is to pursue a doctorate in ecology and marine biology. “Lowell has one of the stronger records of academic achievement among undergraduates within the biology department,” Chao said. “But perhaps more impressive, above and beyond his classroom accomplishments, is Lowell's self-initiative and success at seeking out 'hands-on' research opportunities to nourish his remarkable curiosity and to further his career goals.” “Astoundingly, Lowell has been involved in four separate and substantive field research projects during his short time as a CSUSB undergraduate,” Chao said. “Lowell is certainly a worthy nominee for the Richard Fehn Scholarship in biology.” Iporac’s research projects include: • A summer field study in 2013 on the San Andreas Fault system. The results were presented at the Southern California Earthquake Center in Palm Springs that fall; • A National Science Foundation-Research Experiences for Undergraduates-funded research fellowship in 2014 to study the effects of sea water sulfide on intertidal eelgrass ecology in Washington State's Puget Sound. Iporac presented this work at the CSUSB Biology Student Colloquium and again for the Southern California Conference of Undergraduate Research in Whittier, Calif., in fall of 2014; • A multiple-site field study in winter 2015 quarter, designed to examine field temperature effects on the competitive ability of two California invasive grass species. This work was presented at the CSUSB Meeting of the Minds conference in spring of 2015; and • A multiple-site field study in summer 2015 study of eelgrass community ecology in southern, central and northern coastal California. This work was presented at the Western Society of Naturalists meeting in Sacramento in November. “I am really thankful and honored to receive the Richard Fehn Scholarship,” Iporac said. “I feel that all my hard work has paid off. This will give me a leg-up and allow me to pursue my own dreams.” Iporac said that he will most likely use the funds to conduct more research. The presentation was made on Dec. 4 and attended by Kirsten Fleming, dean of the CSUSB College of Natural Sciences; Jeff Thompson, dean CSUSB Graduate Studies; and the current biology faculty along with about 60 students during the CSUSB Biology Student Research Colloquium on campus. Fehn, who died of prostate cancer, was named CSUSB’s Outstanding Professor in 2004. He taught physiology, anatomy, endocrinology, and cellular and developmental biology. He also served as chair of the biology department. One of Fehn’s chief areas of research involved diabetes and its relation to thyroid hormones and obesity. He also mentored at least 87 undergraduate and graduate students and he continued to mentor those graduates as they pursued their research, published their work and moved into fellowship positions in their fields. Fehn, who was raised in Fontana and later lived in Highland, was a CSUSB alum, graduating from the university with a bachelor’s degree in 1974 and a master’s degree in 1978, both in biology . He received his doctorate degree in animal physiology from the University of Arizona.