By Emma Wilson
After earning a chemical engineering degree from the University of California, San Diego in 2014, Andrew Wolff spent four years in the chemical industry before switching gears to wildlife management in Japan. Today, as a graduate student in environmental resources engineering [ERE] at Cal Poly Humboldt, Wolff is surveying community members through research on the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary — a wetland ecosystem that is also a wastewater treatment system. His thesis integrates his diverse experiences, from engineering to wildlife conservation, to explore how this unique marsh not only enhances water quality but also provides critical environmental and community benefits.
Wolff found out about the ERE program and the Arcata Marsh through a YouTube video and reached out to Cal Poly Humboldt while he was in Nagano, Japan working on bear management. He began his graduate studies in Fall 2022 and plans to complete his grad program this fall.
Tesfa Yacob, an associate professor at Cal Poly Humboldt, helped Wolff transition into the program and introduced him to the Arcata Marsh Research Institute. Wolff was inspired by his own previous experiences in chemical engineering and wildlife management, which shaped his current research focus. Wolff’s initial thesis concept was to list beneficial uses of the Arcata Marsh, which evolved into a comprehensive project involving data analysis and community engagement.
“My project was a big meta-analysis of what’s been done at the marsh,” Wolff said. “Bringing it all together, and making it make sense for everyone that involves water quality, the wastewater treatment, and habitat creation.”
Andrew explains his motivation to pursue a master’s in engineering is driven by his dislike for the environmental impact of the chemical industry. He was impressed by the Arcata Marsh treatment system, especially its integration of wildlife habitat creation and wastewater treatment.
“I really respected wildlife management, the job I did, and the people like my director there — his passions about wildlife, like bear management — I really respected that,” Wolff said. “All those experiences kind of shaped me into what I’m studying right now. When I first started working at the Arcata Marsh Research Institute, I was just trying to figure out what I wanted to do first.”