Wicked Problems
An Interdisciplinary Project
Spring 2025
Produced by Students in the Interdisciplinary Studies,
Individualized Degree Program (IDP) at Cal Poly Humboldt
Embedded Files
"Interdisciplinarity is a path to take when we are confronted with phenomena that cannot be understood from one discipline alone, and only yield their secrets and fascinations when approached with new tools and from new perspectives that derive their methods from more than one discipline."
(Rényi 2000: 41)
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt
Welcome to the Wicked Problems Project!
Wicked problems are complex issues that resist straightforward solutions due to their interconnected nature, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Whether it's climate change, homelessness, mental health, or bias in artificial intelligence (AI), these problems defy simple solutions because they are shaped by countless variables and often lack clear boundaries.
No single discipline holds the key to addressing wicked problems. Instead, it requires a collaborative effort that draws on insights from various fields—science, humanities, social sciences, and more. By integrating diverse perspectives, knowledge, and methodologies, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of wicked problems and develop holistic solutions that consider their interconnected nature.
Through this project, students in the Interdisciplinary Studies - Individualized Degree Program (IDP) at Cal Poly Humboldt explore a range of wicked problems, examining them from multiple disciplinary angles. The aim of the project is to expand understanding and showcase the power of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing the challenges of our time.
Click on the titles below to explore
Click on the titles below to explore
by Marc A Tager
by Marc A Tager
In rural Covelo, California, food insecurity is not just a matter of empty shelves; it is the visible symptom of a deeper structural failure. Encircled by mountains and long neglected by policy and infrastructure investment, Covelo exists at the intersection of geographic isolation, economic disinvestment, and cultural erasure. This visual storytelling project explores the systemic nature of food insecurity through twenty detailed images, including maps, data charts, and on-the-ground testimony. Each image serves as a “thread” in Covelo’s fraying web of support from collapsing supply chains and shuttered grocery stores to underfunded healthcare and Indigenous food systems under threat. Drawing on data from the USDA, CDC, and firsthand accounts, the project argues that rural hunger is not random, it is structured. This work calls for culturally responsive, place-based interventions that prioritize Indigenous leadership and local food sovereignty. By mapping Covelo’s broken web, the project makes visible the complex, interwoven forces that shape rural vulnerability—and suggests how those threads might be rewoven into a net of resilience.
by Andrew Edwards
by Andrew Edwards
I decided to do my project on the issues with buy now pay later and how we as interdisciplinaries are able to help the issues caused by these payment plans. Issues such as late bills due to lack of funds or compounding interest that drowns people in a crippling title wave of debt. Through research and just general findings my goal is to educate people and to be able to help people who struggle with these types of financial undertakings. These have been problems since the beginning of the United States and even banking as a concept. However even with the advances in learning technology people still fall into the trap with ignorance that the buy now pay later apps are the latest ones to exploit. Something that with some time patients and most importantly an education can be overcome. Allowing less people to struggle keeping themselves afloat in these trying times.
by Siobhan Tierney
by Siobhan Tierney
Queer erasure is an active worldview married to the politics of respectability, whereby communities actively mute the whole voice of a people who are deemed less than respectable. This erasure has real world complications and leads to rewritten histories, burned books, and often violent extremes to erase queerness from contemporary spaces. How does one tackle an issue like queer erasure? In our study we use insights from history, literary analysis, and archival sciences to first and foremost understand erasure as a wicked problem before tying the disciplines together to see what can be done about it.
by Pam Ferdinand
by Pam Ferdinand
Imagine being the last of your people, the last speaker of your language. With your death, the chapter on thousands of years of history, culture, and experience closes. The death of a language is like the extinction of a species—an irreplaceable loss that affects identity, cultural expression, and wellbeing. Every language is the key to a world, yet thousands are endangered. In Alaska, 20 Native languages reflect a 10,000-year-old history. Now, two are extinct, and nearly all of those remaining have only a few fluent speakers left.
This presentation explores the causes and consequences of language loss, focusing on Native Alaskan languages as a global case study. I examine the efforts of communities, linguists, governments, and advocates to reverse this decline. From immersion schools to digital dictionaries and legislation, revitalization requires an interdisciplinary approach, and progress is being made.
Still, much work remains. Up to 90% of the world’s languages may disappear this century. Time is urgent—but there is hope. Through purposeful, cross-disciplinary action, we may be able to rewrite the future for some of these threatened and irreplaceable gems.
by Dagmar Ramirez Arroyo
by Dagmar Ramirez Arroyo
This podcast I present to you will address mental health and safety concerns among truck drivers, due to their multifaceted nature and interconnected challenges. This issue involves both mental health challenges that can impair driving safety and safety concerns that can contribute to mental health issues. Addressing this requires a multi-pronged approach that includes raising awareness, providing education, creating support systems, and implementing regulatory changes. Truck drivers frequently operate under tight delivery schedules, which can be stressful, especially when compounded by unpredictable road conditions, traffic, and weather. This constant stress can take a toll, leading to burnout and anxiety. We will also see firsthand experiences through a company with Arroylogistics LLC, to tell us how some truck drivers go about their day and what safety measures are in place. I believe there is good in regulating the mental stability and physical health of a driver, for it can be super beneficial for them in completing tasks.
by Kelsie Kieffaber
by Kelsie Kieffaber
This project explores how social, economic, political and environmental elements are all connected in the study of environmental sociology in low income communities. These communities face unequal environmental challenges like pollution, poor infrastructure and vulnerability to climate change. There are more fast food restaurants, liquor stores, and gas stations selling tobacco and alcohol products than there are in a wealthy neighborhood. In order to face this problem, it needs to be looked at from multiple angles by combining sociology, economics, environmental science, urban planning and public health. This is a problem that doesn’t have a simple solution and requires long term, layered approaches to find a solution.
by Heidi Grantham
by Heidi Grantham
California is a special place. We have easy access to the mountains and the ocean in the same day. We can be in a big city or the middle of nowhere in a few hours. California also has a unique problem that can be found in just a handful of places globally. The problem? We house areas of Fire, Seismic, and Wildland Urban Interface overlap. This is where we have forest and houses in an urban area that also reside on or very near fault lines. This creates the need for all homes to be built or retrofitted to be fire-resistant and earthquake-resistant. Low and no-cost measures can take place; these measures are helpful, but to be significantly safer, full retrofits need to be done. Not just that, but we need to identify the highest risk areas first and start in those communities.
by Josiah Sanders
by Josiah Sanders
This photo essay explores the increasing impact of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest—specifically in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California—through an interdisciplinary lens. Wildfires in this region have grown more frequent and destructive due to climate change, forest mismanagement, and expanding development. This wicked problem affects not only ecosystems but also public health, Indigenous sovereignty, and local economies.
To understand this issue more fully, the project incorporates perspectives from environmental science, public health, sociology, and economics. Each discipline offers unique insights—like the ecological importance of prescribed burns, the mental and physical health toll of wildfire smoke, the value of Indigenous fire stewardship, and the skyrocketing costs of fire-related damages.
Using the metaphor of a “web of dry tinder,” the project shows how fire risk is deeply interconnected with human systems and natural forces. The photo essay emphasizes the need for community-centered solutions, greater investment in prevention, and long-term collaboration across sectors. Ultimately, it argues that only through interdisciplinary thinking can we begin to untangle the complexities of wildfire risk and resilience.
by Sadie Hine
by Sadie Hine
This photo essay explores the role of photography in science communication with an emphasis on biodiversity loss. In order to combat biodiversity loss, a wide audience needs to become engaged with their local ecosystems. Photography can be used as a tool to draw awareness, create engagement and effectively educate others, fueling citizen science and uplifting conservation initiatives. This piece specifically focuses on stories found in Humboldt County, showcasing unique species and ecosystems that tend to be overlooked. Local examples are provided of small and large scale biodiversity loss affecting our nearby ecosystems, giving insight to how visual imagery can be used within our community.
by Hannah Lipski
by Hannah Lipski
Everyone is chasmed earth side with a long lineage of codes souped into something very You. Brewed with epigenetic flavours; perceived in various formulas of strengths and setbacks…depending on who you talk to; some will celebrate your strengths other your “setbacks.”
Everyone’s unique and no one's special.
One of my “specials” or ~ unique-yet-not-alone-in-it but rare nonetheless flavour gifts from the ancestors.. is manic depression; or bipolar 1.
by Brandon Johnson
by Brandon Johnson
My wicked problem is the effects of sudden oak death on the forests of the pacific northwest. Both evaluating what can be done and the ethical implications of human impact on the ecosystem. The significance of this problem is that it poses a significant economic and ecological challenge for forest management as the demographics of the forests are undergoing serious change. Along with the impacts on people and the environment I would also like to discuss the ethical considerations that come along with humans trying to save a species from extinction. Having reached a point in our evolution where we have become the masters of our environment, we must begin evaluating the ethics of becoming the caretakers of nature. Do we truly have the authority to determine which species deserves to live.
by Gia Gruenhagen
by Gia Gruenhagen
Homelessness is an issue that many have come to know one way or another. The stigma surrounding homelessness makes it increasingly difficult to get these people the mental and physical help they need, as well as being able to find and secure a job or a safe place to live. Through the scope of multiple disciplines, we can gain a better understanding of how we can help those experiencing homelessness and put an end to this wicked problem.
by Sophia Stone
by Sophia Stone
I am Sophia Stone, an Interdisciplinary Student who is creating a degree aimed at the study of Tibetan Buddhism. The wicked problem I am addressing is the wicked problem of suffering, all of it, as a whole. This problem is significant as it is the driving force for all other wicked problems, at least from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the interdisciplinary lens that I’ll be drawing from in this recording, with the overwhelming help of my friend and mentor, Jack deTar. Really, Jack is leading this discussion as I am just facilitating a framework for it. Tibetan Buddhism in itself is a multidisciplinary study and not as singular as it may seem. It is difficult to explain why, in such a short amount of time, even spending a few minutes trying to explain why suffering is a wicked problem is challenging, but this is a wicked problem that pervades all beings throughout all of time, so it is an unspeakably interdisciplinary pursuit to address it. The more we learn about our own suffering and open ourselves up to the possibility that it neither needs to be eradicated nor accepted as a part of ourselves, but merely a condition arising from causes that we do can in fact understand and change, itt becomes clearer just how applicable this is to all and everyone, with no exception, which is what interdisciplinarity means to me.
by Ro R Meisler
by Ro R Meisler
This project analyzed the numerous overlapping factors at play in the wicked problem of food insecurity, examining socioeconomic factors such as the imbalanced impacts of city policy and access to public land on impoverished people, and ecological / chemical factors like soil health and access to clean water. My research assessed some of the reasons why it is such a monolithic, difficult problem to even begin to solve, but moved on to focus on solutions and sources of hope, including education on land stewardship and nutrition, as well as spreading awareness of already-existing solutions found throughout the world such as the creation of micro-economies through urban street vendors.
by Elise Fero
by Elise Fero
In this podcast, the topic of poaching is introduced alongside multiple disciplines like zoology, botany, wildlife conservation, and economics to further understand and find a solution(s) to this wicked problem. There is no one single solution because poaching occurs all over the globe in many different ecosystems and different communities. Research in this podcast comes from Indonesia, Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, and even the old-growth redwood forests. Understanding the complex relationship between poaching, society, and the environment are essential to finding solutions for everyone involved.
by Chris Koier
by Chris Koier
California in the Crosshairs – Episode 1: Trinity River at a Crossroads explores one of California’s most overlooked yet consequential water systems. Framed through Indigenous knowledge and engineering analysis, the podcast blends lived experience with technical insight to examine the urgent challenges facing the Trinity River. Dr. Kaitlin Reed provides a cultural and public health lens, while Tom Stokely outlines structural risks—from failed temperature protections to dam failure scenarios. The project integrates environmental science, Indigenous studies, engineering, and public policy to address a deeply interconnected “wicked problem.” By weaving these threads into a unified narrative, the episode shows why the river’s fate matters statewide—and globally—and calls for interdisciplinary, community-driven solutions.
by Ranika K Valenzuela
by Ranika K Valenzuela
My wicked problem is on identifying and informing (and perhaps even caring for) students with invisible divergences, primarily in elementary school. Or alternatively about screening kids in schools and catching issues earlier. Its crazy how many individuals go through life not knowing that something their body or brain does is not something the majority experience or suffer from. Its aggravating how many know that something is off but either can't word it or can't get anyone to listen, if there are even resources to do something available. Here is my suggestion on how, and the how or why I got there.
Wicked Problem Ryanna Ham.webmby Ryanna Ham
by Ryanna Ham
This narrated video essay discusses the wicked problem of the sustainability of urban infrastructure on American transportation. It discusses the general car dependency in America, and how deeply rooted this issue is in the US. This issue is unsustainable for the current populus of American cities, and only continues to grow and worsen as population increases. It is necessary to view this issue in an interdisciplinary framework due to the socio-economic, political, environmental, financial, racist, and ableist nature of car dependency. There are also negative impacts on mental health for the majority that are affected by this issue. The infrastructure of cities in America puts cars first, not people. This is incredibly disadvantageous for the people who live in America–leaving nearly half without reliable transportation. An interdisciplinary perspective allows more accurate analysis and evaluation of this problem. This, in turn, creates better solutions to address and solve the sustainability of infrastructure on transportation in America.
by Carson Wilson
by Carson Wilson
This audio podcast explores the concern of microplastic contamination within California's drinking water sources, tracing the journey of the minuscule plastic fragments from larger debris into the state's waterways and highlighting the potential threats they pose. The podcast describes how California was the first state to mandate microplastic testing through the landmark Senate Bill 1422. It further examines the collaborative and interdisciplinary research initiatives aimed at comprehensively understanding the presence, characteristics, and behavior of these pollutants within California's water systems. It brings together disciplines of engineering and science as if they were a hammer and nail, both different but needed together to finish a project. Additionally, the podcast addresses the evolving understanding of potential public health implications, emphasizing the lack of data to accurately assess exposure levels and long-term health consequences. It stresses the critical and ongoing need for sustained monitoring efforts, the development and implementation of advanced water treatment technologies, the adoption of effective source reduction strategies, and the cultivation of public awareness to proactively mitigate this emerging environmental challenge and ensure the continued safety of California's drinking water supply.
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