MSI, a new model created to address critical issues facing Oregon and the globe, is strengthened by long-term, highly interdisciplinary research conducted by three AES research units: the Seafood Laboratory in Astoria (established in 1940), the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, and the Marine Mammal Institute.
http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/winter-2015/osu%E2%80%99s-marine-studies-initiative
Hatfield Student Organization works to expand educational experiences and increase professional development through fundraising and research activities. They raised over $3,600 for the Samaritan Foundation Patient Support Fund.
Provost Hiring Initiative funding provided the College with 5 new faculty positions in addition to 7 new positions funded by AgSci to strengthen programs across the state. Among the new hires are:
AgSci helped lead the Statewide Public Service Programs’ successful bid for $14 million additional funds to support up to 40 new positions and stimulate new research and extension projects across the state. The new funding package increases the programs’ base budget to $118 million.
Research at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center and experimental plots near campus continue to provide important R&D for the rapidly growing organic blueberry industry, which increased from 2 percent of Oregon’s blueberry market to 20 percent in the past 8 years.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/exploding_blueberry_industry_p.html
Robin Rosetta (North Willamette Research and Extension Center) has been working with collaborators to develop laser-guided spray equipment that reduces the volume of pesticides used on nursery and orchard crops by up to 77%.
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/marion/new-intelligent-sprayer-lowers-pesticide-use-farms
John Selker will use NSF funding to collect thermal data using drones in atmospheric zones that have been hard to study until now.
http://www.soaroregon.com/osu-uses-unmanned-aircraft-to-take-temperatures-up-in-the-air/
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has received a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to improve the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM fields.
The program will benefit underrepresented minorities, women, and economically disadvantaged individuals, and help address a growing national need for workers trained in STEM disciplines.
Targeted at students in the colleges of science, engineering, and agricultural sciences, the OSU program will use methods proven to increase STEM success, such as small, cohort-based orientation courses; mentoring by student peers; and workshops given by upper-class STEM students.
Faculty-directed undergraduate research in the freshman and early sophomore years, and the immediate post-transfer year for community college students, will also help provide students with enriching experiences that increase learning and provide economic support to help disadvantaged students remain in school.
The program is designed to benefit 276 student participants over its five-year span, and will be evaluated and communicated to other universities, for them to benefit by replicating its successes.
“This should also help build a structure, design and institutional culture of support for STEM students that will be retained long after the funding has ended,” said Kevin Ahern, principal investigator on the grant and a leader in university efforts to get more undergraduate students involved in experiential learning.
Ann Bernert, a BioResource Research and International Studies major, was recently appointed the National Director of the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS). Bernert is the president of the OSU’s IAAS Chapter and hopes to pursue a doctorate in either Plant Pathology or Entomology. Having a strong interest in international affairs, Ann has studied abroad in Thailand, Italy, Chile and Costa Rica. She also has strong research interests and is completing her undergraduate thesis concerning agriculturally significant insects and microbial interactions.