Attention faculty, postdocs, and PhD candidates: the Willamette University Chemistry Department is looking for a Visiting Assistant Professor.
This position will provide in-depth undergraduate teaching experience at a prestigious liberal arts college. If chosen, you will start in August 2026 and work for one year. However, the assignment is potentially renewable for up to three years. Please visit the Application Portal to learn more about the position and to submit your application.
The Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University (OSU) invites applications for a full-time (1.00 FTE) Instructor and Academic Advisor position. This is a unique dual-role appointment combining undergraduate chemistry instruction (0.6 FTE, 9-month) with academic advising (0.4 FTE, 12-month) to support a large and diverse undergraduate chemistry program.
The teaching appointment (60%, 9-month) is a renewable, fixed-term position with opportunities for advancement to Senior Instructor ranks and leadership roles at the department or university level. Large-enrollment courses include strong TA support. Instructors have access to existing course materials and work within coordinated teaching teams. OSU also provides strong instructional support through the Center for Teaching and Learning, including faculty learning communities, workshops, consultations, and access to professional development funding.
The advising appointment (40%, 12-month) is a renewable, fixed-term position with potential opportunities for advancement to a higher advisor position and leadership roles at the department or university level. The Academic Advisor monitors student progress, engages students in goal-setting and academic planning, and supports retention and degree completion for OSU’s diverse undergraduate chemistry population. Proactive outreach and use of OSU’s advising systems are central to this role.
Our department is a collaborative, inclusive, and highly collegial teaching community where instructors are valued partners in shaping the success of our large and diverse undergraduate population. We strongly encourage applications from candidates with a genuine commitment to both student learning and student success.
Full consideration deadline: May 22, 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted after the full consideration date until a sufficient applicant pool has been achieved or the position is filled. References will be requested for finalists only.
Full posting: jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/179854
For additional information contact: Paula Christie – Paula.Christie@oregonstate.edu
Oregon State University is a leading public research institution committed to teaching excellence, innovation, and inclusivity. Corvallis is a welcoming, vibrant college town in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, offering a high quality of life, a strong sense of community, and easy access to forests, mountains, and the coast.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability, protected veteran, and other protected status. OSU is a fair chance employer committed to inclusive hiring.
Attention grad students and postdocs: the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship will start accepting applications on May 29th, 2026!
This fellowship program is open to early-career postdoctoral fellows and senior graduate students performing chemistry-focused research or creating instrumentation related to chemistry research. Awardees will earn $224,000 across the next two years of their work, with a supplemental cash reward of up to $200,000 for instrumentation fellowships.
The deadline to submit your letter of intent is September 4th, 2026.
Visit the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship webpage to learn more, including who is eligible, how the award works, and how you can apply.
You have a chance to work with well-renowned scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)! Researchers at the LANL’s Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) Division are interested in collaborating on projects involving:
Those interested in this opportunity should email Nikki Rak (Nikki.Rak@oregonstate.edu) and let the College of Science know that they would like to take part.
In the email, please include:
Please send this email to Nikki Rak by 10:00am on May 5th, 2026.
LANL will be meeting with the Oregon State University Division of Research and Innovation (DRI) from 1:00pm to 2:00pm on Wednesday, May 6th. At this meeting, Executive Associate Dean Vrushali A. Bokil will work alongside other Associate Deans for Research to find potential matches between OSU faculty and LANL researchers. If you would like to sit in on this meeting, you are welcome to do so.
Three new funding opportunities are now available for full-time faculty with teaching responsibilities. The OSU Center for Teaching and Learning is offering awards through their Teaching Mini-Grants, Faculty Teaching Fellowshipsand Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Scholars programs. If you’re interested, submit a proposal to the Office of Academic Faculty Excellence by Monday, May 18th, 2026.
If you have any questions, reach out to Ashley Holmes (ashley.holmes@oregonstate.edu).
You can find out more about the possibilities mini-grants offer at the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Quality Teaching Symposium on Tuesday, April 28th, 2026.
Department of Chemistry faculty have the opportunity to get research funding through the W.M. Keck Foundation! The foundation is currently accepting proposals until May 15th, 2026. If you would like to submit a proposal, please talk with Executive Associate Dean Vrushali A. Bokil about your proposal and the associated cost matching by May 8th, 2026. Contact Nikki Rak to set up an appointment with Vrushali A. Bokil. Check out the W.M. Keck Foundation – Call for Concept Papers for more information.
Friday, October 4, 2024 marked the date of the Chemistry Department’s Fall Gathering. A time where we gather as colleagues to recognize and award the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff over the last academic year. This year’s winners were:
Milton Harris Faculty Teaching Award
This award is to recognize outstanding teaching as indicated by teaching evaluations and strong, positive comments from students.
–Dipankar Koley
“I am deeply honored to receive the Milton Harris Faculty Teaching Award from the Department of Chemistry. With heartfelt gratitude, I look forward to continuing this journey of teaching and scientific exploration in chemistry with the next generation of chemists.” –Dipankar Koley
James H Krueger Faculty Teaching Award
This award is given in recognition of an instructor’s ability to provide an effective environment for learning as well as a sustained dedication to our teaching program.
–Amila Liyanage
“I am deeply honored to receive the James H. Krueger Faculty Teaching Award and grateful for the recognition of my commitment to providing an effective environment for learning. This motivates me to continue delivering impactful educational experiences for all my students. Teaching is always a collaborative effort – I sincerely appreciate the incredible support of my colleagues on the teaching teams, my dedicated teaching assistants, and the hardworking lab staff members. Kudos to them as well!” –Amila Liyanage
Staff Service Award
The Staff Service Award is presented to a staff member who continually goes above and beyond the call of duty in performing their job. Their hard work and dedication to the department are part of what makes the chemistry department such a unique place to work.
–Loren Johnson
“I felt flattered. Receiving it among friends in an informal setting toned down my shy introvert self and made the experience enjoyable.” –Loren Johnson
Outstanding Faculty Service Award
Beginning in the Fall of 2022, this award is presented to an outstanding faculty member in recognition of their hard work for the department above and beyond that of the job description.
–David “Xiulei” Ji
“It is my great honor to receive this award. Our department is home to excellent work that is changing the world. We are on our way to earning a reputation on par with our fantastic work.” –David “Xiulei” Ji
Length of Service Award
The Length of Service Award was started in Fall of 2022 to honor our staff who have stayed with our department for multiple years.
–Paul Blakemore (20 years)
–Paula Christie (15 years)
Phoebe Lee was born in China, but immigrated young and grew up in Portland, OR where she attended Clackamas High School. She applied as a chemistry undergrad because she enjoyed the chemistry courses in high school. As she studied chemistry further in college, she loved chemistry for its versatility and complexity. Oregon State University has a strong research-oriented science program. Knowing she wanted to major in chemistry, accessible research experience in invaluable. Plus, the campus is beautiful, and allows her to stay close to her family and friends. She is currently performing research in OSU’s Mass Spectrometry Center with Dr. Maier’s group under guidance from a graduate mentor. Currently, they are using mass spectrometry and imaging technology to analyze brain tissues of mice with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). By charactering the lipid profile of mice brains, they hope to identify significant lipid biomarkers for pre-symptomatic AD diagnosis. She got into research through OSU’s STEM Leaders Program her freshman year. It matched me with Dr. Maier’s lab, and she’s been researching since! She wants to continue in higher education. Graduate school is the goal, but ultimately she plans to join industry. Reading is her favorite past time. She also enjoys being outdoors, practicing music, and spending time with her friends and family. Her favorite book is All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. With the weather getting warmer, her favorite food is tending towards cold, fresh fruit. Her favorite fruit during the summer is Hami melon (like a cantaloupe but oblong in shape, sweeter in taste, and crispier in texture).
Mathew grew up right here in Corvallis and chose Oregon State because of its great science program and so that he can stay close to family. Also he received a scholarship to play Violin in the Organ State University Orchestra. Mathew originally started out as a biochemistry and molecular biology major to fulfil the prerequisites for dental school. During his second year he was enjoying organic chemistry, because for the first time it felt like I could explain and reason his way to solutions at a more fundamental level than ever. He ultimately decided to switch my major to chemistry so that he could continue pursuing it if he decided to abandon his dental school plans.
After graduation, Mathew plans to go to dental school. Due to the requirements for dental school, he has taken a wide variety of courses outside of chemistry that he has greatly enjoyed. The more he’s learned in these classes, the more he’s grown to love science (especially chemistry). More recently, Mathew been seriously considering graduate school instead of dental school to continue satisfying his passion for science.
If not in school you can find Mathew exercising, playing the violin, and video editing. He really enjoys the sport of MMA and practices Brazilian jiu jitsu several days per week. His favorite book to read is the Bible because it has more significance in his life than any other book. Mathew’s favorite food is the barbeque chicken and macaroni and cheese that his younger brother makes.
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of one of our alumni.
Richard Stephen Knutson
Richard Stephen Knutson (Steve to his many friends) was born 19 March 1941 in Springfield, Oregon and died 7 April 2024 in Corbett, Oregon.
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin T. and Bernice Knutson, and by his siblings Joan, Alice, and Dana. Steve is survived by his nephews, Zachary and Garth Chouteau.
Steve graduated in 1959 from Beaverton High School and attended Reed College on a full scholarship. Steve was always interested in science and completed the coursework at Oregon State University for a PhD in Chemistry.
Steve was very adventurous and while at Reed he was a member of the Reed Outing Club and began rock climbing and mountaineering. He climbed Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier and many other peaks in the Cascades. He rock climbed in the Columbia Gorge, Smith Rocks and other climbing areas in Oregon, Washington and California. Steve pioneered a number of first ascents of Cascade peaks and rock climbing routes. I’m told there is still a piton embedded in what was at that time the tallest building on the Reed College campus, from the time Steve climbed the building in the early sixties. Steve had a climbing accident on Mt. Hood where he fell and slid down the Palmer Glacier for several hundred feet and received a broken jaw and several broken bones. He was one of the first helicopter rescues from the mountain. Afterward Steve joined the mountain rescue team that rescued him, to show his appreciation.
Continuing his thirst for adventure, he attended the Jim Russell School of Racing and raced his Triumph TR3 in local sports car events
Steve developed an interest in cave exploring and became well-known for caving in America, Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru. He led a five year plus project of exploring and mapping of the main cave at Oregon Caves National Monument. During this effort he discovered bones including the skull of a prehistoric mountain lion. His work resulted in a map that is still being sold at the gift shop there. He participated in a 1974 expedition to Castleguard Cave in Canada. He participated in many expeditions to caves in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru. He led Lost World Explorations to explore these caves, always wanting to “go where no one had gone before” and experience the thrill of new discoveries. One of his Peru expeditions was featured in an episode on the History Channel titled “Mummies of the Clouds” in which Steve led the camera crew into the cave to film the indigenous cave burials of the Chachapoya culture of the Northern Andes. This was the first proof that prehistoric humans in the area mummified their dead and placed them deep into caves. Steve contributed his data from these trips to the archaeology department of Peru’s government
Steve wrote many articles for various caving publications and was the author of a book: “Oregon Caves, The Pioneer Exploration and the New Discoveries.” He was the editor of American Caving Accidents from 1976 to 1993. His long membership in the National Speleological Society and his contributions led to his being named an NSS Fellow in 1977 and to his receiving the Lew Bicking Award in 1989 for exceptional service in cave exploration and mapping.
Steve’s working career centered around his desire to experience and contribute to preserving the great natural resources of our world. He worked for the National Park Service at Mammoth Cave and Oregon Caves National Parks. He worked for Shasta National Forest as a surveyor and fire fighter.
In recent years, Steve had some health problems. He had a bout with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and suffered chemo and radiation treatments and in 2023 his heart slowed and he had a pacemaker surgically inserted. But being Steve, he ignored any health problems and was recently hiking with a 40-pound pack getting in shape for trips to the Marble Mountains. He is greatly missed by all his friends and associates. Keep the carbide light of his legacy glowing!