We’ve officially reached the halfway point in the 2025 Food Drive – just two weeks to go! 

A lot of Food Drive events have happened in the last two weeks! After you complete your fundraisers, make sure you are:

Just a reminder that payroll contributions are still the best way to raise funds! Consider encouraging your unit to sign up! If you’d like to know how much your unit is currently contributing through contributions, send me a note. 

Thank you for your continued efforts in making this year’s Food Drive a success! I am so grateful for you.

Dear Chemistry Majors, Graduate Students, and Faculty

Exciting news! We’re thrilled to invite you to our third annual Industry-University Collaborative Conference Program (IUCCP), proudly supported by fantastic sponsors like Inpria, Valliscor, Intel, Klarquist, and the American Chemical Society-Corvallis and Portland Sections. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better, kicking off with an engaging reception on April 18, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 7:15 PM, followed by a full day of inspiring activities on April 19, 2025, from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM.

Designed by our students for students in the Chemistry Department, this conference is a unique gathering for undergraduate and graduate students, industry professionals, faculty, and alumni. Our goal? To forge stronger connections and cultivate invaluable partnerships within the realm of science.

Best of all, IUCCP is FREE! Join us for hands-on professional development workshops, networking opportunities with alumni and industry representatives, and chances to present your research through posters and oral presentations. Enhance your skills with seminars on networking, negotiation strategies, leadership, resume building, and interviewing. Plus, don’t miss the lively alumni and career development panels with insights and advice.

This event is a highlight of the Chemistry Department’s calendar and has achieved great success in the past. If you joined us last year, help us spread the word and come back for even more exciting workshops and connections this time. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity—mark your calendars and prepare for an unforgettable experience!

Students: WE NEED YOU!!

Are you a graduate student or undergraduate major diving into research? Whether you’re within the Chemistry Department or collaborating with our brilliant chemistry professors as a non-chemistry major, we want YOU to be part of this exciting event! Get ready to showcase your hard work! Submit your abstracts for poster or oral presentations by March 31st, 2025. You’re still invited to join the fun even if you’re not presenting! Network, participate in professional development workshops, and cheer on your peers as they share their research. We have 4 exclusive spots for oral presentations, where we’ll select standout students from each division—don’t miss your chance to shine! Plus, this is a golden opportunity to get your work noticed, as industry recruiters will attend to see your innovative ideas on display. On-the-spot interviews will be happening, too! And it doesn’t stop there! After a day of inspiration and sharing, we’ll celebrate everyone’s achievements with a festive awards dinner honoring the best posters and presentations.

Oh, and did we mention it? OSU offers free poster printing to help you make your research shine!

For more details, make sure to check out the Library. Get involved, connect, and let your research journey soar!  Printing services https://is.oregonstate.edu/media-hub/printing

How to register and submit abstracts: The attached flyer contains the QR code for registering and submitting abstracts. https://bit.ly/3DqZtUz

Faculty and Instructors: We NEED YOU TOO!!!!

Let’s rally together to inspire our students! We encourage you to motivate them to present their posters, share their insights through talks, and immerse themselves in the presentations throughout the day. Your presence and support at the student talks and poster sessions will make a significant difference. Let’s create an energetic, engaging atmosphere celebrating their hard work and dedication!

Questions:

Email anyone on the advisory board

Marilyn Mackiewicz @ marilyn.mackiewicz@oregonstate.edu

Rumi Sultana @ rumis@oregonstate.edu

Alex Rosebrough @ roseboal@oregonstate.edu

Anshika Nagar @ nagara@oregonstate.edu

Makenzie Nord @ nordm@oregonstate.edu

Marilyn Rampersad Mackiewicz, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

She / Her / Hers

Oregon State University

Department of Chemistry

153 Gilbert Hall, Room 341

Corvallis, Oregon State 97331-4003

Learn more about Dr. Mackiewicz here:

Empowering Cultures of Belonging

Mentoring

Website: Laboratory of Nanostructured Materials

Follow on: Twitter

Connect with me: LinkedIn

Office Number: 541-737-7406

Where diverse minds inspire endless innovation

“Empowering those around you to be heard and valued makes the difference between a leader who simply instructs and one who inspires”-Adena Friedman

Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)

DoD’s MURI program addresses high-risk basic research and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. The program was initiated 40 years ago and it has regularly produced significant scientific breakthroughs with far reaching consequences to the fields of science, economic growth, and revolutionary new military technologies. Key to the program’s success is the close management of the MURI projects by Service Program Officers and their active role in providing research guidance.  Please share with faculty who might be interested in leading or joining a team in one of these areas.

Inquiries and Questions: April 18, 2025 (program officer contacts provided in the solicitation)

White Papers: May 2, 2025

Full proposals: September 5, 2025

More information on each of these topic areas is available in the solicitation.  Most of these opportunities are anticipated at ~1.5M per year for 5 years.  

Topic 1: (AFOSR) Characterization and Modeling of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere

Topic 2: (AFOSR) Ethical Constructs and Adaptive Learning Systems

Topic 3: (AFOSR) Structured Light for High Field, High Intensity Laser-Matter Interactions

Topic 4: (AFOSR) Optics with Dynamically Reconfigurable Arrays of Molecules and Atoms (OhDRAMA)

Topic 6: (ARO) Fungalphabet: Deciphering the Hidden Language of Fungal Networks for Environmental Intelligence

Topic 7: (ARO) Evolving Chemistry and Biology to Degrade Polymers with Stable Chemical Bonds

Topic 8: (ARO) Space-time Metamaterials for Multi-dimensional Wave Transformation

Topic 9: (ARO) Altermagnetic Topology

Topic 10: (ARO) Ontology Engineering for Machine Learning in Open-ended Sensor, Model, User Systems

Topic 11: (ARO) Entanglement Engineering with Holographic Duality

Topic 12: (ARO) Curved Electromagnetic Propagation

Topic 13: (ARO) Optimized Photonic Inference Systems

Topic 14: (ONR) Evaluation and Monitoring of Large-Scale Generative AI

Topic 15: (ONR) Brain-inspired Large Neural Models for Intelligent Robots

Topic 16: (ONR) Reading between the lines: Connecting Deep Ocean Currents & Bedform Morphology

Topic 17: (ONR) Impacts of Aerosol Injection, Evolution, and Deposition on 3D Radiative Balance

Topic 18: (ONR) Interfacial Thermal Energy Transduction

Topic 19: (ONR) Inherent stability in hybrid metal halide perovskite semiconductors through understanding of in situ electrochemistry

Topic 20: (ONR) Visual Perception and Attention for Real-Virtual Hybrid Environments

Topic 21: (ONR) Continuous Improvement and Assessment to Achieve Autonomous Skilled Performance

Topic 22: (ONR) Gas/Material Interactions for Ultra-high-temperature Materials in Hypersonic Flows

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is issuing a Disruption Opportunity (DO), inviting submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of novel micromechanical oscillators for applications toward precision positioning and navigation systems. This DO is issued under the Program Announcement for Disruptioneering, DARPA-PA-24-04 Amendment 1. All awards will be made in the form of an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype project. The total award value for the combined Phase 1 base (Proof-of-concept) and Phase 2 option (Prototype) is limited to $1,200,000. This total award value includes Government funding and performer cost share if required or proposed.

CLOAK is part of a larger DARPA portfolio called Highly Accelerated Learning of Vibratory Systems (HALOVS)1. HALOVS is developing, modeling, prototyping, and demonstrating technologies to overcome the existing performance limitations of vibratory sensors for improved positioning and navigation. The HALOVS portfolio consists of disruptive investigations aiming to rekindle and invigorate the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor design space beyond standard industry operations. Other programs in the portfolio2 aim to push MEMS and sensors to their ultimate performance – which now needs to last throughout the sensor’s lifetime.

CLOAK aims to develop methods to extend the lifetime of inertial sensors by covering or eliminating sensor surface and structural defects that can get worse with time. Possible approaches include atomic layer deposition of materials such as, but not limited to, selfassembled monolayers (SAM). The program is also not limited to coatings on sensing elements but can also include a vacuum- or inert gas-encapsulated structure on the inner or outer walls of the package. CLOAK will also consider approaches to improving sensors’ pristine surfaces by eliminating stresses and charge traps altogether. Regardless of chosen approach, each performer should fully explore the design space through modeling, characterization, and experimentation of coating materials, transducers, and the sensor and its packaging microenvironment. The conformal coatings, “cleaning” methods, or other treatments will provide stress and momentum balance for sensor dynamics and must not compromise the sensor sensitivity, quality factor, and noise for extended operational lifetime. CLOAK will thus demonstrate long-lasting resonant MEMS.

To view the entire DO, please go to: https://sam.gov/opp/eb1f049c002c487fbdb2c4ee5a35de93/view

All technical, contractual, and administrative questions regarding this announcement must be emailed to CLOAK@darpa.mil. Emails sent directly to the Program Manager, or any other address may result in delayed or no response.

Thank you for your interest in the Defense Sciences Office.

Congratulations on making it through the first week of the drive! I’m very impressed with the full calendar of events that are going on this month. Check them out here or in Monday’s edition of OSU Today digest!

Nothing good happens when you are hungry. Hunger negatively impacts learning, health, and productivity. It affects children, the elderly, and adults.

• Children who are hungry may have trouble focusing and learning in school.
• Children who don’t get enough to eat face higher risks of health conditions like anemia and asthma. Hunger can change how their brains and bodies grow.
• 100,000 children are living in families experiencing extreme poverty in Oregon.
• Adults who experience food insecurity may have difficulty concentrating, have low energy, or miss work due to illness. It can impact their mental health and result in depression, anxiety, and stress.
• Older adults experiencing food insecurity can’t always get the healthy food they need. This makes them more likely to have chronic health conditions like asthma and diabetes. They may also experience mental health problems like anxiety and depression.

Your food- and fund-raising efforts help fight against these effects!

Here are a few things to note for the drive:

Cash/check deposits: When dropping off your deposit at the Cashiers Office it must be in a sealed plastic deposit bag that also contains a donation ledger. You also need to submit a loose copy of the ledger when you drop it off – that’s how I give you credit for the competition! If you forget the loose donation ledger, email me a copy. If you need plastic deposit bags, just let me know and I can send you through campus mail.

Online donations: Linn Benton Food Share has created a donation link just for OSU. There is a field for “department” so donors can enter your competition unit’s name.

Payroll deductions: Currently, the payroll PowerForm does not work. Please complete the PDF payroll form and either email or campus mail it to me. All current contributors have received an email from me with a summary of their donation, along with information if they want to make changes.

Teri Trujillo

Event Coordinator

Event Services | Marketing Services & Solutions

It’s Food Drive month… here are some of the events happening to help raise funds. We will also be accepting cash donations in the main Chemistry office, Gilbert 153.

NEW! Auction: Join us online for the OSU School of Life Sciences Auction 2025 from March 3-14. All proceeds directly benefit the Linn-Benton Food Share. Please join us online for bidding fun at https://givebutter.com/SLS-Auction-2025.

NEW! College of Forestry Food Drive Soup Lunches: All OSU employees and students are warmly invited to join the College of Forestry for our cozy annual tradition of weekly Food Drive soup lunches. Noon to 1 p.m., March 5, 12, 19 and 31, Richardson Hall Grove Gallery, second-floor knuckle. 

NEW! Hot beverage sale: Grab a coffee, cider or hot chocolate for $1. Reach out to ally.lanz@oregonstate.edu. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. every Thursday this month: March 6, 13, 20, 27, in Gilmore 116.

NEW! Pop-Up Thrift Shop and Bake Sale: Come to the Kerr Admin Fourth Floor lobby to enjoy a Pop-Up Thrift Shop and Bake Sale. Shop for treasures and load up on baked goods, all to benefit the OSU Food Drive. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., March 10-13, Kerr fourth-floor lobby.

NEW! Plant sale: The School of Public Policy will be holding a plant sale from March 3-28 (while supplies last). We have a wide variety of house plants to spruce up your residence hall or office. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., through March 31, Bexell Hall 418. 

NEW! NROTC Papa’s Pizza Night: Papa’s Pizza is hosting the NROTC’s efforts for the Food Drive. Come enjoy some delicious pizza all day long and help raise money for the Food Drive. When you do one of the following, NROTC will get 50% of the proceeds for their Food Drive: Bring a printed flyer, show the Facebook post or mention the NROTC fundraiser. 

This is a list of new events happening this week. For a full list of all events click here.

Nominations open Monday, March 10: This award honors an outstanding Oregon State University inventor who has made a contribution leading to commercialization that significantly impacts their field and society. For details on the process, criteria, and nomination form, please visit the OSU Advantage website on Monday, March 10. Nominate yourself or someone you know that’s making an impact. The awardee will receive a $5,000 prize and desktop award. 

The 2026 Beckman Scholars Program is open for applications! The Beckman Scholars Program application is now an open call for any eligible University/College.

The deadline to apply is June 13, 2025 at 5:00 pm pacific time. 

Please see our website for full Beckman Scholars Program and application updates as well as the link to apply at:
https://www.beckman-foundation.org/programs/beckman-scholars/

Thank you,

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Team

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine maintain a database of more than 1,600 research opportunities and administer postdoctoral and senior research awards at participating federal laboratories and affiliated institutions at locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.  We are seeking highly qualified candidates who hold, or anticipate earning, a doctorate in a variety of fields of science or engineering. Degrees from foreign universities should be equivalent in training and research experience to a doctoral degree from a U.S. institution. Citizenship eligibility varies among the sponsoring laboratories.  Application deadline dates (four annual review cycles): February 1 May 1 August 1 November 1        * If a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline is moved to the next business day.     Research Associates have the opportunity to: Conduct independent research in an area compatible with the interests of the sponsoring laboratory Devote full-time effort to research and publication Access the excellent and often unique facilities of the federal research enterprise Collaborate with leading scientists and engineers at the sponsoring laboratories  Award benefits include: Stipends ranging from $45,000 to $108,000; may be higher based on experience Health insurance (including dental and vision) Relocation assistance for Research Associates who will be on tenure for at least six months and who at the time of award reside more than 50 miles from the host laboratory  Professional travel allowance   Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, creed, color, age, gender identity, or national origin.  For detailed program information, to search Research Opportunities, and to contact prospective Research Adviser(s) visit www.nas.edu/rap.  Sincerely,  Elizabeth M. Prescott, D.Phil. Director, Fellowships Office