Originally published by OSU Advantage

Sometimes, the best inventions happen when you’re looking for something else. This was the case for Oregon State University professor Mas Subramanian and his team, who were researching new materials for electronics applications when they accidentally produced a bright blue pigment.

After mixing manganese oxide (which is black in color) with other chemicals and heating them in a furnace at almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, one of their samples turned out to be a vivid blue. Graduate student Andrew Smith initially made these samples to study their electrical properties.

“It was serendipity, actually; a happy accidental discovery,” Subramanian says.  Read more…

Training for OSU employees will be offered from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 27, in the Oak Creek Building, room 201. This safety training is required for all OSU employees who are not lab employees but may need to enter a lab in the course of their work. Examples include trade workers, IT workers or administrative personnel. The course assists personnel to become familiar with lab hazards, lab warning signs and labels and general and specific protective measures. Refresher training is required every three years. Pre-registration is encouraged: submit name and OSU ID number to radiationsafety@oregonstate.edu.

VadientOptics, an MBI tenant company that fabricates freeform gradient index nanocomposite optical elements, will present “Printing High Quality Optics” on Friday, May 29 as part of MBI’s noon seminar series.

Printing High Quality Optics
Metolius Room, Microproducts Breakthrough Institute
1110 NE Circle Blvd. – HP Corvallis Campus
(Directions to MBI)

Abstract
VadientOptics, a Voxtel company, is doing research in Corvallis in lab and office space at the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute (MBI). We have developed materials and processes under DARPA and NASA research contracts to develop the volumetric index of refraction gradient optics (VIRGO) process, using nanoparticles in polymers to print optics. This has involved the development of materials, equipment, and algorithms that produce a final, useful product. We will give an overview of this research in this seminar.

Speakers
Four members of the Vadient team will speak:
Dr. Sang-Ki Park
Dr. Charles Dupuy
Dr. Ngoc Nguyen
Paul Harmon

See MBI’s Announcements for speaker bios.

Hello!

My name is Jim Tung and I am the Chair-Elect of the Portland area’s section of the American Chemical Society, the professional society for chemists and chemistry.

I am working with Troy Wahl, the president of the Oregon City Applied Research Incubator, to bring the Oregon Science Startup Forum to Portland in the spring of 2016.

The forum will present what it takes to start a science company (even as a student!) and to apply your knowledge to create a new business.

Click to see the event’s flyer.

While both Troy and I are chemists, we are reaching out to other disciplines for their perspectives on how to start and run a science-oriented business.

Interested?

To help plan this event, we’d like your opinion on what you’d like to learn about, whom you’d like to hear from and how you’d like to participate. By taking this survey, you consent for us to use the information you provide.

Please forward to your faculty and students, and post the flyer.

Best wishes,
Jim Tung
2015 Chair-Elect, American Chemical Society, Portland local section

The OSU Graduate School is hosting an Informational Session about the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) at OSU on May 12, 5-6:30 p.m., Linus Pauling Science Center Auditorium (LPSC 125). Seating is limited.  Register Here. Click here for more information.

OSU’s annual Celebrating Undergraduate Excellent event recognizing the outstanding contributions of OSU’s undergraduate researchers will be held on May 14 beginning at 11:00 in the new MU Plaza between the MU and the Student Experience Center.  This event, which is open to students in all majors, provides students with an opportunity to present posters of their work to the OSU community and can be used to satisfy the public presentation requirement for Transcript Notation.

The deadline for applications for CUE has been extended to April 28 at 5:00 p.m.  For more information, please see http://communications.oregonstate.edu/events/cue or send email to Kevin Ahern at ahernk@onid.orst.edu

Please note that all students nominated for Undergraduate Researcher of the Year are required to participate in CUE to be eligible for the award.

Presenting academic and creative work in a formal setting is a mark of true accomplishment in undergraduate studies. Participants will receive a certificate of presentation, and can include the presentation on resumes, graduate school and scholarship applications.

May 14, 2015
11 a.m.
Memorial Union Plaza

See the list of 2014 participants and recognized projects

Questions you will be asked during registration

Information for presenters

Registration is now open!

Eligibility:

•  All OSU undergraduates in all disciplines and fields of study

•  Works in-progress and projects for which students served as a contributing member of a larger faculty-led project are strongly encouraged.

•  Groups of students may present a single, collaborative project (but submit only one application)

•  OSU student projects completed somewhere other than OSU are also eligible.

•  Presentation format: Posters, table-top displays and floor installations

Deadline for applications is April 24, 2015. 
Questions? Contact Joy Jorgensen (Joy.Jorgensen@oregonstate.edu)

Hear from last year’s CUE stars by watching their videos on Media Space:
Trevor Waldien
Stacy Sim
Justin Biel
Ana Brar
Chelsea Black
Alejandra Marquez Loza
Aimee Corliss
     Jade Montgomery

The Women’s Center invites nominations for our two annual awards: Women of Achievement and Student Leadership. Use the following links to learn more about each award and the nomination process: Women of Achievement; Student Leadership Award.  Nominations Due: Friday, May 1.  This year’s award ceremony takes place May 26 in the MU Journey Room.

Lectures by Dr. Rita R. Colwell:
Just because you are a pawn, you do not have to lose the game
Tuesday, April 21st at 3:30 P.M.
Kearney 112
During this event, Dr. Colwell will speak about her experiences as a woman navigating scientific research and administration. This event will include a brief lecture followed by an opportunity to engage in conversation with Dr. Colwell. Please join us for a reception immediately following the lecture. Registration is appreciated: goo.gl/mNUkoK

Oceans, Human Health and Infectious Disease: The Story of a Marine Bacterium, Vibrio cholerae
Tuesday, April 21st at 7 P.M.
LaSells Stewart Center, Construction and Engineering Hall
During the evening lecture, Dr. Colwell will speak about her research on the oceanographic factors that drive cholera epidemcs.

Spring term gathering:
Biological clocks and tenure clocks: Strategies for negotiating work and family lives
A social gathering for pre-tenure STEM faculty
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
4:30 p.m.— 6:00 p.m.

McMenamins on Monroe, 2nd floor
2001 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR 97330

Meet other faculty and learn more about strategies for negotiating work and family lives. A short panel discussion will be followed by opportunities for additional conversation and socializing. No-host bar; light refreshments provided. Registration is appreciated: http://goo.gl/pdR9wY

All events are free and open to the public. Contact ADVANCE@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-4108 with questions or accommodation requests related to a disability.