As we wrap up final exams and head off for a much-deserved break, I wanted to send you a note of thanks for all of your hard work and share some updates before the holidays.
 
As many of you know, Staci Simonich will be moving from her position as our Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs (AD-ASA) to a new position as Associate Vice President for Research.  I have reviewed her Associate Dean position and have conferred with the department heads and other leaders.

I have considered a number of factors. Our college is responsible for more instruction than any other college, and we have the third-highest number of majors. We have initiated tactics to improve student recruitment, retention and success. The number of our student scholarships are growing and will continue to grow as we move into the next capital campaign with the OSU Foundation. The university is going through the re-accreditation process.

These considerations have led me to conclude that we need the AD-ASA position in much the same form as it currently exists. Consequently, I am launching a search immediately and you will see a formal announcement posted today.  The search is internal to the College of Science, and is open to tenured professors. If you are interested in the position, I encourage you to please apply. If you know someone who is a good fit for the position, please encourage them to apply.

I hope you have a healthy and happy holiday season. I look forward to an extraordinary year for science in 2018.

RoyRoy Haggerty
Dean, College of Science

Research Highlights

Read more of the most recent research happening in our College online.

In another danger sign for the world’s coral reefs, Virginia Weis and colleagues report that the symbiotic algae sensitive to warming oceans cannot be replaced by more heat-tolerant algae. Coral reefs depend on the algae to survive.

Bill Williams River, Arizona

Flooding rivers can wreak havoc but are necessary for healthy ecosystems, reports Jonathan Tonkin, a postdoc in integrative biology. The study shows that alterations to rivers’ natural flow patterns – because of dams, diversions and changes in precipitation – cause damage to riparian plant communities and river ecosystems in general.

Research Funding

Yuan Jiang has been awarded a four-year, $770K grant by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for his project “Network-based statistical methods to decode interactions within microbiomes.” Duo Jiang and Thomas Sharpton are co-investigators on this grant.

May Nyman was awarded $1 million as part of a five-year, $12.5 million National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) grant for an Actinide Center of Excellence (ACE) to conduct research in actinide and nuclear chemistry important for Stockpile Stewardship, the certification that the nation’s nuclear weapons are secure and operational.

Kimberley Halsey was awarded $120K as part of a $450K NASA grant with PI Michael Behrenfeld in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology for the project “First steps — Linking remotely — detectable optical signals, photic layer plankton properties, and export flux.”

David Ji was awarded a $140K U.S. Department of Energy grant for his project “Hard-Soft Acid-Base Chemistry to Detain Polysulfides Inside Li2S@Graphene Formed by Lithiothermic Reduction.”A longstanding and fruitful collaboration that benefits fish health and sustainable economic growth in Oregon was recently reinforced by a five-year, $404,000 renewal of the Fish Health Graduate Research Fellowship in Microbiology by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, an important partner for our Department of Microbiology and OSU since the 1960s.

Congratulations to microbiologist Tom Sharpton, statisticians Yanming Di, Duo Jiang and Yuan Jiang and their cohort of science students who were featured in the December newsletter of The American Statistical Association! ASA funded just three Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) this summer – ours was one of them!

Microbiologists Jerri Bartholomew, Tom Sharpton and Ph.D. student Nicole Kirchoff are revolutionizing the field of fish disease and health by studying for the first time the microbial communities inside salmon and trout. Thanks to generous funds from donors this bold new research is breaking new ground in species health and their long-term survival in an era of rapid climate change. They were featured via video at an OSU Foundation donor event this fall.

Looking for a gift that keeps giving this season? OSU’s Charitable Fund Drive Gift Idea may offer something for that person on your list who seems to have everything and needs nothing. Honor them with a donation through the Oregon Employees’ Charitable Fund Drive! You can choose from almost 900 organizations so there is something for everyone. 

Congratulations to Staci Simonich, our Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the College, for being appointed OSU’s Associate Vice President for Research. Staci will continue in her position as Associate Dean full-time through the end of December and begin her new position on January 1, 2018, when she will begin to ramp down her responsibilities in the College. She will fully assume her new responsibilities in the Research Office on February 1.

In other news, Virginia Weis, head of the Department of Integrative Biology and Director of the School of Life Sciences, is preparing to go on a year-long sabbatical. This transition has prompted a few more leadership transitions. Bob Mason has agreed to serve as acting head of Integrative Biology for calendar year 2018 while Virginia is on sabbatical. Sally Hacker will assume the position of Acting Associate Head of the department, a position previously held by Bob Mason.

Congratulations also to Andy Karplus, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who is the new head for the School of Life Sciences (SLS), which includes the Departments of Integrative Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry and Biophysics. Established in 2013, SLS is at the forefront of interdisciplinary research and teaching. Andy will lead the school, which is home to the largest number of undergraduates—more than 2,300 majors—and 100 graduate students in our College.

Congratulations to professors Janet Tate and Sastry Pantula and senior instructor II Marie Franzosa for their three-year term election to the COS Promotion and Tenure Committee! Continuing members are listed below. Thank you to outgoing members David McIntyre, Lesley Blair and Kevin Ahern for their service. Curious? Learn more about P&T timeline and guidelines.

Elisar Barbar (2016-18) – TT	Biochemistry & Biophysics
Katharine Field (2017-18) – TT	Microbiology
*Henri Jansen (2016-18) – TT	Physics
Patrick De Leenheer (2017-18) – TT	Mathematics
Alix Gitelman (2017-19) – TT	Statistics
Indira Rajagopal (2016-18) – SI	Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vincent Remcho (2017-19) – TT	Chemistry
Barbara Taylor (2017-19) – TT	Integrative Biology
* Chair

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) Science Communication Fellowship applicants are in! The spring cohort welcomes 24 OMSI Fellows, including four from the College of Science! Best of luck to these fellows as they OMSI Fellows learn best practices in science communication and gain valuable experiences to practice their newfound new skills and techniques.

Professor Emeritus Ed Waymire

A warm and grateful goodbye to Edward Waymire, a widely admired professor of mathematics most known for his research in probability, who is retiring after 36 years of teaching and research at OSU. A great teacher and a deep thinker, Waymire will be sorely missed. Happily, he will continue with his currently funded research group on the Navier-Stokes equations, and continue mentoring graduate students on a number of Ph.D. committees.

A university-wide salary increase for faculty is underway, as announced by the Office of the Provost. Learn more about salary increase amounts, effective dates and eligibility criteria by reading the Provost’s announcement.

The new Science Professional Pursuits Program (SP3) welcomed its first cohort this fall and it is going well, reports Professional Development Program Director Chris Larson. Fifty-three students spanning all six of our undergraduate majors have been actively participating in the open (free) fall workshops, delving into topics from resume writing and networking to identifying experiential opportunities and more. A for-credit course launches winter term.

Opportunities

Innovation on your list? The OSU Women’s Giving Circle invites faculty proposals for the 2018-19 year supporting programs and projects that enhance undergraduate student experience, improve student retention and directly impact as many students as possible. Since its founding in 2003 by a group of OSU alumnae and friends, the Women’s Giving Circle has awarded more than $800,000 in grants.

To apply for a grant please visit Osufoundation.org/wgc_grant. All proposals are due by Wednesday, January 17, 2018. 

Holidays are a time for giving! President Ray and OSU’s Charitable Fund Drive campaign invite you to donate through December 31 to causes and individuals in our community who are in most need of our help. Giving online and/or replicating your pledge from last year with a one-time or regular pay deduction is easy.

It’s scholarship season! Please encourage students to apply for more than 250 College of Science scholarships with a single application. Last year, we awarded more than $900,000 in scholarships. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2018.

Upcoming events

January 6, 9 am. – 4 p.m.
Mark your calendars for TEDxSalem V: Through the Looking Glass featuring YInMn blue and a talk by Mas Subramanian along with performances, snacks, lunch & a swag bag. Tickets on sale now. #Bluetiful  Salem Convention Center

February 1, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
The 2018 State of the University Address with President Ray will focus on celebrating OSU’s 150 years of transforming Oregon, the nation, and the world. Oregon Convention Center, Portland.

April 20, 2018
Laura Greene, President of the American Physical Society and Director of the National Magnetic Field Laboratory will present the annual Yunker Lecture. Time and place TBD.

Recent Events

November 17
The annual 2017 College of Science Alumni Awards Dinner celebrated our distinguished winners (see above) in the Memorial Union Horizon Room.

November 15
A panel discussion at the Corvallis Arts Center titled “Superbugs & Antibiotic Resistance: An Interdisciplinary Conversation,” was co-hosted by the colleges of Science and Liberal Arts and featured Michael Baym, professor of biomedical informatics at Harvard Medical School; Oregon artist Bets Cole; and composer Dana Reason of the OSU School of Arts and Communication.