Words from the Dean
February 2025

Dear Colleagues, 

Last week’s Inclusive Excellence Lecture, featuring Inclusive Excellence@OSU, underscored the importance of our ongoing work to build a more equitable College. If you weren’t able to join us, you can watch a recording of the lecture here. I would like to use this space to again call out the fantastic work of this group as well as the incredible inclusive excellence work of many others in our community. OSU defines inclusive excellence as the recognition that an organization’s success is dependent on how well it values, engages and includes the rich diversity of its community members, including its students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and affiliates, and I see dedication to those goals in the College of Science in everything we do. 

As a land grant institution, our mission is to create access and opportunity for all and at OSU, we work to include varying perspectives, opinions and viewpoints as vital components of a healthy, pluralistic community, without limiting access to any program or activity to any individual. We do that not just because it is morally right, but because it is essential to doing valid science. Let me say a bit more about that validity.

While objectivity and evidence-based hypothesis testing are the paradigms on which scientific inquiry is built, we know that scientific inference is not context-free. Every scientist brings different views, and designing experiments and interpreting results from a wide variety of perspectives is necessary if we want to get as close as possible to a Platonic ideal of objectivity. We need look no further than the now ridiculous-sounding Victorian Darwinian takes on the functions of male and female gametes (see, for example, Bitch: On the Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke). It took 100 years or more of the same evidence being re-interpreted by different people to even do the right experiments, let alone re-interpret them. (And I do not assume that we yet have the “right” answers).

In addition to valuing diversity of perspectives as a necessary ingredient in good science, I also feel a personal moral imperative to understand the impacts of our work on different individuals and communities, and to be a watchdog when there are attempts to use scientific discoveries for harm.  

My own field of human genetics is perhaps one of the worst historical offenders (or has been misused by some of the worst historical offenders), from the early Cold Spring Harbor studies of the genetics of traits such as “shiftlessness” (unemployment) to the recent absurd-but-chilling embrace of lactase persistence as a marker of racial superiority. At the same time, some of the greatest advances in human genetics in my lifetime have been spurred by investigation of data from understudied populations. That includes the discovery of the BRCA1 cancer risk gene and subsequent leaps forward in our understanding of tumor suppressor pathways, as well as the discovery of PCSK9 variants leading to statin drugs.

Science has incredible potential to make our world better in almost every way, but not if we don’t do it right, and not if we let it be misused.

What’s your favorite story about the importance of diversity to scientific discovery, interpretation, or application? Send us an email and we’ll share the best examples in the next DNL.

Eleanor Feingold
Dean, College of Science

Research Highlights

Statistician Yanming Di is leading efforts to modernize seed purity analysis. The Willamette Valley, known as the “grass seed capital of the world,” produces over 90% of the United States’ grass seed. Traditional seed testing methods are labor-intensive and prone to human error. Di is on a multidisciplinary team including members from the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering. They are developing a computer vision system for real-time, onsite seed analysis, aiming to revolutionize farming in Oregon and beyond. Learn more about this innovation and the interdisciplinary collaboration driving it.

Benthic ecologist Sarah Henkel contributed key insights to the 2025 Oregon Climate Assessment, which documents ongoing warming, shifting precipitation patterns, and local responses to climate challenges. Findings indicate that the state’s annual average temperature increased by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century and is likely to become as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by 2074. Explore the full 2025 Oregon Climate Assessment findings.
Groundbreaking research by environmental microbiologist Chris Suffridge was featured in Forbes, highlighting the role of a river’s microbiome in protecting wild salmon from malnutrition. The study explores how microbial communities in freshwater ecosystems influence salmon health, with potential implications for conservation and fisheries management. Read the full Forbes article.

Research Funding

Kimberly Halsey received $150k from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for her project titled, “Roles of volatile organic compounds in structuring the phycosphere.”

National Honors

Congratulations to mathematics education researcher Elise Lockwood who has been honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to outstanding early-career scientists and engineers. This award recognizes her innovative research in mathematics education and her potential to advance the field. Learn more about her specific focus in combinatorics education.

Physicist Xavier Siemens has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Bruno Rossi Prize, one of the highest international honors in high-energy astrophysics, for his groundbreaking work uncovering evidence of binary supermassive black holes. His work marks a significant step forward in understanding the dynamics of the Universe and its deep mysteries. Well done, Xavier! Read the full award announcement here.

Faculty and Staff Awards

We are thrilled to announce the 2025 College of Science Faculty and Staff Award recipients! These outstanding individuals have demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, service and inclusion, making a lasting impact on our College and the scientific community.

Awards for Teaching & Advising

• Eric Cole, Integrative Biology – Olaf Boedtker Award for Excellence in Academic Advising
• Malcolm Lowry, Microbiology – Loyd F. Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching in Science (Graduate)
• Denis Drolet, Chemistry – Loyd F. Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching in Science (Undergraduate)
• Margaret (Margie) Haak, Chemistry – Fred Horne Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching Science

Awards for Equity, Access & Inclusion

• Hannah Stuwe (Ph.D. student), Biochemistry & Biophysics – Inclusive Excellence Award 

Awards for Research

• Justin Preece, Integrative Biology – Outstanding Faculty Research Assistant or Associate Award
• Jeff Hazboun, Physics – Dean’s Early Career Achievement Award
• Xavier Siemens, Physics – Milton Harris Award in Basic Research in Science 
• David Ji, Chemistry – F.A. Gilfillan Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science

Awards for Excellence in Administration, Service, and Performance

• Amy Timshel, Microbiology – Gladys Valley Award for Exemplary Administrative Support
• Elaine Cozzi, Mathematics – Distinguished Service Award
• Virginia (Ginny) Lesser, Statistics – Champion of Science Award

Join us at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 as we honor these exceptional awardees. Let’s come together to recognize their achievements and show our appreciation – see you there!  You can still RSVP!

Congratulations to all of our award winners!

Student Awards

Three statistics graduate students recently received awards for their academic performance and contributions to the classroom. Masters students, Evan Flint and Daniel Malone Buoy, were recipients of the 2024-25 Seely Award. The Seely award is traditionally given to the top performing first-year student, however, since both Evan and Daniel have highly excelled in the M.S. program it was determined they were both deserving of the Seely award. By faculty vote, masters student Sumoy Barua was recognized as the teaching assistant who made the greatest impact assisting statistics faculty and students. For his teaching excellence, he received the annual Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. Congratulations, Evan, Daniel and Sumoy!

Students taking Honors colloquium courses have the chance to attend Protein Portraits taught by Phil McFadden. This course allows students to explore protein molecules and create artistic renderings of their structures. Over 15 years of teaching the course, McFadden has seen tea plant necrotic ring blotch virus reimagined as a hand-stitched tea cozy and prion proteins represented in a sculpture of a moody cow. Check out some of the awesome pictures from last year’s class.

Lia Murty, a chemistry alumna from the College of Science, has built a dynamic career bridging science and industry. From her time in ROTC to her role as a senior consultant at Compliance Services International, she applies her expertise to ensure that biologically based products such as pesticides meet regulatory standards while translating the science between client and regulator. Read about her journey and the role the College of Science played.

Ecophysiologist Jamie Cornelius gave a talk titled “Amazing Adaptations: Can Birds Reduce the Stress of Climate Change?” on Tuesday, January 28, as part of the Frontiers in Science lecture series sponsored by the Sisters Science Club. Discover what she shared with attendees about how birds deal with stressors.

During the 2024 summer break, M.S. student Michelle Bang (’26) traveled to Los Angeles, Calif. to participate in the Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) program. The RIPS program aims to uplift the careers of women and minority scientists. Taking place on the University of California Los Angeles campus, student teams collaborate on real-world research projects proposed by industry sponsors. Michelle’s research team spent the summer researching how neural network modeling may be utilized to approximate precise motor control. Read more about their results. 

Biochemistry and molecular biology sophomore and ROTC cadet Emily Self demonstrated remarkable leadership and resilience when an avalanche struck while she was skiing. Her quick thinking and specialized training not only helped her survive the incident but also enabled her to assist in the rescue of four others caught in the event. Read her harrowing tale of survival. 

Ever wondered what students and families experience on the College of Science campus tour? Find out from this new video! Our COS ambassador, Indiana, will take you on a speed run of our tour, complete with behind-the-scenes access. Nearly 90% of tour attendees rate our tour as excellent thanks to incredible student ambassadors and recruitment staff. Watch here!

People from several regional colleges gathered on Feb. 6 to celebrate the College of Science’s annual Inclusive Excellence Lecture. The 2024 Inclusive Excellence Award winners, program facilitators from the Inclusive Excellence @ OSU program (IE@OSU), shared the program’s impact throughout their five-year grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Through IE@OSU, faculty and administrators were empowered to foster equitable learning environments and create meaningful change in science and society. Hear COS administrators share why access and inclusion in STEM is paramount today.

Mathematician Axel Saenz Rodriguez is exploring the connections between probability theory and mathematical physics, focusing on two-dimensional quantum magnetic materials. With support from the Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship, awarded to just eight researchers nationwide, he will investigate how theoretical models align with experimental findings, with potential applications in clean energy and computation. Learn more about his research and mentorship.

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