Words from the Dean
October 2017
Welcome to Fall Term!
I hope you had a wonderful summer and are ready for a new academic year. As we prepare to educate a new cohort of students, I am delighted to announce that the College of Science has launched the Science Success Center where students and faculty can make connections and enhance learning experiences that go beyond the classroom. I invite you to attend our Open House on Monday, October 9 to explore the Center’s new space, meet our team of talented peer advisers and learn about the Center’s resources and opportunities for academic and professional development.
I encourage you to attend our first gathering of the year at our Fall Faculty and Staff Awards to recognize research, teaching and administrative excellence in the College of Science. I will also deliver welcome remarks that offer a view and perspective of a new chapter in the College of Science. Please join me to celebrate the accomplishments and dedication of fellow scientists, teaching faculty and staff as we usher in a new academic year.
Sincerely,
RoyRoy Haggerty
Dean, College of Science
All the news that’s fit to print.
Please submit news, honors and awards, discoveries, events, research funding, student news, alumni updates and more. Just send us a quick email by the end of the month.
Research updates
Research Funding
Read more of the most recent research happening in our College online.
Biochemists Ryan Mehl, Kari van Zee and Kelsey Kean’s proposal to develop an open educational resource (OER) textbook and related content for a “Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Chemical Biology” was funded for $10K.
Environmental chemist and Associate Dean Staci Simonich was awarded $1,415,000 by the Department of Defense—Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) for her project, “Development, Evaluation and Technology Transfer of BMPs for Optimizing Removal of PAHs, PCBs, PFASs, and Metals from Stormwater at DoD sites.”
Biochemist Viviana Perez has been awarded a $2.3M National Institutes of Health grant for a period of five years for her project, “Brain cellular senescence as a driver of Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Biochemists David Hendrix and biologist Jaga Giebultowicz have teamed up on a project that received a one-year, $360K grant for their proposal, “Uncovering the Gene Regulatory Mechanisms Governing the Aging Circadian Clock.”
Congratulations
Student Honors and Programs
Congratulations to Biochemistry and Biophysics doctoral student Nicole Hams, who was selected as the 2017-2018 Western Regional Representative to the National Black Graduate Student Association, the nation’s largest interdisciplinary graduate organization for students of African descent in all fields of study. Hams also completed a highly selective 12-week internship as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s prestigious Directorate Fellowship Program.
Wei Family Foundation Scholar combines science and love for travel. Integrative Biology student Milan Sengthep studied abroad with world-renowned marine scientists at James Cook University, Australia.
Wei Family Foundation Scholar Milan Sengthep
SURE Science students spend summer researching oceans, planets and human health. Our 2017 SURE Science Scholars spent their summers actively engaged in research with the guidance of faculty experts. Here are some of their amazing stories from a summer of research!
Faculty Honors
University Day winners Kevin Ahern, Henri Jansen, KC Walsh, Tara Bevandich and Carmen Harjoe
College of Science grabbed five top honors at OSU’s annual University Day. Hearty congrats to faculty Henri Jansen and Kenneth “KC” Walsh in Physics, Kevin Ahern in Biochemistry and Biophysics for teaching and advising, staff member Tara Bevandich and graduate student Carmen Harjoe, both in Integrative Biology, for administrative and teaching excellence respectively.
Integrative Biology Instructor Andrew Bouwma
Integrative Biology instructor Andrew Bouwma and Genevieve Weber in the College of Agricultural Sciences piloted the development of a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind 3-D Virtual Microscope and online introductory biology course series, which won a 2017 WCET Outstanding Work (WoW) award.
Visibility
In partnership with Advance Digital/Oregonian Media, College of Science ‘s marketing team launched a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaign for pipeline building to expand our recruitment of high achieving, diverse science students in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California and at fall recruitment events. Using searches like Google is the number one way students research universities to attend. From September-December 2017, the SEM campaign will run paid digital ads online using geographical and behavioral targeting based. The campaign is poised to yield 587,000 online impressions (number of people who will view the ads) during the three-month period and click to our recruitment website.
Mathematics faculty received top honors at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Conference focused on “Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences” in Erlangen Germany, September 11-14. Juan Restrepo, who received a SIAM Geosciences Career Prize gave an award talk, entitled, ‘”How Warm is it Getting?’ and Other Tales in Uncertainty Quantification.” Malgo Peszynska was an invited plenary speaker at the conference. She spoke on the topic, “Methane hydrate modeling, analysis and simulation: coupled systems and scales.” Graduate students Azhar Alhammali, Choah Shin and Joe Umhoefer also presented at the conference.
Jane Lubchenco is presenting a public lecture, “Hope for the Ocean,” as the Nancy Chandler Visiting Scholar at Central Oregon Community College (COCC) in Bend, Oregon, on November 14 at 6:30 p.m. Lubchenco will also speak to a sustainability science class of COCC and OSU-Cascades students on “Environment Science in a Post-Truth World.”
Staci Simonich was quoted in an article in Wired magazine, “The Impossible Burger: Inside the Strange Science of the Fake Meat that ‘Bleeds.’”
The Department of Integrative Biology together with OSU Women In Science, the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, hosted Katharine Hayhoe, professor and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, who spoke on global warming and the key role our faith and values play in shaping our attitudes on this crucial topic in a public lecture, “Climate Change: Facts, Fiction and Faith” on September 26.
Distinguished Professor Jane Lubchenco and two previous winners of the Blue Planet Prize, a prestigious award given for pioneering scientific work that solves environmental problems, issued a joint plea to world leaders while at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in September. They urged world leaders to embrace effective solutions such as fishery reforms and marine reserves that bring social, economic, and environmental benefits. The other scientists were Robert Watson, former chief scientist for the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Thomas Lovejoy, a professor of environmental science and policy at George Mason University in Washington, D.C.
Associate Dean Staci Simonich is presenting the keynote lecture at OSU’s 6th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium on October 4 in Linus Pauling Science Center, room 402 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event celebrates the work by OSU post docs.
News
Welcome! Cassie Siler, who holds a doctoral degree in chemistry from Harvard University, will join the Chemistry Department as an instructor in winter term. Cassie has taught at Seattle Pacific University, Point Loma Nazarene University and at The Cambridge School. Part of a dual career hire, her husband, Nicholas Siler, will join College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences as an assistant professor.
Science Success Center Open for Business. The College of Science is launching a Science Success Center that offers an inclusive science resource center where students and faculty can make connections to enhance their lives academically, socially, professionally, and personally. See below for information on our grand opening October 9.
The College of Science welcomes Michael Lerner as the Head of the Department of Chemistry effective immediately. Lerner is a Professor in Chemistry and is the longtime director of online education and head graduate advisor in the department.
It’s Bluetiful! That’s the name of Crayola’s new blue crayon inspired by OSU’s YInMn blue, the pigment discovered by OSU chemist Mas Subramanian. The announcement came after more than 90,000 submissions by fans around the world.
In related news, the blue pigment hits commercial markets. The Shepherd Color Company received EPA approval to commercialize the OSU pigment for industrial coatings and plastics. Now the world can see blue and stay cooler. The impact: saving our energy. Congrats, Mas Subramanian!
The College of Science Student Advisory Board (COSSAB) hosted new science students at its annual Fall Welcoming Social on September 19.
Opportunities
The Office of Global Opportunities invites faculty to submit Faculty-led Study Abroad Program Proposals for new or renewing programs beginning Summer 2018 through Spring (Intersession) 2019.
Events
Save the Date
OCTOBER 4
Research Ready Workshop: The Office of Academic Programs and Learning Innovation hosts OSU’s first Research Ready workshop on October 4 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. All undergraduates from all disciplines across the university are encouraged to attend. This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn how to navigate the process of getting involved in research or creative work with a faculty member on campus.
OCTOBER 5
Fall Faculty & Staff Awards: Please join us for the 2017 College of Science Fall Awards Ceremony and reception to recognize research, teaching and administrative excellence on Thursday, October 5, 2017, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the Memorial Union, Horizon Room.
OCTOBER 6-8
The Department of Microbiology is hosting the 2017 Crown Gall Meeting, a premier international conference that attracts more than 100 researchers from top universities, industry, teaching colleges and research institutes who are interested in agrobacterium biology and plant biotechnology. Microbiology professor Walt Ream is co-organizing the annual event along with others in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students and senior investigators are encouraged to present talks.
OCTOBER 9
Science Success Center Open House: Join us for the grand opening of our Science Success Center that is an inclusive science resource center where students and faculty can make connections to enhance their lives academically, socially, professionally, and personally.
Visit our new home in Kidder Hall, room 109 from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All students, staff, advisors and faculty or science and anyone who has taken or will take a science class is encouraged to stop by! Plus, there will be cake, giveaways and a contest to name the betta fish!
OCTOBER 27–29
The Department of Mathematics will host the 1st Biennial Meeting of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Pacific Northwest Section (SIAMPNWS).
NOVEMBER 2
The Research Office is hosting a New Faculty Orientation to help new faculty learn how the Research Office can help them find funding, submit proposals, manage awards and move their research outcomes into commercial space. The event kicks off with a panel discussion led by former Program Officers of leading federal agencies and ending with the session “Research Speed Dating.” 2:00–5:00 p.m. Memorial Union, Horizon Room.
Recent Events
OCTOBER 2
Jumpstart your career: The College of Science’s newly launched Science Professional Pursuits Program (SP3) held an Information Session that attracted about 60 potential student recruits forits fall cohort. All College of Science undergraduates who are sophomores, juniors, seniors or above in good academic standing are eligible for the program. SP3 aims to help students find and land summer internships, research experiences, job shadowing opportunities and employment.
OCTOBER 3
Free Film Screening: Graduate students in the Department of Integrative Biology hosted a free screening of the film Chasing Corals on campus. A panel of six scientists from the Departments of Integrative Biology and Microbiology shared their research which was followed by a reception.