Words from the Dean
October 2024

Dear College of Science Community,

I hope that everyone’s fall term is off to a good start. 

I would like to begin this month’s newsletter with a shout-out to everyone who has been working on the new core education implementation. By the time this newsletter goes out, we will be just inches from the November 1^st CIM deadline, and I know how much work across the College has gone into planning curriculum and preparing proposals. Though the work is not yet done, we’re getting there – and doing a fantastic job of providing students across our College and the university with important content in basic mathematics and sciences, in the Difference, Power and Oppression program, and in other areas. This is a good time to reflect on the positive impact all of this work will have on our students – setting them up for success by preparing them for their careers, teaching them to approach challenges with an interdisciplinary perspective, and helping them grow intellectually. Thank you again to everyone who has put so much hard work into this.

I would also like to share some College leadership updates:

In Integrative Biology, Dee Denver is planning for this to be his final year as department head, after providing the department with thoughtful, collaborative and heroic leadership through the pandemic, the Professor of Teaching transitions, the incredible development and growth of the Ecampus Zoology program, and more. We will begin a search for a new department head immediately. The search committee will be chaired by microbiology head Anne Dunn, and suggestions for candidates (internal or external) are welcome.

In Statistics, Lan Xue has generously agreed to serve for another year as interim head, allowing us to focus our efforts this year on hiring new faculty to support expansion of data science under the department’s umbrella.

In the Dean’s Office, Vrushali Bokil has agreed to take on the title of Executive Associate Dean (official change is in progress) and to supervise the new Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (internal search announcement expected this week). In addition, Vrushali’s position description will include collaborating with me on all aspects of college leadership and vision, as well as continuing her outstanding (and expanding) job as Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.

Once again, I invite you to help us celebrate the exceptional work of your College of Science colleagues by nominating them for the 2025 Winter Awards! Let’s honor the faculty and staff who make a difference in teaching, advising, research, service and administration. Please submit your nominations by December 20. 

Finally, by the time this newsletter reaches your inbox we will be days away from a presidential election that is likely to be as close as we have ever seen and as contested as we have ever seen. Please be attuned to your own stress and mental health needs during this time, seek help if you need it, and also be prepared to support students who are experiencing stress. It might be good to avoid high-stakes assignments or exams in the days after the election, or at least to have contingency plans in the back of your mind. Hopefully this will not become a critical issue, but it is better to be prepared than not.

I want to express again how grateful I am to have all of you as colleagues and collaborators.

Eleanor Feingold
Dean, College of Science

Research Highlights

Algal physiologist James Fox in the microbiology department is a co-investigator on a $1M study examining the impact of adding seaweed to the diets of beef cattle as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Oregon State will investigate a specific type of seaweed — Pacific dulse, a species grown commercially on the Oregon Coast — and focus on the effects of including this seaweed in diets of cattle that graze sagebrush steppe landscapes, a common ecosystem in the western United States. The five-year project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Discover how microbial biology and environmental impact intersect in this study.

An international collaboration, including courtesy physics faculty member Vanessa Polito, identified a phenomenon that proves a 19-year-old theory regarding how solar flares are created. Understanding solar flares is important for predicting space weather and mitigating its effects on technology and human activities. The team observed “slip-running” reconnections of the sun’s magnetic field lines, a phenomenon likened to Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote’s quick movements. Read why this discovery has broad implications for the field of astrophysics. 

Research Funding

Microbiologist James Fox received $181K from NASA for his project, “A Phytoplankton Carbon Algorithm for PACE OCI Retrievals.” The project aims to advance research on phytoplankton carbon measurement methods.

Physicist Patti Hamerski was awarded $394K by the National Science Foundation for her project, “Generative AI as Creative Practice in Computational Science,” which focuses on generative AI applications within computational science.

Jenna Sullivan-Stack, a research assistant in integrative biology, secured $25K in funding from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for her project, “Assessing Social and Ecological Enabling Conditions for Effectiveness in Oregon MPAs.” The research will assess conditions that support the effectiveness of Oregon’s marine protected areas.

National Honors

Astrophysicist Xavier Siemens, a renowned leader in gravitational wave research, is a newly-elected 2024 fellow of the American Physical Society. He was selected for his “foundational contributions to low-frequency gravitational wave detection using pulsar arrays and his pioneering work in developing methods to calibrate the strain for ground-based interferometers.” In June 2023, Siemens led an international consortium of nearly 200 research collaborators who found compelling evidence for the existence of a “chorus” of low-frequency gravitational waves across the Universe, confirming predictions made by Albert Einstein more than a century ago. Congratulations, Xavier! Learn more about this well-deserved recognition here.

Sanjana Curtis, who will join the Department of Physics as an assistant professor in January 2025, won a science communication award! Curtis won the 2024 Research Scientist Early Career Award from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication. She is currently an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley.

Mathematics graduate student Victory Obieke shared her discoveries on the national stage, delivering a fully funded poster presentation at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics conference this month in Atlanta, Georgia through the Sustainable Horizon Institute. Inspiring!

Science Writer Hannah Ashton and editorial student intern Elana Roldan in the College of Science won awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Ashton won a Best of CASE District VIII award for her profile on biochemistry alumna  Ebunoluwa Morakinyo and Roldan won a Best of CASE District VIII award for her profile on chemistry graduate student Jenna Bustos. Congratulations on capturing our students’ journeys to a better world.

Microbiology alumnus Steve Bjornson (’96) led Pfizer research at the pandemic’s front lines. Bjornson is the vice president and chief operating officer of Pfizer’s vaccine research and development organization. Throughout his career, he has touched the lives of millions around the globe. He believes institutions like Oregon State that have strong, robust science cores are critical because “we need to continue to be able to tell stories about all the things that science opens the door for.” Experience his anticipation and joy when the trial results came in. 

Meet first-year zoology student Jayshaun Talbert, new academic advisors and more in BioVerse, the Department of Integrative Biology’s latest online magazine. Talbert is from Columbus, Ohio, and came all the way to Oregon because of the undergraduate research opportunities! He is currently working in two labs: one doing data analysis with songbird calls as the Steens Songbird Acoustics Intern and the other in David Kikuchi’s lab doing research with captive raptors. Read details in the full magazine.

Oregon State’s annual Night at the Museum was a spectacularly spooky evening, blending natural history with hands-on fun! Student clubs from across OSU teamed up to showcase fascinating collections, from the Arthropod and Braly Collections to the Herbarium and beyond. Attendees explored displays from OSU’s ichthyology, ornithology, and mammalian collections, with highlights like owl pellet dissections and a “guess the bone” challenge. Club members from @herpetologyclub.osu and @bugclubatosu guided visitors through each booth, bringing science to life. Catch a video recap on @OSUScience’s Instagram to see the event’s eerie wonders firsthand!

The university observed Indigenous Peoples Week Oct. 12-18. Chance White Eyes, director of tribal relations at Oregon State, said faculty and staff can support Indigenous student success by listening. “Indigenous people have a long, difficult history with non-tribal institutions like OSU. While trust has been severely damaged, I’ve seen OSU make some significant and innovative strides to repair and build it. However, much work remains.” Read the full Q&A to learn more about the efforts happening across campus.

In her Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin article, “Not the Only One: Black in Marine Science (BIMS) Tidal Wave Fellowship,” biology Ph.D. student Nyazia Sajdah-Bey shares her perspective on Black scientists creating their own space in marine science. She reflects on the experiences that led her to join the Black in Marine Science (BIMS) Tidal Wave Fellowship, which brought her together with other Black scientists at the U.N. Ocean Decade Conference in Spain, led by Dr. Tiara Moore, founder of BIMS. Sajdah-Bey, who works with ecologist Francis Chan, underscores the importance of true representation for the future of ocean stewardship. Read the full article.

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