Research updates

Fruit flies exposed to blue light ‘turn on’ stress protective genes.

Research Highlights

Biologist Jaga Giebultowicz discovered that harm from daily, lifelong exposure to blue light increases as a person ages. The study was published in July in the Nature Partner Journals Aging.

George Poinar Jr. discovered an exquisite merger of art and science: a long-stemmed flower of a newly described plant species encased in a 30-million-year-old tomb together with a parasitic wasp.

Biologist Jamie Cornelius published a study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B that discovered that songbirds learn from each other about food shortages and respond by changing their physiology and their behavior.

In fiscal year 2022, College of Science research awards were $18.5M. These grants provide critical support for the promising scientific endeavors that have enabled Oregon State to serve the people of Oregon and beyond for over 150 years. Read more about some of the big grants your colleagues received in the past year.

Research Funding

Evolutionary biologist Molly Burke received two grants from the National Institutes of Health. The first is a five-year, $1.7M Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), which will support multiple projects focused on aging and infertility. MIRA grants support early-stage investigators by providing a flexible umbrella of support. The second grant is a $359K grant for a project entitled “Experimental evolution of complex traits.”

Population biologist Ben Dalziel, along with statistician Katherine McLaughlin and other OSU co-investigators received $1M from the National Science Foundation for a grant entitled “Coupling predictive intelligence with adaptive response to create pandemic-resilient cities.” This grant is part of a new $26M NSF program called Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention.

Chemist David Ji is the PI on a $3M grant from the Department of Energy entitled, “Understanding the Interfaces for High-Energy Batteries Using Anions as Charge Carriers,” that includes collaborators from Howard University, the University of Maryland and Vanderbilt University. OSU’s portion of the award will be $840K.

David received a second, four-year $400K grant from the National Science Foundation for a project entitled “CAS-Climate: Collaborative Research: Understanding How Electrochemical Cation Trapping in Metal Oxides Enhances Subsequent Reversible Insertion of Anions in Forming Metal Oxyhalides

Biologist David Lytle received a $100K grant from the US Geological Survey for a project entitled “Grand Canyon food base population modeling and eDNA monitoring.”

Astrophysicist Xavier Siemens received $1.95M from the National Science Foundation for the NanoGrav Physics Frontiers Center.

SciRIS Stage 2 and 3

The College of Science awarded SciRIS Stage 2 proposals and one SciRIS Stage 3 proposal this summer.

• Microbiologist Kimberly Halsey, along with microbiologist James Fox, statistician Duo Jiang and collaborators from Eugene Water and Electric Board, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Salem received $75K for their SciRIS Stage 2 grant for a project entitled entitled “Expanding a new toxic harmful algal bloom monitoring strategy to multiple Oregon lakes.”
• Microbiologist Steve Giovannoni and marine ecologist Francis Chan received $75K for their SciRIS Stage 2 grant for a project entitled entitled “The Hypoxic Barrier: Oxygenase Enzyme Kinetics and Ocean Health.”
• Microbiologist Maude David and collaborators biochemist Kenton Hokanson and Kathy Magnussun and Patrick Chappell from the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine received a $125K SciRIS Stage 3 grant for a project entitled “Accelerating neuroactive microbial compounds discovery with gut-brain chip technology.”

Congratulations

Global Honors

Astrophysicist Davide Lazzati received the Aspen Institute Italia Award for a 2017 paper on which he was the lead author that detailed the first detection of a gravitational wave signal produced by the merger of two neutron stars. This award, which began in 2015, recognizes research and collaboration between Italy and the United States.

Marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco was inducted into the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on September 10 in Rome. She is one of only 83 “ordinary academicians” from around the world in the Academy.

National Honors

Mathematics Ph.D. student Angulo Barba was awarded a GEM Fellowship, a prestigious external fellowship that enables qualified students from underrepresented communities to pursue graduate education in STEM. He is completing his Ph.D. under faculty mentor Vrushali Bokil. This summer, Barba completed an internship with Idaho National Labs.

Jeremy Chu (’18, biology) has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant job in Taiwan. “I wanted an experience where I could re-engage with my Chinese heritage, learn Chinese and get immersed in an experience abroad for a year,” he said.

Microbiology postdoctoral scholar Veronika Kivenson was awarded the 2022 Tory Burch Fellowship at the Innovative Genomics Institute. Entering its second year, the fellowship supports scientists whose work involves the development of solutions to global problems, while promoting gender equity in the biotech industry.

Marine ecologist Bruce Menge was installed this month in Cambridge, MA as a newly elected member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. He was in elected in 2020 but the installation ceremonies were delayed until this year due to the pandemic.

Chemist May Nyman received the 2023 F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry, sponsored by the F. Albert Cotton Endowment Fund, from the American Chemical Society.

University Honors

Six members of the College of Science and one collaborative team received awards at this year’s University Day on September 13. Congratulations!

• Interim Dean Vrushali Bokil received the Outstanding Diversity Advocate Award, which is awarded each year to a member of the university community who actively promotes and enhances diversity, equity and inclusion.  
• Biology Ph.D. student Jesse Laney received the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring by a Graduate Student Award. Jesse works in Rebecca Terry’s lab where he investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of multiple dimensions of biodiversity across heterogeneous environmental conditions.  
• Biology Ph.D. student Valeri Sawiccy received the Herbert F. Frolander Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. Val works in the Weis Lab, studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms essential for cnidarian-algal symbiosis and what happens to that relationship during coral bleaching events. 
• Chemist Marita Barth received the OSU Faculty Excellence in Online Teaching Award. Marita is one of the reasons the College’s Ecampus chemistry courses are regarded nationwide. In 2019, she received the Ecampus Excellence in Online Teaching and Student Engagement Award. 
• Biologist Lindsay Biga received the OSU Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. A Senior Instructor in the Department of Integrative Biology, Lindsay teaches the three-course Human Anatomy and Physiology series. She has made her content accessible to students from across the university.  
• Professor Christopher Beaudry received the OSU Impact Award for Outstanding Scholarship. Beaudry patented a groundbreaking method for making a powerful leukemia drug, increasing accessibility and affordability.  
• The Principles of Biology Instructional Team received the Student Learning and Success Teamwork Award for interdisciplinary collaboration affecting student learning and success. Over the last 10 years, the group redesigned the Principles of Biology series, a three-course series taken by approximately 1000 students a term from over 57 majors. 

College Honors

Biochemist Maria Franco has been appointed as the Eileen and Norbert Hartmann Faculty Scholar in the College of Science. This is a three-year appointment that begins Setpember 16. Congratulations, Maca!

Mathematician Malgo Peszynska has been named the Joel Davis Endowed Faculty Scholar in the College of Science. This appointment, which honors late mathematics Professor Joel Davis, supports faculty focused on numerical analysis research.

College News

Dean’s Office changes

Vrushali Bokil has outlined her priorities for her term as interim dean of the College of Science. Top of mind for her is the heavy task of launching and implementing the College’s next strategic plan that aims to enhance research and innovation, increase outreach and engagement, improve access to science education and develop the next generation of science leaders.

Kris Gage has joined the Dean’s Office as the new Student Success Coordinator in the Science Success Center. They will lead a variety of projects and tasks including START advising, coordinating the Peer Advisor program and leading START next year.

Jennifer Olarra has been promoted to the role of Head Advisor. She has had various advising roles in the College for nine years, including academic advisor, success advisor and, most recently, interim head advisor.

Devon Quick has taken on the role of the new learning assistant (LA) program director. Quick co-founded the LA program in the Department of Integrative Biology, and it has now a spread to other departments and colleges, supporting nearly 7,000 students each term.

Virginia Weis, former Integrative Biology head, stepped into the role as Acting Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Science. Her appointment will last for the duration of the national search for the next dean of the College and until the next dean begins their appointment.

Student News

Physics Ph.D. student Nima Laal is the 2022-23 recipient of the Larry W. Martin & Joyce B. O’Neill Endowed Fellowship for his work involving computational modeling of pulsar timing data and gravitational-wave signal simulations.  

Biochemistry and molecular biology major Giulia Wood is having the ultimate hands-on experience: She has spent the last five months in Antarctica as part of an all-women research team led by CEOAS faculty member Kim Bernard to study Antarctic krill.

2022 Ph.D. graduate Andrea Burton worked in the Barreto Lab where she examined the genomics behind evolutionary relationships in marine ecosystems. At Oregon State, she discovered a passion for teaching. She is now starting a postdoctoral position at San Francisco State University focused on teaching pedagogy in science education.

This past summer, 40 undergraduate Science students participated in the SURE Scholar program and completed 11 weeks of paid research with a faculty mentor. Check out the COS Instagram page to meet some of these impressive scholars.

In Memoriam

We are deeply saddened to share that the College of Science community lost three of its members this summer.

Mackenzie Wilson died on Friday, June 24. Mackenzie was a junior Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major and a member of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 685 Cadet Wing. A celebration of life will take place on Thursday, September 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the CH2M Alumni Center Ballroom. 

Alden Bradley passed away on July 19. He joined OSU as a physics graduate student in Fall 2017 and was working towards a Ph.D. under the supervision of Professors Matt Graham and Yun-Shik Lee, which he was awarded posthumously. A celebration of life for Alden will be held in Corvallis in the coming months. Details will be shared as we know more from the family.

Donald Pierce, emeriti professor who taught and did research in the College of Science for 30 years, died on July 7. During his time at the university from 1966 to 1996, Pierce contributed greatly to the success of the Department of Statistics in teaching hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students, mentoring younger faculty, and developing academic coursework that was later adopted nationally.

Resources and Tools

Need to update your College of Science directory profile with your latest publications and awards? Simply scroll to the bottom of your profile page and click the “Log In” button. From there, you will see an “edit” button at the top of the page and can make changes from there. You may also send your requested changes to Cari Longman in the College marketing department.

Events

Celebration of Life for Mackenzie Wilson
Thursday, September 22, 4 – 6 p.m., CH2M Alumni Center Ballroom

Join the Oregon State Air Force ROTC as they remember a member of the College of Science community who passed away in June.

State of the College
Thursday, October 6, 4 – 6 p.m., MU Multipurpose Room

Join your College of Science colleagues for this event to launch our next four-year strategic plan. Interim Dean Bokil will deliver a report on the state of the College, and others will present on research and equity, access and inclusion efforts. More details to come soon.

SACNAS Conference
October 27 – 29, San Juan, Puerto Rico

This annual conference is the largest multicultural STEM diversity event in the country and an excellent means of recruiting diverse students to our College. We will have a booth at the conference and are sponsoring several students this year to attend.

Recent Events

College of Science Welcome Social
September 20
Our annual fall welcome event took place in the quad in front of Kidder Hall. This was a great opportunity to welcome our first-year Science students and introduce them to resources and clubs.

University Day
September 13
University Day featured keynote session featuring Ruth V. Watkins, president of Strada Network. An awards ceremony followed in which seven College of Science members received awards.

Juntos Chemistry Overnight Camp
June 2022
Twenty high school students from across Oregon took part in the annual Juntos Chemistry Overnight Camp, which is designed to introduce Latino students to STEM, particularly chemistry, while providing a sampling of college life at Oregon State. Chong Fang was a co-organizer of the event