{"id":1328,"date":"2017-12-12T19:17:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T19:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/science\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2024-02-27T22:58:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T22:58:13","slug":"december-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/science\/newsletter\/december-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"December 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Words from the Dean<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

December 2017<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you have a healthy and happy holiday season. I look forward to an extraordinary year for science in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RoyRoy Haggerty<\/strong>
Dean, College of Science<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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All the news that’s fit to print.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Please submit news, honors and awards, discoveries, events, research funding, student news, alumni updates and more. Just send us a quick email<\/a><\/strong> by the end of the month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Research updates<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Research Highlights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Read more of the most recent research happening<\/a> in our College online.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>. Coral reefs depend on the algae to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bill Williams River, Arizona<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flooding rivers can wreak havoc but are necessary for healthy ecosystems<\/a>, reports Jonathan Tonkin<\/strong>, a postdoc in integrative biology. The study shows that alterations to rivers’ natural flow patterns \u2013 because of dams, diversions and changes in precipitation \u2013 cause damage to riparian plant communities and river ecosystems in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Funding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yuan Jiang<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May Nyman<\/strong> was awarded $1 million as part of a five-year, $12.5 million National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) grant<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimberley Halsey<\/strong> 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 \u2014 Linking remotely \u2014 detectable optical signals, photic layer plankton properties, and export flux.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Ji<\/strong> 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<\/a> by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, an important partner for our Department of Microbiology and OSU since the 1960s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Congratulations<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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National Honors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Integrative Biology Professor Sally Hacker<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sally D. Hacker<\/strong>, professor of integrative biology, was elected a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science<\/a> this year for her “distinguished contributions to the field of coastal ecology, particularly investigating the importance of native and non-native species interactions to community structures, function and services.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OSU’s online Environmental Science degree program, which draws upon many courses and faculty within the College of Science, was ranked #2 in the nation<\/a> by OnlineColleges.com!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University Honors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics Chris Mathews and Dean Roy Haggerty<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to our 2017 Alumni Award recipients<\/a> Christopher Mathews<\/strong>, distinguished emeritus professor of biochemistry and biophysics, Lifetime Achievement Award in Science; Kay Merrill and Lee Sickler<\/strong> (’90) of the Merrill Family Foundation, Distinguished Service Award; Suzanne McGrath <\/strong>(’70), Distinguished Alumni Award; and Luisa Snyder and Nathan Snyder <\/strong>(both ’09), Young Alumni Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student Honors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to our chapter of the National Society of Physics Students (SPS) for winning the “2016-17 Outstanding SPS Chapter” award!Two Ph.D. candidates, Sean Boulanger<\/strong> in chemistry and Martijn Oostrom<\/strong> in mathematics, were among the 24 young scientists and engineers selected as 2017 ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation Oregon scholars<\/a>. ARCS Foundation supports exceptional doctoral students in STEM fields at Oregon Health & Science University, OSU and the University of Oregon. In addition, mathematics alumna Sue McGrath<\/a> (’70) will lead the organization as co-President this coming year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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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<\/a>! ASA funded just three Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) this summer – ours was one of them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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