{"id":1924,"date":"2025-02-12T22:36:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T22:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/science\/?p=1924"},"modified":"2025-02-18T16:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T16:56:15","slug":"february-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/science\/newsletter\/february-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Words from the Dean<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 2025<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Words from the Dean<\/strong>
February 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dear Colleagues, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u2019s Inclusive Excellence Lecture, featuring Inclusive Excellence@OSU, underscored the importance of our ongoing work to build a more equitable College. If you weren\u2019t able to join us, you can watch a recording of the lecture here<\/a>. 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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a land grant institution, our mission is to create access and opportunity for all <\/em>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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 \u201cright\u201d answers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cshiftlessness\u201d (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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science has incredible potential to make our world better in almost every way, but not if we don\u2019t do it right, and not if we let it be misused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favorite story about the importance of diversity to scientific discovery, interpretation, or application? Send us an email<\/a> and we\u2019ll share the best examples in the next DNL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eleanor Feingold<\/strong>
Dean, College of Science<\/small><\/p>\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<\/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

Statistician Yanming Di<\/strong> 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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benthic ecologist Sarah Henkel<\/strong> 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\u2019s 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.<\/a>
Groundbreaking research by environmental microbiologist Chris Suffridge<\/strong> was featured in Forbes, highlighting the role of a river\u2019s 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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Kimberly Halsey<\/strong> received $150k from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for her project titled, \u201cRoles of volatile organic compounds in structuring the phycosphere.\u201d<\/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

Congratulations to mathematics education researcher Elise Lockwood<\/strong> 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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physicist Xavier Siemens<\/strong> 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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty and Staff Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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

Awards for Teaching & Advising<\/h4>\n\n\n\n