The inner workings of a cell, more powerful mass spectrometry and building a tropical reef at Oregon State: The 2021 College of Science Research and Innovation Seed (SciRIS) awards are empowering initiatives that will open fresh pathways in science.

The SciRIS program funds projects based on collaborative research within the College of Science community and beyond. There are two tracks through the program: SciRIS (Stages 1-3) and the SciRIS individual investigator award (SciRIS-ii). SciRIS Stages 1-3 funds teams in three stages to support training, research and capacity-building, accelerating work toward external funding opportunities. SciRIS-ii funds individual faculty to establish research relationships with external partners, enabling them to demonstrate the feasibility of their ideas and quickening the pace of scientific discovery.

The newly-established College of Science Innovation Award provides critical resources for projects that take a new direction, utilize a new technology or are in the “proof-of-concept” phase.

Three groups of scientists received SciRIS Stage 1 awards, two at $10K each and one at $20K. One group received the Innovation Award at $10K.

Professor of Microbiology Rebecca Vega Thurber and her colleagues will use their award to develop a model tropical reef facility within Oregon State’s world-renowned John Fryer Aquatic Animal Health Lab.

The model will allow College of Science researchers across biology, chemistry and ecology to perform highly controlled, repeatable experiments on reef ecosystems, which are under increasing threats from climate change, pollution, habitat destruction and disease. By bringing the reef to researchers, carbon emissions associated with travel are also reduced.

The facility will also serve as an outreach platform, bringing awareness of far-off ecosystems to the local community. By interacting with the lab, citizens will learn about how humans affect these fragile habitats and how they personally can potentially mitigate and reverse reef decline.

Chemistry Professor Wei Kong and Statistics Professor Lan Xue will use their SciRIS grant to develop more effective mass spectrometry through inclusion of electron diffraction. With this addition, future mass spectrometers will be able to reveal not only the mass composition of an unknown species, but also the three-dimensional arrangement of the constituent atoms. This capability can change the paradigm of nanomaterial synthesis, allowing intelligent design and quality control of custom-made materials applicable in medical diagnostics and therapeutics, in energy harvesting and storage, and in catalysis.

Biochemistry and Biophysics Professor Elisar Barbar and collaborators received a SciRIS award to integrate structural biology with cell and organismal biology. Capitalizing on Oregon State’s high concentration of expertise and resources for studying dynamic protein complexes across scales, the team aims to establish new technologies to investigate cancer related complexes and host-parasite interactions. Their eventual goal is to submit a proposal to the NSF Biology Integration Institute, which supports interdisciplinary projects that translate discoveries from the molecular scale to the cellular level of organisms and vice versa.

Associate Professor of Physics Matt Graham and colleagues received the College of Science Innovation Award support their work converting waste heat to electricity, contributing to a more sustainable world through the recovery of energy losses and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The team will develop a prototype of an ultralow bandgap semiconductor device that converts residual waste heat to electricity. The award will support their work optimizing the efficiency of the device’s waste heat to energy conversion and validating the current extraction model related to the device prototype.

Congratulations to the Oregon State College of Science Class of 2021! This class faced enormous challenges due to the pandemic. On the spur of the moment, the class of 2021 transitioned to remote learning, virtual interaction with professors, mentors, peers, friends and experiential learning in online formats. They have also faced increased financial burdens and other stressors. Our students have persevered, showing admirable determination, resilience and fortitude that will serve them well in their lives and careers.

Succeeding against odds while making history, College of Science graduates have found ways during this pandemic to participate and make an impact on state-wide public health endeavors through the TRACE-CVOID-19 project. They have gained enduring skills and done outstanding work in adapted science labs and with science communication in the virtual domain. Our seniors have been instrumental in helping Oregon State succeed at remote teaching in their roles as peer learning assistants and tutors.

Science graduates have led the way by dint of their academic achievements, selfless service and committed leadership. Supported by awards, scholarships and dedicated advisors, our seniors have collaborated with faculty mentors to create new knowledge and achieve major scientific breakthroughs.

Check out our Commencement page to celebrate our graduates. Read their compelling stories below containing reflections on undergraduate experiences at Oregon State and their dreams for the future.

This year’s graduates include Fulbright and Ford Foundation Fellows, Gilman International Scholars, NOAA Scholars, published scientific authors, future doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs, community leaders, teachers and informed, engaged world citizens. We are exceptionally proud of our students and all they have achieved during their career as undergraduates in the College of Science at Oregon State.

By the numbers

The College graduated 670 undergraduate students with baccalaureate degrees in 2020-21, including 68 Honors graduates. More than 80% (538) of our graduates were in the life sciences, with Biology having the most graduates at 199. BioHealth Sciences came in second with 152 graduates; biochemistry and molecular biology had 71 graduates; Zoology 63; Mathematics 56; Microbiology 43; Chemistry 42; Physics 34, and; Biochemistry and Biophysics graduated 10 students.

Of the total baccalaureate graduates, 11% are underrepresented minorities and 26% are first-generation students. In addition, 10 of the 2021 baccalaureate graduates are military veterans.

The College will also award 52 doctoral degrees, 66 master’s degrees and seven certificates in online Data Analytics.

Of the 52 doctoral degrees, Chemistry had 16 Ph.D. students, followed by Integrative Biology at 11; Mathematics 9; Physics 6; Microbiology 5; Statistics 4, and; Biochemistry and Biophysics graduated one doctoral student.

The Department of Statistics awarded 15 master's degrees in statistics and 19 M.S. degrees in data analytics. Chemistry and Mathematics awarded 10 master's degrees each. Physics had 6 master's degree recipients; Microbiology three; Biochemistry and Biophysics two, and; Integrative Biology awarded one master's degree this year.

Celebrating the Class of 2021

We invite you to read the profiles of our seniors. These outstanding graduates represent an inclusive and diverse learning community in the College of Science. Here they share their inspiring and unique journeys as science majors.

• Simone Burton, Integrative Biology
• Devonte Casey, Zoology
• Gabriela Cortes Cortes, BioHealth Sciences
• Ilana Gottfield-Lee, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Rohal Kakepoto, Physics
• Kendra Krebs, Microbiology
• Seth Pinckney, Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Jennifer Smucker, Mathematics
• Linus Unitan, Chemistry

On April 22, the College of Science gathered virtually to recognize academic, administrative and teaching excellence at the 2020-21 Combined Awards Ceremony – a merge of our annual Faculty and Staff Awards and Teaching and Advising Awards events.

The first half of the ceremony celebrated excellence in research and administration, and the second half the ceremony focused on outstanding teaching, advising and mentoring,

The College congratulates the Teaching and Advising Awards winners below who exemplify deep commitment, skill and effectiveness in mentoring and advising to ensure student learning and success within and beyond the classroom. Effective teaching, advising and mentorship are the very heart of the College of Science’s identity as a robust and thriving community of students and scholars.

Congratulations to all the nominees and especially to the award winners.

2021 Teaching, Advising and Mentoring Award Winners

Olaf Boedtker Award for Excellence in Academic Advising

The College of Science is proud to announce that 41 science students – a record number – have received summer undergraduate research awards that will provide the opportunity and funding to pursue their research ambitions.

Undergraduate research often plays an instrumental role in developing student-faculty relationships that help students learn and grow beyond the scope of the classroom. For many OSU students, these awards provide the financial leverage to work in the field they are passionate about without being constrained to jobs that simply pay the bills.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) award is available to all science students who meet the academic requirements. Participants are paid for 11 weeks of full-time research, or 440 hours, for a maximum of $5060. Awardees also receive an additional $500 for research expenses, including travel costs, materials or equipment rental.

This is also the second year that the Department of Integrative Biology offered the Alexei Lubchenco Menge Fellowship, which was awarded to Lily Miksell to support her research examining the interactions of dominant foundation species in Oregon rocky intertidal communities under the guidance of integrative biology professor Sally Hacker. The fellowship was established in memory of Alexei Lubchenco Menge, who died at age 27 in 2005. The award seeks to help one student each year within the department who exemplifies the deep love of the ocean that Lubchenco Menge personified.

SURE science awards are made possible by generous donations of College of Science alumni, faculty and supporters.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to come changes in the SURE science program in 2020. Due to COVID-19 restrictions limiting access to laboratory space at Oregon State University, the deadline for completing SURE scholar research projects was extended to May 2021. Some students have projects that can be done entirely remotely and will complete and present their findings by the end of the summer. Some of the students below are able to work on their projects in OSU labs this summer, following OSU and Oregon Health Authority safety guidelines. For the majority of this year's awardees, the extended timeframe will allow them an opportunity to continue their research safely throughout the school year while gaining research experience.

SURE Science Scholars

Juan Altamira | Chemistry | Vince Remcho

Analysis of Explosive Compounds via Paper Microfluidic Device

Roy Anderson | Biology | Bruce Menge

Examining the Effects of Upwelling Intensity and Recruitment Limitation on Successional Trajectories in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem

Thao Mi Anthony | BioHealth Sciences | Kyriakos Stylianou

Implication of Metal Organic Framework with Nanoparticle Composites to Deliver Medication

John Barnes | Biology | Felipe Barreto

Quantity and Quality of DNA extracted from dry vs. alcohol preserved samples of China rockfish

Elizaveta ‘Leeza’ Bliznyuk | BioHealth Sciences | Dylan Nelson

Targeting Mycobacterium abscessus pre-existing biofilms

Madeline Bloom | Chemistry | Claudia Maier

Microchip-MS Optimization of Oxylipins Analysis as a Biomarker for Cardiovascular Disease

Elizabeth Brennan | Microbiology | Stephen Giovannoni

Plankton Need Their Vitamins: Vitamin B1 Excretion by Marine Synechecoccus

Russell Campbell | Zoology | Robert Mason

Integrative Biology Collections Management

Dustin Campbell | Zoology | Robert Mason

Sexual Dimorphic growth of Harderian glands in Thamnophis sirtalis

Emily Gemmill | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Weihong Qiu

Keeping up with the kinesins: analyzing regulatory proteins and their effects on the motility of KlpA, a kinesin-14 motor protein

Jessica Giulietti | Biology | Patrick Chappell

Exploring regulation of osteosarcoma in vitro: Mechanisms of RANKL production by autocrine neuropeptides

Dylan Gregory | Biology | Virginia Weis

Using the Split Luciferase Complementation Assay to Identify Protein-Protein Interactions In Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis

Joshua Griffis | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Richard Cooley

Optimized Phosphoserine tRNA Selection

Shelby Hansen | Biology | Brittany Poirson

How is a young mussel's life affected by coastal water conditions?

Joshua Havelind | Biology | Francis Chan

Effect of rising temperature in the ocean on Dungeness Crabs

Toren Ikea-Mario | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Tory Hagen

Glutathiones effect on Mitochondrial Decay

Rohal Kakepoto | Physics | Janet Tate

Hall Measurements of TiO2 Polymorphs

Rony Koluda | Chemistry | Claudia Maier

Low Dose Radiation Effect on Myelination -Associated Proteins in Mice

Chapman Kuykendall | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Colin Johnson

Characterizing the Biophysical Interactions between Dysferlin C2A and the H3 Helix of Syntaxin-4

Dustin Campbell | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Massimo Bionaz

In vivo-in vitro dose-effect response of bovine liver to rumen-protected fatty acids: implementation of a nutrigenomic approach in dairy cows

Jessica Li | Chemistry | Jan Stevens

The effects of xanthohumol on gut microbial metabolism

Maya Livni | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Maude David

Unraveling the impact of the gut microbiota metabolites on intestinal sensory neuronal cells and how EECs transduce signals to the brain by forming a synapse with the vagus nerve

Ruben Lopez | BioHealth Sciences | Bo Sun

Quantifying ECM Remodeling by Invasive Tumors

Christopher Markgraf | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Susanne Brander

Immortalization and Validation of Inland Silverside Cardiomyocytes, Hepatocytes, and Osteoblasts

Saki Nakai | Mathematics | Vrushali Bokil

Mathematical Modeling of Bipolar Disorder

Hunter Nelson | Physics | Tuan Pham

Blowup of Reaction Diffusion Equations

Jacob North | Biochemistry |Victor Hsu

Elucidating binding features of drug targets to Farnesoid X receptor by unsupervised machine learning of molecular dynamics trajectories

Sarah Olson | Microbiology | Frederick Colwell

Investigating Changes in the Microbiome of North Creek

Reina Paez | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Lia Danelishvili

Identifying and Purifying Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacterial Surface Antigens for the Purpose of Inducing Trained Immune Responses in Macrophages

Aneila Parra | Biology | Jiraporn Lueangsakulthai and David Dallas

Premature vs. Term Infant Milk Protein Digestome

Jacob Rauenhorst | Chemistry | Kathy Magnusson

Effects of ibuprofen on NMDA receptor expression and contribution

Alan Schultz | Physics |Hoewoon Kim

The Linearized Navier-Stokes Equations Solved on the Sphere by Fourier Transform Method

Rhea Sellitto | Biology | James Rivers

Evaluating the nutritional landscape for wild bees in managed conifer forests

Anna Sung |BioHealth Sciences| Maria Franco

Role of Redox Signaling in Development and Growth of Tumors of the Nervous System

Savannah Taggard | Biology | Molly Burke

The evolution of RoundUp resistance in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Jessica Waymire | Physics | Matt Graham

Hyperspectral Fluorescence Imaging of Twisted Bilayer Graphene

Kaytlin Wearne | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Kenton Hokanson

The Effects of hsp90 on p2x7 on Human ALS Neurons

Devin Wright | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Michael Freitag

Zymoseptoria Tritici Mutation Accumulation Experiment

Elizaveta "Lisa" Zhivaya | Biochemistry & Biophysics | Maude David

Impact of the gut microbiota metabolites on the autism phenotype modulation

How can we better understand how devastating plant diseases are spread? Is there a better statistical model to predict HIV prevalence in a city? Is there a way we can detect toxic algae blooms in freshwater and marine ecosystems before they occur? And of the hundreds of thousands of different metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the world, how can we can better find the ones that are most useful for storing and separating gases, like CO2 from industrial plants?

Curiosity is critical for discovery. Asking the questions above led five faculty members to receive College of Science Research and Innovation Seed (SciRIS-ii) and Betty Wang Discovery Fund awards this February to pursue answers over the course of the next year. Their proposals all showed transformative potential and progress toward new frontiers of science and aimed to strengthen collaboration with external research partners. Below is more detail about each of their proposals.

Mathematics Professor Vrushali Bokil was awarded $8,000 to use modeling techniques to understand the spread and control of plant diseases caused by coinfecting viruses. She will focus on Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN), an emerging disease in Kenya and other parts of Africa that is caused by coinfecting viruses and spread by insects called Thrips, as a test case. Her team’s goals are to use stochastic models and optimal control theory to understand the mechanisms that drive patterns of coinfection in plant populations and effective techniques for controlling the spread of disease in crops and natural grasslands.

In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Statistics Assistant Professor Katherine McLaughlin received $10,000 to explore the use of new statistical methodologies to estimate the number of people who inject drugs in metropolitan areas. The research project, supported by the privately-funded Disease Mechanism & Prevention Fund at the OSU Foundation, has a goal of refining current methods to produce improved population-level demographic, behavioral, disease prevalence and population size estimations. This will aid the CDC in their efforts to contain or slow the rate of HIV in metropolitan areas across the U.S.

Microbiologist Kimberly Halsey was awarded $10,000 to examine the potential for real-time, automated volatile organic compound (VOC) detection as early-warning signals of toxic harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater and marine ecosystems. HABs are increasing in intensity and severity due to climate change and nutrient loading from agriculture and other human-related activities. Some HABs can become toxic to humans and animals. Halsey will use data integration to merge aquatic microbiome data with environmental properties and VOC signatures to identify determinants and trajectory of the annual toxic HAB at Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon.

Physicist David Roundy was also awarded $10,000 to develop new flat histogram Monte Carlo molecular simulation methods to accelerate the discovery of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for applications in storing and separating gases. MOFs are crystalline materials that harbor nano-sized pores that have the potential to be used in a variety of clean energy applications, from hydrogen and natural gas storage to capturing carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant flues. His study aims to enable scientists to accurately predict the absorption properties of hundreds of thousands of MOFs and accelerate the rate of MOF discovery for clean energy applications.

In addition, chemistry professors Kyriakos Stylianou and May Nyman, along with Todd Miller from the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Institute (ATAMI), received $30,000 from the Betty Wang Discovery Fund to purchase a microwave reactor to integrate on the continuous flow reactor to accelerate the discovery and production of inorganic materials like MOFs. The Betty Wang Discovery Fund supports equipment acquisitions and laboratory infrastructure improvements to advance fundamental discoveries in science. Microwave heating has recently emerged as a powerful method for the preparation of inorganic materials at the laboratory scale, reducing synthesis time down to a few minutes without affecting the product quality or reaction yield. The new machinery will allow the team to investigate the potential of new MOFs to capture carbon in laboratory and industrial applications.

The projects will run for one year, ending next February 2021.The SciRIS program provides funding in three stages for high impact collaborative proposals that build teams, pursue fundamental discoveries and create societal impact. The awards range from $10,000 to $125,000 for various stages of the program and are supported in part by generous alumni and friends, and grants from the U.S. Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health.

The College of Science is launching a transformative program to support and strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship that will enable us to better identify, validate, and develop the commercial impact of basic research. Innovation Days will bring together faculty, faculty research assistants and research associates to discuss and learn about moving basic research ideas and discoveries from the lab to commercial applications and practical solutions.

Co-hosted by the College of Science and the Office of Commercialization and Corporate Development (OCCD), Innovation Days will host its first session on January 7, 2019, 2:30-5 pm followed by a reception from 5-6 p.m. The deadline to register is December 14, 2018. Additional sessions to follow on February 4, April 1 and April 29.

Innovation Days is designed to build awareness and engagement with experts who will help advance and propel the OSU innovation enterprise. Workshop participants will learn about resources to:

• Leverage basic research and research funding opportunities toward application
• Increase the impact of basic research through patents and commercialization
• Validate broader impacts of research projects to enhance proposal success
• Connect with local innovation ecosystem and identify pathways to translate research to application
• Create opportunities with industry
• Integrate invention disclosures, patent applications, and company formation into day-to-day work to advance your career

Facilitators represent and support the many pathways available to successfully transfer technology and commercialize scientific research. The workshop series includes: Berry Treat, director of OCCD, who will provide an overview of his office and how it supports the research to industry pathway; Joe Christison, senior intellectual property and licensing manager at OCCD, who will introduce participants to technology transfer at OSU; Katie Pettinger, commercialization catalyst at OSU Advantage Accelerator, who will discuss startup support available to OSU researchers; chemistry professor Rich Carter, who will share his success story as an inventor; and Chris Stoner, senior industry contracts manager, OCCD, who will discuss the development of appropriate and effective research agreements with companies.

The College of Science’s efforts to advance engagement with science at all levels have been steadily gaining momentum thanks to the incredible contributions of our faculty and students. As a College, we continue to show that science does not have to be confined to an ivory tower, but can and must be used to inform the public about the complexities of life and the world we live in.

Several of this year’s notable accomplishments have been in global research and national and international recognition of our faculty and students.

The research our faculty and students are engaged in demonstrates their passion for the environment, sustainability, oceans, human health, and the data that underlie and illuminate those areas. Our faculty and students are committed to improving the world around us by making it better than how we found it. The year was marked by groundbreaking research on ocean acidification, earthquake forecasting, the dangers affecting coral reefs and more.

Our scientists made key research advances in curing disease from the discovery of a bacterium that kills melanoma cells to successfully combating drug resistance in certain infections. Science faculty and students have won national and international awards and recognition for their extraordinary achievements in improving undergraduate education and innovative research. We look forward to building on this trajectory of growth and momentum this year and beyond.

Highlights of 2017-18

Awards and leadership

• Mathematician Elise Lockwood receives MAA Award for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education.
• Great story of how a Japanese musician recreated Mas Subramanian’s YInMn blue to help the children of Fukushima still battling the devastating nuclear powerplant meltdown in 2011.
• A graduate student determines that size is the main factor in predicting how calcifying organisms will respond to ocean acidification.
• Chemistry professor named a 2018 Fellow by the American Chemical Society.
• We hosted 22 area high-school students interested in STEM at Juntos Chemistry Camp in June where they enjoyed liquid nitrogen ice cream and the chemistry behind it through hands-on lab work.
• Biophysicist Weihong Qiu solved a longstanding puzzle concerning the design of molecular motors, paving the way toward new cancer therapies.
• Team Math, including a group of mathematics instructors, received the 2018 Faculty Senate Student Learning and Teamwork Award for creating and sustaining an exemplary learning environment in mathematics courses.
• A 2018 math graduate landed job offers by two Major League Baseball teams—Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, thanks to his expertise in baseball analytics.
• Two Ph.D. students received prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards for 2018 for 2018.
• Two of seven students at OSU to win Fulbright Scholarships in 2018 were science students!
• Statistics Professor Javier Rojo received the 2018 Dr. Etta Falconer Award for Mentoring and Commitment to Diversity.
• Two math and biology professors were named 2018 OSU Advance Faculty Fellows to advance diversity and equity in STEM fields.
• Physics department head Heidi Schellman was selected to lead a commission of the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics.
• Professor of Physics Janet Tate was named a Distinguished Professor at OSU, bringing our total to 20, more than any other college.
• Distinguished professor of marine ecology Jane Lubchenco received the prestigious National Science 2018 Vannevar Bush Award for her exceptional lifelong leadership in science and technology and substantial contributions through public service in science, technology and public policy.
• Mathematics Professor Juan Restrepo was one of the 28 researchers chosen from around the globe as a 2018 Fellow for the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) for his outstanding research and service for the community.
• Biology professor Sally Hacker was elected an AAAS Fellow for her distinguished contributions to coastal ecology.
• Delaney Smith, a junior biochemistry and biophysics major, received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for 2018, the top undergraduate award in the country for sophomores and juniors in STEM. She was the only Goldwater Scholar selected from an Oregon institution this year.

Teaching and innovation

• We were one of three universities to receive a national award from the American Physical Society for improving undergraduate physics education in 2018.
• Science faculty awarded prestigious $1M HHMI grant to develop culturally inclusive pedagogies in STEM programs.
• Mathematics faculty replaced the traditional classroom model to improve student success in introductory algebra courses by integrating technology, new active learning approaches and measurement of student performance and understanding. These have improved retention, performance and student engagement in 100- and 200-level mathematics classes at OSU.
• In partnership with Ecampus, biology faculty helped create a groundbreaking, first-of-its kind 3-D Virtual Microscope and online introductory biology course series, winning a 2017 WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) award for technology-based solutions that transformed the college learning experience.

Student Success

• We graduated 5% more science students than 2017!
• We launched an Integrated Professional Development platform featuring innovative career preparation programs with content delivered in first-year experience science courses that help to build students’ professional skills and give them a competitive edge in the job market or in graduate school.
• A biohealth sciences major founded OSU’s first pre-osteopathic student club that earned national recognition as Chapter of the Year, from the parent organization Student Osteopathic Medical association, in its first year of operation.

Research

• Statistics research showing how better short-term earthquake forecasting and risk assessment is possible.
• Our statisticians led by Yuan Jiang received a grant to innovate statistical methods to study the human microbiome and its role in human health.
• The Department of Mathematics received its first ever NIH grant—a $437K award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to build a Biomedical Translator, which is a software system that connects distributed databases of biomedical knowledge and has the capability to “reason” over these data sources to answer relevant biomedical questions.
• A mathematics professor used statistical models to show how the concept of uncertainty in climate science is often misrepresented in public and political discussions.
• Mathematics research by David Koslicki recently showed that the blood of schizophrenia patients features genetic material from more types of microorganisms than that of people without the debilitating mental illness.
• Astrophysicist Davide Lazzati proved that short gamma-ray bursts do follow binary neutron star mergers, confirming that last fall’s union of two neutron stars caused a short gamma-ray burst.
• Our microbiologists advanced the fight against drug resistance, crafting a compound that genetically neutralizes a pathogen’s ability to thwart antibiotics.
• Chemistry professor Sandra Loesgen and graduate students identified a type of soil-dwelling bacterium that produces molecules that induce death in melanoma cells.
• The Department of Integrative Biology hosted the 9th International Symbiosis Society Congress this summer which attracted 400 scientists from around the world to OSU.
• Our microbiology department received a $404K grant renewal to continue to support graduate students studying fish health thanks to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The 13-year fruitful collaboration benefits fish health and sustainable economic growth in Oregon as well as produces graduates that are now setting policies to ensure a healthy resource well into the future.
• Biology professors are part of an international research group that found that for reef-building corals, not just any symbiotic algae. Their research shows the dangers faced by coral reefs due to the breakdown in the symbiosis relationship, another danger sign for the world’s coral reefs.
• Our chemists led by May Nyman are part of a five-year, $12.5 million National Nuclear Security Administration grant to study nuclear stewardship.
• Biochemists found that loading nanofiber sutures with vitamin D induces the production of an infection-fighting peptide.

The College of Science congratulates these 20 faculty on receiving promotions and/or tenure for the 2017-18 academic year.

“The success of our faculty is essential to the success of our students,” said Roy Haggerty, dean of the College of Science. “I am proud of our faculty who are outstanding researchers, scholars, teachers and mentors to our students.”

'I want to also thank our Promotion and Tenure Committee for devoting a significant amount of time engaged in the intense review process to award the best candidates for promotion and/or tenure,” added Haggerty.

Tremendous consideration goes into each promotion and tenure decision. The Provost’s Office, the College of Science Dean’s office, department heads, Promotion and Tenure Committee members, faculty, external reviewers, student evaluation committees, and individual faculty members all spend many hours preparing, processing and reviewing the documentation.

Congratulations to the following science faculty!

Biochemistry and Biophysics Department

Note: this article is part of a yearlong series on the distinguished tradition of scientific research pertaining to Oregon State’s 150th anniversary and its four land-grant designations. From our fall 2017 issue: 150 years of science for sea and space(Introduction), On the shoulders of giants, Oregon State Science: The many "firsts" in 150 years. From our spring 2018 issue: The significance of OSU's sea-, space-, sun- and land-grant designations, "Milestones: Oregon State Science at the helm for 150 years."

While the College of Science at Oregon State University was formally established in 1932, science programs and departments have been instrumental in shaping the evolution of research and education at the university since its 1868 land grant designation.

In fact, long before OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences came into existence, the new agricultural curriculum was first taught in the Department of Chemistry in 1870 paving the way for the scientific study of agriculture for the first time in the Pacific Northwest. Such pioneering science programs since the earliest days of the institution were responsible for OSU’s land grant designation making it one of three land-grant colleges in the country at that time (The other two were the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California at Berkeley).

The first professors of engineering at OSU in the 1890s were also professors of mathematics. Some of the university’s earliest engineering disciplines would not have flourished if it were not for the fundamental sciences. A four-year mining engineering curriculum was established in the Department of Chemistry in 1900 that led to the consolidation of early engineering programs in metallurgy.

The chemistry department was also the home of the first geology courses. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the natural and physical sciences at OSU have shaped and guided the growth of the world-class research and education that takes place across all STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields in the university today.

OSU land grant: From plows to touch screens

Science has played a founding role in carrying out Oregon State’s Land Grant mission from its origins in the Morrill Act of 1862, whose focus was to teach agriculture, military tactics and “mechanical arts” or engineering. Chemistry was hailed, for example, as “the cornerstone of Scientific Agriculture” in the 1869-70 course catalog. And in 1899, today’s microbiology department arguably began with a single course in bacteriology, to help understand and eliminate bacterial diseases of crops. Mathematics and physics courses were a core part of the mechanical arts curriculum and the fledgling department of mechanical engineering, formed in 1889.

In the 20^th century, the University’s land-grant mission expanded to adapt to the changing social and economic needs, including a new forestry program in response to Oregon’s growing timber industry and a growing emphasis on engineering after World War II. As the scope of the land-grant mission widened, science continued to be front and center. The chemistry department was home to new four-year programs in pharmacy (1898), mining (1900) and forestry (1906). By 1912, bacteriology was driving innovation across various industries and considered essential training for “any student properly equipped in Dairying, Agriculture, Agronomy, Pharmacy, Domestic Science, etc.”

In the 21^st century, Oregon State under President Ray’s leadership aims to be among the top 10 land grant institutions in America, with a focus on three signature areas: the Science of Sustainable Earth Ecosystems, Human Health and Wellness, and Economic Growth and Social Progress. The College of Science is a key contributor with pioneering programs and research in biohealth, the life sciences, marine and environmental sciences and, increasingly, statistics, as students and researchers across a wide variety of fields learn to interpret and gain often revolutionary insights from big data.

An integral part of OSU’s land-grant mission is also to foster public outreach and engagement, and science has long been at the heart of its various agricultural experiment stations and Cooperative Extension Service. Through evidence-based programs designed to make Oregon farms more sustainable, to teach gardeners how to raise bees, reduce pesticides or compost; or encourage children to pursue STEM careers through its engaging, hands-on 4-H programs — science provides both a body of evidence and a mode of inquiry that supports both backyard sleuths and future astrophysicists.

Science also contributes to economic growth with a constant stream of research-inspired innovation, producing 48 new inventions and securing 18 U.S. patents since 2011 alone. Local, state and global industries have profited from sustainable materials that began as lab experiments in Gilbert Hall, from more efficient batteries and greener touch screens, to a new heat-resistant paint using YImMn blue, the new pigment discovered by chemist Mas Subramanian.

Lastly, the College’s current investment in student diversity and success continues a long and proud tradition of opening STEM fields to all, science being a necessary part of the “liberal and practical education” for the “industrial classes” since the passage of the 1862 Morrill Act. As the University’s land-grant mission continues to evolve, science will remain at the heart – and the edge – of discovery and innovation.

Sun: Harnessing natural resources for a healthy planet

For nearly 150 years, the natural sciences at OSU have been at the forefront of research and innovation bridging the biological sciences and the physical sciences (physics and chemistry) for environmental sustainability, renewable energy and a healthy planet.

Chemist David Ji has pioneered the invention of new long-lasting and high-performance energy materials in the form of batteries for the purposes of sustainable energy storage. By employing carbon-based materials and hydrocarbon solids, Ji has designed new battery devices such as the world’s first hydronium-ion battery, potassium-ion battery, dual-ion battery and sodium-ion battery which can easily and cheaply store energy from the wind and sun. Ji’s innovations in the area of energy storage have ushered in a new era of renewable and sustainable batteries.

Materials physicist Janet Tate is a key player in the field of renewable energy technologies that includes development of transparent conductors and photovoltaic materials. Tate is a principal investigator at the prestigious Center for Next Generation of Materials Design—an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

By integrating the talent and expertise of leading scientists such as Tate, the EFRC aims to “accelerate transformative discovery” and innovate new materials on the atomic and molecular scale to enhance energy security and protect the global environment. At the Center for Next Generation of Materials Design, Tate studies metastable alloys to design inorganic semiconductors for optoelectronic applications (electronic devices that source, detect and control light).

The OSU Sun Grant program is supported by funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy aimed at the creation of biofuels and other environmentally sustainable green technologies to meet growing energy demands and promote opportunities for bio-based economic growth in rural communities.

One of the key sun grant projects on genetic modification of poplar trees to produce plant-based plastics will be extended in new, innovative directions with the added expertise of statistical methods. In collaboration with College of Forestry Professor Steven Strauss, statistician Yuan Jiang is investigating better methods of mapping the genes that control the process of regeneration and transformation needed for genetic engineering by using DNA sequence databases, imaging and computations.

This five-year, $4 million project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is an important advance in developing genetically engineered crop species in ways that help meet our present challenges without unintended environmental effects.

“The History of Life on earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their surroundings,” writes Rachel Carson in her environmental classic Silent Spring (1962). An education in Earth’s natural and physical environments and their interrelationships is at the foundation of the top-ranked interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences undergraduate program at Oregon State.

Global warming, species extinction, air and water pollution, natural resource depletion, and renewable energy demands are rapidly changing the world we live in. These developments require the expertise and knowledge of environmental scientists who can assess, tackle and mitigate environmental challenges as well as help preserve a healthy natural environment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of environmental scientists is projected to increase 11 percent from 2016 to 2026.

Housed in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State’s online and on campus environmental sciences bachelor program is setting high standards for excellence. U.S. News & World Report features OSU in its top 40 programs for Best Global Universities for Environment/Ecology, awarding it a rank of 36 amongst similar programs worldwide.

The online program in environmental sciences was ranked No. 2 in the nation by Online Colleges in its ranking for Best Online Colleges for Environmental Science in 2018. For its rankings, Online Colleges “collected data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and utilized a custom methodology to ascertain the ten best schools for environmental science in the United States.”

Students can earn an environmental sciences degree both on campus and through online courses, which are taught by Oregon State faculty, many of whom are in the College of Science. The online bachelor of science degree in environmental sciences is offered by OSU’s award-winning Ecampus. With a focus on eco-oriented programs as well as a broad swath of fields from anthropology to computer science, OSU Ecampus has racked up top place rankings in almost every prestigious survey of online degree programs. Since 2014, U.S. News & World Report has ranked OSU Ecampus in its top 10 online bachelor’s programs.

Breaking down boundaries: An interdisciplinary approach

One of the great strengths of environmental sciences at OSU is undoubtedly its interdisciplinary character. The program emphasizes the biological, physical, earth and natural sciences as well as the integration of social sciences that cover a wide range of subject areas from ethics to environmental law, policy and management.

Director of the Environmental Sciences Program Laurence Becker explains that the program offers a broad base in the sciences with a great deal of academic flexibility for students who love the environment and desire a broad exposure to both science and environmental law and policy.

An attractive feature of the program is that students can choose from one of nine options that range from studies in alternative energy and environmental science education to earth systems and environmental water resources. The most popular options are applied ecology and conservation, resources and sustainability.

In addition, the major offers two certificates: one in the popular field of geographic information science (GIS) and the other in scientific, technical and professional communication. All of the specializations are available online through Ecampus except alternative energy and environmental science education.

More often than not students discover their vocation as they experience different facets of environmental science training in this nontraditional program.

“This program allows them to remain open to different job opportunities and different areas of environmental science they are exposed to in their undergraduate career. The broad degree allows students to shift along the way if needed and many discover interests they wouldn’t have dreamed of in the beginning,” said Becker.

The science in environmental sciences

Science is a foundation for the degree because environmental studies majors need the scientific aptitude to apply complex concepts in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics in order to understand challenging environmental issues and seek solutions. Quantitative coursework in differential, integral calculus and statistical methods prepare students to design research models and employ analytical tools to study and assess the environmental impact of development projects and businesses.

The bachelor of science degree in Environmental Sciences requires all students to complete a full year of basic science courses in biology and chemistry, as well as courses in calculus, statistics and physics.

The environmental sciences curriculum comprises many core courses that are taught in the College of Science. It offers students different specializations in the program as well as a rigorous foundation in theoretical and experimental upper-level science courses, including:

• Ecology (BI 370), which is central to the degree program
• Marine ecology
• Ecological methods
• Animal behavior
• Human ecology
• Conservation of marine mammals
• Modern chemical analysis, among others.

For example, a specialization in aquatic biology comprises coursework in a diverse and exciting mix of courses in marine and invertebrate biology offered by the College of Science, oceanography in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences and courses in biological resources at the College of Forestry.

The strong presence of science in the basic, core and specialized components of the Environmental Sciences program enhances both its rigor and cross-disciplinary power.

Develop expertise that makes a difference to all

An experiential learning requirement offers students the opportunity to complete an environmental science related internship, research project, field course or a study abroad experience.

Becker points out that online students are encouraged to pursue internships; on-campus students often undertake research projects or internships.

The experiences often turn out to have a lasting impact on student careers, explains Becker. Students discover opportunities to pursue significant internships in the areas of hydrology, wildlife management, conservation science, biochemistry and geoscience across local and federal government agencies, research centers, environmental consulting firms and not-for-profit organizations. It is not unusual for quite a few of them to translate into longer-term opportunities and job offers.

The broad versus the narrow

Becker often meets parents of prospective students who are nervous about job prospects within a broad field of study.

“The program’s training in science and social science cultivates a broad knowledge of natural sciences with ethics and policy. We often attract students from more specialized majors such as engineering who don’t feel comfortable in a narrower choice of subjects and are motivated by a deep love for the environment.”

The most attractive feature of the degree is the wide variety of careers it throws open for graduates. Environmental scientists can work in local government, private companies, law firms, not-for-profit groups or government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, or the United States Geological Survey. Students also get into competitive law school programs and other graduate programs in the sciences and policy.

Due to the unique constellations of quantitative, analytical and research skills in addition to writing and communication abilities that they acquire from the interdisciplinary curriculum, environmental science students find themselves well suited to a diverse range of jobs across environmental science, policy, education and consulting firms.

“It is incumbent on us as advisors and teachers to help students find something that they are passionate about,” said Becker.

Each year Becker invites seniors and recent alumni to speak to first-year students in his Environmental Sciences Orientation class. During a recent visit, a talented environmental sciences alumnus who was also a ROTC (Reserve Officers Trainings Corps) graduate at OSU, shared insights gleaned from his professional journey.

He had easily found employment, working at positions related to the field of environmental sciences that were nonetheless very different from one another. A fourth job change landed him an enviable position in the Oregon National Guard where he leads the environmental management of their facilities.

The alumnus had a message about the enduring advantages of an environmental sciences degree: “The degree because of its breadth allowed me to apply for jobs that I hadn’t worked in.”

“Having this broad background allowed for a possibility of change when the opportunity arose,” added Becker.

Given the rising demand for experts in the field, OSU environmental scientists will be having an impact on the world around us for many decades to come.