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Jessica Etter standing outside near a tree.
Students

Brussels sprouts and Parkinson's push chemistry senior toward Ph.D. at Oregon State

Graduating high school at 16 is no easy feat. For Jessica Etter, it also meant the additional challenge of starting college at 17. Etter started her journey as an Oregon State University chemistry student with the goal of becoming a forensic scientist, however, she has since found a passion for research and will be starting a Ph.D. at Oregon State this fall.

Catherine Raffin poses in front of a bush of vibrant pink flowers.
Students

The field where ‘everything matters’: Biology senior chases an insect dream

Many people grow up with a fear of bugs, and above all else, a fear of spiders. Oregon State biology senior Catherine Raffin was just the same. The sight of eight spindly legs and a pair of fangs made her skin crawl, so she did the only logical thing: purchased a pet tarantula. “From a young age I was always morbidly fascinated with the insects everybody fears,” she said. “I thought it was crazy how something so small can be so terrifying.”

Amelia Noall standing at the top of Torc Mountain in Ireland, overlooking a vast field.
Students

French, microbes and the microbiology senior who speaks both

Lice: creepy, crawly, but to a young Amelia Noall, fascinating. “There was an outbreak at my school, and of course I got it. But I started looking at the bugs through my microscope and thinking, ‘Wow, these are so interesting!’” she recalled. As she followed her curiosity, picking leaves from the ground and examining their hidden structures through the microscope lens, she unknowingly paved the way toward her time as a microbiology major — and now senior — at Oregon State.

Coral microbiologist Rebecca Vega Thurber snorkeling above a mass of coral in clear waters.
OSU Press Releases

College of Science postdoctoral scholar helps find hidden viral threats to coral reefs

Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbor a common and possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material, an international collaboration spearheaded by an Oregon State University researcher has found.

May Nyman in the lab with students
Chemistry

Prestigious awards and the ultimate recycling: Oregon State professor spearheads chemistry innovations

Oregon State University Professor May Nyman received the prestigious F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.

Jenna Bustos showing off her Oregon State shirt while in the lab.
Graduate students

Graduate student traverses the frontier of radioactive metal research

Actinide chemistry is defined by its cutting-edge research, which graduate student Jenna Bustos has a passion for pursuing. From becoming a member of the Nyman Research Group at Oregon State to interning at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Bustos is well-versed in the field and eager to see what it brings next for her.

A diver looks under clear blue water at corals.
Climate and Oceans

Esteemed coral scientist to help identify sites for restoration in South Pacific

Sometimes knowing where not to deploy conservation efforts is the most valuable information. Oregon State Pernot Distinguished Professor of Microbiology Rebecca Vega Thurber and her team have received a half million-dollar grant to help grass roots conservation groups in French Polynesia identify ideal sites for coral restoration.

Jamie Cornelius kneels down in snow holding a small bird.
Integrative Biology

NSF Career Grant fuels Jamie Cornelius' deep dive into the hidden world of songbirds

Assistant Professor Jamie Cornelius received a coveted National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to measure the energy and fitness costs of metabolic and behavioral strategies used by songbirds during inclement weather.

A black and white image of the sun with mathematical shapes coming off of it.
Events

Gilfillan Lecture: "Dealing with big data: What to do when your neutrino detector is the size of a building"

A trailblazer in experimental particle physics, Professor Heidi Schellman will present the 2023 F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Lecture, “Dealing with big data: What to do when your neutrino detector is the size of a building.” In her talk, Schellman will share her personal journey as a scientist and her fascination with neutrinos – mysterious particles that could hold answers to the universe.

A hand with pink painted thumbnail uses a phone with an orange survey on the screen.
Statistics

Oregon by the Numbers: Survey Research Center helps clients master the art of surveys

Since 1973 the Survey Research Center has been working with Oregon State faculty and state government agencies to help them conduct and analyze surveys.

A background of brown soil with a white outline of earth.
Events

Saving soil: Inaugural Berg Lecture features prominent microbiologist

Internationally acclaimed microbiologist Jo Handelsman, who served as the science advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama as the Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will give the inaugural Berg Lecture on Thursday, April 27 at 5 p.m.

A juvenile blackrock fish
OSU Press Releases

Juvenile black rockfish affected by marine heat wave but not always for the worse, College of Science research shows

Larvae produced by black rockfish, a linchpin of the West Coast commercial fishing industry for the past eight decades, fared better during two recent years of unusually high ocean temperatures than had been feared, new research by Oregon State College of Science shows.