IMPACT

For the first time, scientists have taken a winter sampling of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic. The results revealed that the carbon-absorbing cells were smaller than what scientists expected, meaning a key weapon in the fight against excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may not be as powerful as previously believed.

Integrative Biology Professor Sally Hacker is one of five Oregon Sea Grant omnibus funding recipients. She will study a new hybrid super beachgrass along coastal dunes in the Pacific Northwest.

Tapping into 35 years of satellite imagery, researchers at Oregon State University have dramatically enlarged the database regarding how climate change is affecting kelps, near-shore seaweeds that provide food and shelter for fish and protect coastlines from wave damage.

How are devastating plant diseases spread? Is there a better way to predict HIV prevalence in a city? How can we detect toxic algae blooms before they occur? And which of the thousands of metal-organic frameworks can be used for storing and separating gases, like CO2 from industrial plants? Four faculty members received College of Science Research and Innovation Seed (SciRIS-ii) awards this February to pursue answers to these questions over the course of the next year.

Renovations to Cordley Hall – home to Integrative Biology and Botany and Plant Pathology – will begin this summer. When the project is complete in 2024, Cordley Hall will be transformed into a welcoming, attractive academic home for the thousands of students the two departments service each term.

Robert Mason, professor of integrative biology, has become a new Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Edward and Janet Chen along with John Donnelly, on behalf of the Wei Family Foundation, will receive the College of Science Distinguished Service Award for their extraordinary commitment to the university and institution.

College of Science research funding surges in fiscal year 2019, increasing 46% to $16.46 million in new grants and awards.

Nobel Laureate Louis Ignarro, a pharmacologist sometimes referred to as the “Father of Viagra,” will give a public lecture, “The Road to Stockholm – A Nobel Mission,” on August 16 at OSU.

Distinguished marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco proposes a “new narrative for the ocean” in an editorial published in the journal Science.

Congratulations 2019 SURE Science Scholars!

Biochemist Joe Beckman has found a new molecule fragmentation technology to allow scientists to conduct research in new ways and across many diverse fields.