Skip to main content
A woman in a dress holds a graduation gown.
Biochemistry & Biophysics

2025 Honors graduate Kaitlyn Kim champions mentorship and human-centered science

From lab bench to student outreach, Kaitlyn Kim built bridges — fusing curiosity with care to uplift others in every space she touched.

Oksana Ostroverkhova smiling on campus in spring
Teaching Innovation

Oksana Ostroverkhova and Courtney S. Campbell named 2025 Margaret and Thomas Meehan Honors College Eminent Faculty

Professor of Physics Oksana Ostroverkhova is celebrated for her dedication to mentoring students and advancing interdisciplinary research in physics at Oregon State.

A man in a black shirt stands in front of a white background.
Mathematics

Roan Luikart, Class of ’25: Mathematics major finds the equation for success

At Oregon State, Roan Luikart was able to bring his passion for math to life. He studied abroad in England, conducted two undergraduate research projects, served as a resident assistant and helped grow the Math Club.

People on top of a mountain.
Biochemistry & Biophysics

Auria Lee, Class of ’25: Adventure, research and leadership shape future doctor

Auria Lee plans to go to medical school, but her training as a physician truly began as an undergraduate Honors biochemistry major at Oregon State.

A woman holds a shark and shines a flashlight into it in a laboratory.
Students

Goldwater scholar modernizes shark research with digital art

Natalie Donato, a third-year honors biology student, is submerged in the thrilling world of sharks. On a typical day at Oregon State University, this nationally recognized Goldwater scholar can be found creating 3D models of shark heads in a research lab and recently designed Oregon’s new shark license plate.

A man in a white button-up gestures to molecular art on a table, explaining it to onlooking students.
Teaching Innovation

Students bake, sculpt and stitch molecular structures to life in Protein Portraits colloquium

Taught by biochemistry and biophysics professor Phil McFadden, the Honors colloquium course Protein Portraits offers a uniquely artistic perspective on biomolecules.

A student with her hair pulled back wearing a lab coat and protective goggles looks intently at the glassware in her hands.
Students

Perseverance and photovoltaics: Goldwater Scholar paves future in nanoscience

Physics senior Madalyn Gragg was named a 2024 Goldwater Scholar, the nation's top STEM award for undergraduates. Being recognized from more than 5,000 applicants, she hopes her success inspires others to break down their own barriers into science.

AJ Damiana and Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer pose next to Damiana's yellow, green, red, and blue painting, split between two frames.
Students

How painting cellular aging made this biochemistry student a better scientist

Honors biochemistry and molecular biology student AJ Damiana recently finished a year-long fellowship through the new PRAx Center. Her experience culminated in a piece of art depicting the hallmarks of cellular aging. She was also honored to accept the assistant editorship at Beaver’s Digest at the same time.

A woman with shoulder-length hair wears an earset microphone and presents to an unseen audience. Light focuses on her as stands in front of a soft orange-pink gradient.
Teaching Innovation

Black holes devour light — except when they create it, finds physics undergrad

When physics senior Phia Morton flew to Italy to do research, she couldn’t have imagined what she’d find hidden in the stars: the first strong candidate of a black hole merger emitting light. This discovery deepens knowledge on the cosmic structures and may even give a new opinion on how quickly the universe is expanding.

AJ Damiana wears a striped button-up with a smile, her dark, curly hair falling to her shoulders.
Students

Biochemistry PRAx fellow conveys science through art

To take science from a nebulous image to an understandable craft, honors biochemistry major AJ Damiana turns to art. Now a Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts fellow, her ambitions have never been closer to reach.

Madalyn Gragg works in a lab with Ethan Minot
Students

Physics major, Madalyn Gragg, receives prestigious Goldwater scholarship

A College of Science undergraduate student has been selected as a 2024 Goldwater Scholar, the nation's top award for sophomores and juniors studying science, engineering or mathematics.

Headshot of a woman in black shirt and maroon sweater
Students

Empowered by LURE: Financial help to follow scientific pursuits

Like many college students, Lexie Swisher confronted a difficult choice concerning her time: find
a job on campus to afford rent or participate in undergraduate research. Thanks to an unwavering commitment made by college leadership and generous donors, Swisher secured financial support from Launching Undergraduate Research Experiences, or LURE, a groundbreaking program that pays students while they gain invaluable research experiences during the academic year.