Journalists are encouraged to contact OSU's Department of News and Research Communications at 541-737-0787 for assistance. Media personnel seeking expert sources for their stories can contact OSU news editor Sean Nealon at 541-737-0787 or sean.nealon@oregonstate.edu.
For more specific content, science news writer Steve Lundeberg is also available at 541-737-4039, or steve.lundeberg@oregonstate.edu.
The story delves into the history of the Platypus Trophy, a 1959 student-made sculpture blending both mascots. Lost for years, it now unofficially trades hands between the schools’ alumni associations. Kathryn Everson, assistant professor of biology, shares why the platypus is such a fitting mascot mash-up. With webbed feet like a duck, a broad tail like a beaver and even a venomous spur on its hind legs, the platypus embodies traits of both teams.
Could AI ever get so powerful it outsmarts us all? A Popular Mechanics story says not anytime soon – unless we build a machine that can literally “eat the sun.” Mas Subramanian, Milton Harris Chair of Materials Science, is among the experts weighing in on the limits of computer chips, the massive energy demands of AI and the leap required to reach the singularity.
Lightning first struck Mas Subramanian over 15 years ago. When he and his graduate student Andrew Smith put a mixture of rather mundane powders into the lab oven at Oregon State University, the pair wanted to discover exotic new metal combinations to improve supercomputing. What they pulled out of the oven, however, wasn’t that. Finding a red that is permanent, safe, and inexpensive has become Subramanian’s new challenge.
Check out benthic ecologist Sarah Henkel in this segment from Jes Burns with OPB’s All Science, No Fiction. Burns shares how the Pacific Marine Energy Center (affiliated with PacWave), the largest wave energy testing center on the planet, was completed in Newport, Oregon in the spring. Learn about how engineers and scientists like Henkel are working to provide a testing center for wave energy devices with the lowest impact on the creatures that inhabit the deep.
A vitamin deficiency likely killed as many as half of newly hatched fry of endangered winter-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River in 2020 and 2021. These new findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"What drew you to Oregon State University originally?
I enjoy working in labs and learning about marine ecosystems as well as spending time in and around them, and the programs to get into that space and get involved in research as an undergraduate at OSU stood out to me. I also spent time on the Oregon coast growing up, around the tidepools especially, and connections to the vibrant coastal life played a key role in my choice to go to OSU as well."
Materials scientist Mas Subramanian made color history with YInMn blue. Chemical and Engineering News, the news magazine of the American Chemical Society, documented his new challenge with the search for red. Plenty of red pigments exist, but they all have their drawbacks. Subramanian is after a red that is permanent, safe and inexpensive.
Researchers at Oregon State University are working on developing a way to make contrast agents more targeted.
Researchers at Oregon State University are discovering ways to adjust the size of silver nanoparticles, which could mean huge advances in medical imaging. The study leaders said this breakthrough could revolutionize the field, as silver nanoparticles are tiny pieces of material that can kill microorganisms. This study aimed to make them uniform in shape and size, and keep them from degrading. When they’re uniform and stable, silver nanoparticles can be used in water purification, wound dressings, and medical diagnostic imaging.
Maybe it’s time for a new license plate that shouts fearlessness, tenacity and resilience. The “Vibrant Ocean” specialty plate features three shark species commonly found in Oregon. Proceeds from sales of the plates will benefit Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab, which focuses on shark research. The license plate was designed by Natalie Donato, a third-year undergraduate student from Folsom, California who is studying marine biology and ecology at OSU’s College of Science.
For the grass seed industry, spotting weed seeds and other unwanted interlopers among thousands of grass seeds is as tedious as it is necessary. Samples of grass seed are repeatedly analyzed by growers to avoid penalties for weed seeds and other impurities, while seed companies must do the same to comply with labeling rules. “That takes away time from the rest of their work,” said Dan Curry, director of seed services at Oregon State University. “They don’t want any weeds or any other crops in there.” By delegating the mind-numbing task to computers, Oregon State University scientists plan to save countless hours of labor without sacrificing seed purity.
Xavier Siemens, a renowned astrophysicist and professor at Oregon State’s College of Science, 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.
A collaborative team, including College of Science researcher Artiom Skripka, has developed luminescent nanocrystals capable of switching between light and dark states at remarkable speeds, paving the way for advancements in optical computing and memory technologies.
Scientists at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a method to significantly enhance the carbon capture capacity of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs).
Titanium has emerged as a key player in a recent carbon capture breakthrough that has been unveiled by scientists at Oregon State University.
Researchers at Oregon State University led by Professor Kyriakos Stylianou have developed a new photocatalyst material that efficiently converts sunlight and water into clean hydrogen energy.
Scientists at Oregon State University have discovered a method to significantly enhance the carbon dioxide absorption capacity of a chemical structure, more than doubling its effectiveness for capturing emissions from factory flues.
Oregon State University researchers have received a $1 million grant to study the impact of adding seaweed to the diets of beef cattle as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
When Victory Chiamaka Obieke misses home, she paints it. In her third year in the mathematics Ph.D. program at Oregon State University, it isn’t easy being 7,000-plus miles away from her home country, Nigeria, Obieke said in a gallery, surrounded by her colorful artwork.
College of Science and Oregon State University researchers received a $1 million federal grant to study the impact of adding seaweed to the diets of beef cattle as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
