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The element vanadium displays a deep purple hue.
Chemistry

Research led by chemistry professor makes key advance for carbon capture

A chemical element so visually striking it was named for a goddess shows a “Goldilocks” level of reactivity – neither too much nor too little – that makes it a strong candidate as a carbon scrubbing tool.

Jeff Hazboun stands in front of a computer screen on a wall looking at gravitational waves.
Faculty and Staff

NSF Career Award helps physicist unravel the mysteries of the universe

Physicist Jeff Hazboun had a remarkable year in 2023. He was a member of a multi-university team whose​ research went viral, and he received a coveted NSF​ Faculty Early Career Development award.

Kirsten Grorud-Colvert stands in a blue shirt with her hair in a bun in front of green trees.
Integrative Biology

Inclusive Excellence Lecture: ‘Gathering community for dialogue and action’

Achieving equity in science requires openness to challenging conversations and acknowledging that all disciplines have a history of exclusionary behavior. How do you change decades of behavior in science? Kirsten Grorud-Colvert will address this question at the 2023 College of Science Inclusive Excellence Lecture, “Inclusive Science: Gathering community for dialogue and action.”

Wei Kong and graduate students work in the lab on a huge machine with wires.
Chemistry

Revolutionary imaging research reshaping drug development and disease understanding

One project keeps chemist Wei Kong awake at night, and it started as an idea nearly two decades ago. Now, after being awarded nearly $2 million for four years by the National Institutes of Health, the goal is to create a groundbreaking new tool with the potential to revolutionize drug development and enhance our understanding of disease mechanisms.

Lan Xue smiles for a headshot wearing a puffer jacket.
Faculty and Staff

College of Science welcomes new Department of Statistics Interim Head

The College of Science welcomes Lan Xue as Department of Statistics Interim Head, effective January 1, 2024.

A glossy Chinook salmon swims against the current in a shallow stream.
Research

Researchers discover vitamin that may offer hope for salmon suffering thiamine deficiency disease

Oregon State University researchers have discovered vitamin B1 produced by microbes in rivers, findings that may offer hope for vitamin-deficient salmon populations.

A turquoise podium with a SACNAS figure showing the years 1973 to 2023.
Events

OSU shines at nation’s largest STEM conference, SACNAS

Earlier this fall, more than 6,000 people gathered for the nation’s largest STEM diversity event of the year, the 2023 National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) conference, hosted in Portland, Oregon.

Audience members shown from the back, watching on in a large auditorium.
Events

Women Leaders in STEM: Challenges and Rewards

The Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics will present “Women Leaders in STEM: Challenges and Rewards” on Wednesday, Dec. 13. The event is partially funded by the College of Science’s Gender Equity Leadership Fund, awarded to Biochemistry and Biophysics Head Elisar Barbar in 2023 to implement projects for the advancement of women faculty and those assigned female at birth in the College.

A close-up of the hexagonal pattern of a honeycomb with small larvae inside.
Research

Microbiologist works with OSU researchers on $4.2 million grant to study honey bee disease

Researchers at Oregon State University have received a $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study European foulbrood disease, which is killing honey bees and affecting pollination of specialty crops.

Astrophysicist Jeffrey Hazboun stands in front of an graphic of Earth surrounded by satellites and other cosmic bodies.
Events

Gravitational waves discovery topic of Dec. 6 Oregon State Science Pub

The discovery related to gravitational waves which made international headlines earlier this year and was predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago will be the topic of Oregon State University’s Science Pub on Dec. 6. Jeff Hazboun, an astrophysicist in the College of Science and one of the researchers who led the project that resulted in the gravitational wave astronomy breakthrough, will talk about the discovery and future directions for the research at 6 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Old World Deli in Corvallis.

Two rhinoceroses striding out of a river.
Integrative Biology

New Nepal Study Abroad: Explore the interweaving of culture and biology

A brand-new, three-week study abroad opportunity in Nepal is being launched for students to experience. Led by Dee Denver, head of the Department of Integrative Biology, the Intersections of Biodiversity and Buddhist Cultures in Nepal course promises a trek through the Himalayas, excursions in lowland jungles, and time spent in centuries-old monasteries.

A series of colored circles on a blue background.
Mathematics

Classroom puzzles to cosmic insights: Students and professor demystify mathematical theorem

More than 150 years ago, Joseph Bertrand stated a mathematical theorem. Proving why this theorem is true hasn’t been a simple endeavor. Two College of Science alumni, along with professor Patrick De Leenheer, recently published a paper in the SIAM Review pulling back the curtain on Bertrand’s Theorem. Together, they wrote a proof that is accessible to undergraduate mathematics or physics students.