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A volleyball player stands on a court.
Integrative Biology

Vivian Light: Senior balances biology and volleyball at Oregon State

If you ask student-athlete and biology senior Vivian Light to share a fun science fact, she will likely tell you something fascinating about fish

Two women in lab coats work with a sample in a tube in a laboratory.
Microbiology

Microbiome scientist uses AI to redefine the gut-brain axis and deep-sea ecosystems

Maude David’s research sits at the crossroads of microbiology, neuroscience and artificial intelligence — an intersection that may hold the key to understanding some of the most complex disorders affecting the human brain and unlocking the secrets of deep-sea ecosystems.

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.

Vaishnavi Padaki stands in Strand Gallery. Two of her art pieces hang on either side of her on the wall. The one on the left is on a white background, the one on the right is on a black background. She wears glasses and has long dark hair. She smiles slightly.
Graduate students

10 Questions With... Vaishnavi Padaki, microbiology Ph.D. candidate

10 Questions With… Vaishnavi Padaki, fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in microbiology, who will be defending her thesis in April. Padaki has created mixed-media artwork for part of her thesis which is on display March 31-April 16 in the Strand Gallery in Strand Ag Hall on the Corvallis campus.

Sophie Krueger (right) plays on the newly revived women's polo team when she's not studying biohealth.
Students

OSU Polo Club is back in the saddle this year

Sophie Krueger plays on the newly revived women's polo team when she's not studying biohealth. She encourages all undergraduates to find an extracurricular activity to explore during their time at Oregon State.

A blue background with the year 2025
Events

Celebrating inclusive excellence, administration, service and performance: 2025 College of Science Awards

The College of Science gathered on Feb. 26 to recognize and celebrate our high achieving faculty and staff at the 2025 Combined Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrated the very best in the College, from teaching, advising and research to inclusive excellence, administration and service. The following faculty and staff received awards in Inclusive Excellence, Administration, Service and Performance. Congratulations to all the awardees!

Intrinsically disordered proteins
Biochemistry & Biophysics

2025 Gilfillan Lecture: "Beyond the fold: How disordered proteins control movement, viruses and gene expression"

Join us for the 2025 F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Lecture, featuring Dr. Elisar Barbar, a pioneering researcher challenging traditional views of protein structure.

Snowy mountain
Students

OSU sophomore ROTC cadet Emily Self survives avalanche and helps four others

One day during winter break, when much of the OSU community was relaxing at home, Army ROTC cadet Emily Self was frantically digging people out of the snow after an avalanche overtook her party while skiing in Canada.

A woman in a purple suit coat stands in front of a chalkboard for a headshot.
Mathematics

Advances in mathematics education net Elise Lockwood the presidential award

Elise Lockwood, a professor in the Department of Mathematics in the College of Science, has been honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to outstanding early-career scientists and engineers.

A woman in a white blazer stands for a headshot.
Physics

40th annual Yunker lecture: “Driving quantum matter out of equilibrium”

Physicist and computation materials scientist Prineha Narang will present the 40th annual Yunker Lecture, “Driving quantum matter out of equilibrium,” focused on the dynamic interplay of quantum systems far from equilibrium.

Eleanor Ford stands on a stone pathway with palm trees in Okinawa, Japan in 1981.
Microbiology

Science and legacy: This 1962 alumna did it all

Eleanor Ford (62’, Microbiology) was six feet tall. Not literally, but when she shared her passion for laboratory safety, her personality could fill a room. Despite being only four feet, eleven inches, and a woman in a male-dominated field in the 1960s, when she talked, people listened.

A graphic of a star is in front of lab test tubes.
Graduate students

College of Science graduate students earn prestigious awards in 2023-24

Graduate students in the College of Science earned notable recognition during the 2023-24 academic year, receiving a range of awards which highlight their achievements and contributions to Oregon State.