
Science receives record-breaking 11 awards at University Day
College of Science faculty, staff, and graduate students have earned a record-breaking number of honors at University Day, a celebratory launch to the academic year featuring an annual awards ceremony. Science winners amassed an impressive 11 awards, beating the previous record of seven and garnering the most of any college across Oregon State.

Announcing new Gorman Faculty Scholar as incoming Department Head of Microbiology
Following a competitive national search, the College of Science and the College of Agricultural Sciences is excited to announce Professor Anne Dunn as Department Head of Microbiology, effective January 1, 2024. Dunn brings expertise in departmental leadership from the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology at the University of Oklahoma, as well as extensive research experience and undergraduate and graduate student mentorship.

Microbiology professor leads novel technique development for sniffing out algae blooms
Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new way to monitor the danger associated with algae blooms: “sniffing” the water for gases associated with toxins.

Oregon State names new College of Science dean
Eleanor Feingold, a statistical geneticist and associate dean with nearly 20 years of leadership experience at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named dean of Oregon State University’s College of Science. She will start Oct. 31.

Science graduate students receive prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship
Four College of Science graduate students were selected for the prestigious NSF Graduate Student Research Fellowship Program in the 2022-23 school year. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in STEM who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the U.S.

BioHealth Sciences senior breaks down barriers to bring healing and science education
Aspiring doctor Kendra Yasui began her medical education during her early years working in her family's orchard near Hood River, Oregon. Now graduated with Honor's degrees in biohealth science and Spanish, she hopes to provide health care for underserved Spanish-speaking communities.

A comforting hand and healing career: Biohealth sciences senior strides into healthcare
Jessica Lopez, who graduated from Oregon State this spring with a bachelor's degree in biohealth sciences, spent the worst of the pandemic watching hundreds of people die.

French, microbes and the microbiology senior who speaks both
Lice: creepy, crawly, but to a young Amelia Noall, fascinating. “There was an outbreak at my school, and of course I got it. But I started looking at the bugs through my microscope and thinking, ‘Wow, these are so interesting!’” she recalled. As she followed her curiosity, picking leaves from the ground and examining their hidden structures through the microscope lens, she unknowingly paved the way toward her time as a microbiology major — and now senior — at Oregon State.

Esteemed coral scientist to help identify sites for restoration in South Pacific
Sometimes knowing where not to deploy conservation efforts is the most valuable information. Oregon State Pernot Distinguished Professor of Microbiology Rebecca Vega Thurber and her team have received a half million-dollar grant to help grass roots conservation groups in French Polynesia identify ideal sites for coral restoration.

Faculty excellence: Promotions and tenure 2023
The College of Science congratulates 17 faculty on receiving promotions and/or tenure this year.

Breaking down barriers to a future in science
This past summer, Ph.D. student Savanah Leidholt set out to create a summer “bootcamp” for area high school students to draw more students from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, low-income and other diverse backgrounds to the study of microbiology.