College of Science faculty, staff and graduate students received awards for innovative teaching, diversity advocacy, mentorship and more at University Day, Oregon State University’s prestigious annual awards.
On a sunny June afternoon, 20 high school students from across Oregon stood in a college chemistry laboratory watching a balloon. Their eyes widened as it began to shrink and turn into a wrinkled but rigid ball of rubber. No magic was involved — just liquid nitrogen.
Giulia Wood’s summer activities — or, in her case, winter — have included polar plunges into the Southern Ocean, listening to cracking glaciers and conducting research on Antarctic krill.
When honors student Sahana Shah ran for the student House of Representatives, she won the election with the most votes of any candidate. One of her main platforms? Helping establish a disability cultural center to better adapt the campus to the needs of neurodiverse students. She is now joining forces with other student groups to bring the idea to life.
The College of Science is proud to announce University Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology Virginia Weis as the acting associate dean for research and graduate studies, effective August 5. Weis brings extensive research experience, a history of leadership within the College, and expertise and success in mentoring graduate students.
Molly Burke, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, has received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) — a unique grant that will support multiple projects focused on aging and infertility.
Researchers in the College of Science know that curiosity is boundless. Answers are not stopping points but instead opportunities for deeper questions and discoveries. Continuing to ask questions culminated in three faculty groups receiving College of Science Research and Innovation Seed (SciRIS) awards in July.
Vrushali Bokil is working to make the sciences more welcoming and accessible to all. On August 1, she will continue fostering scientific excellence and inclusivity in her new role as interim dean for the Oregon State University College of Science.
