Skip to main content
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.

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.

Black and white photo of a man with a streak of light across his face.
Chemistry

Shedding light on molecular mysteries: Physical chemist wins CAREER Award

Light is more than just illumination --- it’s the energy that drives life itself. Physical chemist Tim Zuehlsdorff is using his coveted National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to study what happens when molecules interact with light in dynamic environments, such as solvents or proteins.

Two scientists use equipment in the GCE4All lab.
Biochemistry & Biophysics

GCE4ALL leads global advancements in genetic code expansion for advanced therapies

For billions of years, all life on Earth, from tadpoles to humans, have relied on the same 20 amino acids to build proteins — the fundamental building blocks of life. But what if that list of fundamental amino acids was expanded to include any chemical ability of our choosing? What new potential could be unlocked?

Two people stand in front of buildings.
Research

Immune systems for cities: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

Cities are like organisms — they need immune systems. Viruses can reproduce rapidly, taking over cells and turning them into viral factories within hours. Individuals' immune systems need to rise to the challenge, but what happens when they can't, and a whole population gets sick?

Conceptual illustration of helium droplets interacting with polarizing lasers.
Events

2024 F.A. Gilfillan Lecture: Wei Kong's bold journey in molecular imaging

Wei Kong enjoys taking the road less traveled, and she is not timid in making bold decisions to get oriented and reoriented. On May 13, 2024, she will present the 2024 F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Lecture, titled “Which way up: Using field orientation to see the unseen.”

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.

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.

A worker at the head of a conveyor system scoops potatoes from a massive heap.
Chemistry

Researchers receive $2M to look for new ways to prevent organic potatoes from spoiling

Oregon State University researchers have been awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop improved ways of preventing stored potatoes from sprouting, particularly in the organic sector.

Over-the-shoulder view of a scientist pipetting a dark liquid from a test tube.
Research

Science faculty research funding totals $24.2M in fiscal year 2023

Over the 2022-2023 fiscal year, College of Science researchers received $24.2 million in research grants to support groundbreaking science, up 31% from the previous year.

Photo of Kidder Hall from a low angle looking at a door with science written in the glass above the door, and Kidder Hall written in the stone above the glass. Blurred pink flowers appear in the foreground.
Graduate students

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.

Coral microbiologist Rebecca Vega Thurber snorkeling above a mass of coral in clear waters.
OSU Press Releases

College of Science postdoctoral scholar helps find hidden viral threats to coral reefs

Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbor a common and possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material, an international collaboration spearheaded by an Oregon State University researcher has found.