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A microscope illustration with golden confetti in the background.
Events

Celebrating excellence in research: 2024 College of Science Awards

The College of Science gathered on Feb. 29 to recognize and celebrate our high achieving faculty and staff at the 2024 Combined Awards Ceremony.

The following faculty and staff received awards in the category of research.

Congratulations to all the awardees!

Interns at the University of Michigan Medical School gather for a photo.
Students

Pre-med undergrad explores the convergence of medicine and research

After landing a coveted internship spot reserved for Honors College students, biology fourth-year Varsha Karthikeyan explored the nuanced intersection between research and medicine.

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer sits at a lab table showing equipment to a student.
Research

Expanding undergraduate research: Fruit fly experience has students “buzzing”

Every student deserves hands-on research opportunities. But how can that be a reality with limitations on time and available faculty?

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer, College of Science associate professor and principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute, and her colleagues in the Fly-CURE consortium stumbled upon a solution they hope to expand across the U.S.

A beetle is encased in yellow amber with antennae over three times its body length growing from its head.
OSU Press Releases

College of Science researcher identifies new species of ancient beetle

One hundred million years ago, as iguanodons and triceratops fled from hungry tyrannosaurs, another biological drama played out on the ground where the giant reptiles trod: Male beetles using their supersized antennae in combat for mates.

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.

Catherine Raffin poses in front of a bush of vibrant pink flowers.
Students

The field where ‘everything matters’: Biology senior chases an insect dream

Many people grow up with a fear of bugs, and above all else, a fear of spiders. Oregon State biology senior Catherine Raffin was just the same. The sight of eight spindly legs and a pair of fangs made her skin crawl, so she did the only logical thing: purchased a pet tarantula. “From a young age I was always morbidly fascinated with the insects everybody fears,” she said. “I thought it was crazy how something so small can be so terrifying.”

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.

Jamie Cornelius kneels down in snow holding a small bird.
Integrative Biology

NSF Career Grant fuels Jamie Cornelius' deep dive into the hidden world of songbirds

Assistant Professor Jamie Cornelius received a coveted National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to measure the energy and fitness costs of metabolic and behavioral strategies used by songbirds during inclement weather.

A juvenile blackrock fish
OSU Press Releases

Juvenile black rockfish affected by marine heat wave but not always for the worse, College of Science research shows

Larvae produced by black rockfish, a linchpin of the West Coast commercial fishing industry for the past eight decades, fared better during two recent years of unusually high ocean temperatures than had been feared, new research by Oregon State College of Science shows.

An aerial shot of the Valley Library during sunset.
Research

New grants to support breakthrough discoveries

Four-dimensional tissue self-assembly, integrated river health and ultra-tiny spectrometers: The 2022 College of Science Research and Innovation Seed (SciRIS) award recipients will use collaboration to fill critical knowledge gaps across numerous scientific disciplines to drive real-world impact.

Photo of sunflower sea star
Integrative Biology

Sunflower sea stars could help save kelp forests, OSU research suggests

A research team including Oregon State University marine ecologist Sarah Gravem has undertaken a study into the feeding habits of sunflower sea stars ­­— a species that was once easily spotted in pacific coastal waters but is now listed as critically endangered following a marine epidemic that began in 2013.

A cell sits above a wreath on a blue background with glitter.
Events

Celebrating excellence in research: 2023 College of Science Awards

The College of Science gathered on Feb. 22 to recognize and celebrate our high achieving faculty and staff at the 2023 Combined Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrated the very best in the College, from teaching, advising and research to inclusive excellence, administration and service. During the research awards portion of the evening, the College saluted innovative discoveries made by faculty and staff who are breaking the boundaries of their respective fields.