
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.

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.

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.
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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Marine biologist elected 2022 AAAS Fellow
University Distinguished Professor Virginia Weis has been elected a fellow of the esteemed American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).