Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

There are some things that students just can't do in Eugene, like walk the tidal flats of Coos Bay in search of specimens for a marine biology research project.

But at the University's Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), located in the coastal fishing village of Charleston, 120 miles from Eugene, students and faculty can engage themselves in studying the many unique habitats located along the southern Oregon coast. OIMB provides opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate course work and research. Up to forty-five undergraduates are in residence during the spring and fall terms, and as many as 100 students -- including those from other universities -- participate in the summer term. Throughout the year, approximately ten to fifteen graduate students are also at OIMB, pursuing research leading to either a master's or doctoral degree.

OIMB Director Lynda Shapiro describes the environment as electric, and one in which the learning goes well beyond the classroom. "OIMB is unique because classes are hands-on with a lot of emphasis on participatory learning. Students get to learn in the environment that they are studying; they actually hold living organisms in their hands and examine their place in the environment."

Graduate student Matt Kay says his experience as an undergraduate has everything to do with his decision to pursue his master's degree at OIMB. He remembers the term he spent at OIMB during his junior year as the most engaging and rewarding period of his biology education. "Undergraduates are presented with the privilege of interactively studying organisms in their ecosystems: slogging through mudflats, slipping through the intertidal zone, peering into plankton through a microscope, and exploring seemingly alien life forms in laboratories," he says.

"In my view, OIMB was a sort of 'science camp,' where students were -- like it or not -- totally immersed in the subjects they were studying," Kay says. "This immersion was the result of long classroom hours, frequent field trips and social interaction that was restricted to classmates, graduate students and teachers -- all individuals who are focused on science. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of being at OIMB was that our studies transcended intangible theory and the two-dimensionality of a text book."

Students at OIMB have access to five teaching laboratories, three dormitories, a dining hall, and recreational facilities. In addition, last year, OIMB celebrated the construction of two more research laboratories and the Loyd and Dorothy Rippey Library.

Rick Cowlishaw, who is pursuing his doctoral degree, says OIMB has the feel of an old research station, which was a real attraction for him. The good mix of research and education at OIMB provides for a stimulating environment, he says. "Having the education program at OIMB also provides the opportunity to teach and interact with students from not only the UO but also from colleges and universities across the nation."

Find out more about OIMB at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~oimb/.