CAS Connection - Dec 2025

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CAS Deans, Chris Poulsen, talks about strategy

All set to meet the moment now and beyond

On the cusp of a new year, Tykeson Dean of Arts and Sciences Chris Poulsen took time to share what he is most excited about in the College of Arts and Sciences, now and into the future.

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Experiential Learning  |  Research & Innovation  |  Community Impact  |  Career Preparation  |  Teaching Excellence  |  21st Century Liberal Arts  |  Building Community  |  Good Vibes  |  CAS Spotlights  |  All Stories  |  Past Issues
 

Students blend archaeology, ecology and tribal sovereignty in field school on central California coast.

Experiential Learning

Immersed in the future of archaeology

Students blend archaeology, ecology and tribal sovereignty in field school on the central California coast.

By Lexie Briggs

Johnson Lab

Research & Innovation

For the health of the planet

In labs across campus, researchers prove sustainability and scientific rigor aren’t competing priorities.

By Maria Soto Cuesta

UO scientist Carl Brozek joins Nobel winner in Japan using the “molecular sponges” his lab creates.

Research & Innovation

Harvesting water from air

UO scientist Carl Brozek joins Nobel winner in Japan using the “molecular sponges” his lab creates.

By Ed Dorsch

Physicist, Kayla Nguyen, earns innovation award

CAS Spotlights

Physicist earns innovation award

The award recognizes Kayla Nguyen’s exceptional achievement by a woman physicist early in her career.

By Maria Soto Cuesta


Cinema studies professor Masami Kawai's film expands the landscape of Indigenous filmmaking

CAS Spotlight

Professor’s film expands the landscape of Indigenous filmmaking

Cinema studies professor Masami Kawai is set to begin production on her first feature film, “Valley of the Tall Grass,” in Eugene in summer 2026. It is both a personal journey and a community-centered story.

Go Behind the Scenes **need link**

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CAS News

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - When he was still an undergraduate, Tucker Orman served in an uncommon role: as first author on a paper published Sept. 4 in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, looking at the factors that affect a scuba diver’s ability to maintain core body temperature. Now a College of Arts and Sciences alumnus, Orman reflects on how experiential learning as a human physiology student and love for scuba diving came together.
EARTH SCIENCES - CRESCENT wrapped up its first-ever cohort for the Geoscience Education and Inclusion (GEI) Twinning Program. Students worked with mentors on fully funded research projects, developing practical skills and presenting their findings to fellow scientists. The program manager, Shannon Fasola, said it offered a unique opportunity because students could focus on research without having to worry about finances.
SOCIOLOGY - As part of the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History summer field school, the students are spending a month immersed in Indigenous cultural landscapes while studying archaeology, history and ecology and, at the same time, helping restore oyster beds. They’re learning vital career skills while helping usher in a new era of archaeology with Gabe Sanchez, a CAS assistant professor of sociology.

All news »


From the Media

The first protein shake was a concoction of "melted-down beef hides and carcasses." Now, consumers have various options, some that could be on a dessert menu. Hannah Cutting-Jones, a food studies assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages, spoke with The Guardian about the earliest protein shakes.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a who's who of the Silver Screen, stretching over 18 blocks in Los Angeles. But the city also boasts another walk of fame that highlights stars from the adult film industry. SF Gate spoke with Peter Alilunas, associate professor of cinema studies at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences. “You get this moment where adult films start to have premieres, and they start to have publicity, and they start to take themselves seriously,” Alilunas says. “And so they start to form themselves into an industry in the sense of all the trappings that go with that,” he adds, including critics’ associations, award shows. And walks of fame."
Landslides in Oregon are becoming more frequent and more unpredictable than earthquakes. CAS Earth scientist Josh Roering spoke with the Eugene Register-Guard about the past few decades of landslides. "Over the last couple decades, the landslides and the surface processes and surface hazards that I've been working on have become much more prominent, primarily due to climate change and humans inhabiting more areas in hazardous terrain," said Josh Roering, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Oregon who studies weathering, erosion and landslide processes.

All media news »

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