CAS Connection - December

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Strange New Worlds

Could life exist elsewhere in the Milky Way galaxy? A group of undergraduate planet hunters are helping NASA discover unknown worlds beyond our solar system.

By Nicole Krueger

 

In Focus  |  Around CAS  |  Liberal Arts at Large  |  Q&A  |  In the News  | Student Spotlight  |  Faculty Spotlight  |  Page Turners  |  Past Issues

Student standing in a field operating a drone

Around CAS

Drones Defying Gravity

Are flying robots taking over? Not in this geography class, where students learn how to control the drones that will help map our future. 

By Henry Houston

two people working at a microscope

Around CAS

Tiny Invisible Universes

In UO’s materials characterization labs, researchers are pushing the boundaries of what can be observed through a microscope.

By Nicole Krueger

Spaceship flying over futuristic city

Faculty Spotlight

Learning from
Aliens

Professor Phil Scher uses science fiction and alien cultures to teach anthropology—and to challenge assumptions about humanity.

By Jenny Brooks

Student wearing safety glasses working in a lab

Student Spotlight

Engineering the Future

Could engineered bacteria be the answer to antibiotic resistance? Undergrad researcher Favour Foday is working on it.

By Grace Connolly

A space probe floating above a frozen moon with Jupiter in the background

Liberal Arts at Large

A Journey to Jupiter’s Moon

Is there a habitable environment beneath the moon Europa’s icy crust? CAS Professor Carol Paty is helping NASA find out.

By Nicole Krueger

Around CAS

Learn Today, Change Tomorrow

Research and scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences are so forward-thinking at times, they almost feel like science fiction. That’s what real innovation looks like—and our undergraduate students are getting in on the action through experiential learning opportunities that prepare them for cutting-edge careers.

Discover what Dean Chris Poulsen has to say about how experiential learning propelled him toward a career as a climate scientist.

CAS News

a person wearing a cap and gown by dad's gate at the UO campus
Defying the odds
ECONOMICS, SPANISH - Adrianna Vaca-Navarro has spent her life fighting against a system that was built against people like her. Now, she is a law student working to help others in need. Vaca-Navarro graduated in 2021. Now, she's a law student at the University of California, Berkeley. She is working to leverage her identity to help communities in need, aiming to fill the gaps within the legal system that she is studying.
a person in an mri machine
Robotic arms could benefit from new UO brain research
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Using functional MRI brain imaging, or fMRI, University of Oregon researchers have unraveled some of the neural circuitry behind basic human actions. Their insights, described in a paper published in the journal eNeuro, can be used to improve the design of brain-computer interface technologies, including brain-controlled prosthetic arms that aim to restore movement in people who have lost it.
a wood sign in front of a setting sun
Missing history: UO student project reveals gaps in Oregon's story
GEOGRAPHY, INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES - Oregon’s historical markers, those roadside signs commemorating the state's past, give a version of history that University of Oregon researchers say is skewed. But a team of students is working to address the histories that highway markers omit through an online interactive map.

All news »

From the Media

an illustration of a person in therapy
Are You in a Therapy Rut?
A therapy rut can feel disheartening, but it doesn’t have to end your pursuit of better mental health. The New York Times asked psychologists how to identify whether you’ve reached a sticking point and what to do about it. “It’s unfortunately not uncommon to occasionally have a therapy session that feels like a dud,” said Alayna Park, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences.
two people on a tv news set talking
Politics in Perspective: House Budget Proposal & Federal Funding Standoff
Political science assistant professor Chandler James appears on NBC 16 to discuss the House Budget Proposal and the potential impacts of a federal education funding standoff between Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and the Trump administration.
two people talking at a TV news desk
Politics in Perspective: Elon Musk, Trump's Gaza Proclamation
Chandler James, political science assistant professor, spoke with NBC 16's Zach Bruhl about the Trump administration, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump's Gaza proclamation. NBC 16 is joined every Wednesday by Dr. James, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Oregon, to discuss political current events, from the US Capitol to the Oregon Capitol and local government.

All media news »

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CAS Connection is produced by the CAS Communications Department and edited by Nicole Krueger.

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