CAS Connection - December

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An exoplanet orbiting a sun with stars and galaxy in the background

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

 

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

Student standing in a field operating a drone

Experiential Learning

Up, Up and Away

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

Research & Innovation

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

CAS Spotlights

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

CAS Spotlights

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

Research & Innovation

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

Experiential Learning

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 debris slide area in the Leavens Creek watershed after the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge.
Debris slide risk doesn’t always rise after a wildfire, study finds
EARTH SCIENCES - An analysis of the Columbia River Gorge, which runs along the border between Oregon and Washington, shows that steep, rocky watersheds in that area have been prone to debris flows and rockfall for thousands of years. Those events didn’t measurably increase after the Eagle Creek Fire, which scorched 47,000 acres of the gorge over three months in 2017. CAS Earth scientist Josh Roering and members of his lab published their findings Aug. 8 in Science Advances.
Boats marooned in a harbor
Undergrads Research Marine Life at Oregon Coast
BIOLOGY - New in 2025, the Coastal Quarter program allows undergraduates from all majors to spend winter term living at the coast and taking classes in marine biology, environmental studies, anthropology and science communication. Out of the nine students who participated this year, five are majoring in either environmental sciences or environmental studies; four are marine biology majors; and one is a sports journalism major.
a bee with a qr code
New AI cameras are watching the outdoors to spot endangered bees
BIOLOGY - An AI-based imaging system that is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, funded by the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Inc., is working to monitor bee populations without harming the insects. The technology could solve a key paradox in bee conservation efforts. The collaboration includes CAS biologist Lauren Ponisio.

All news »

From the Media

the intel building exterior
Intel CEO directly responds to criticism about investments in Chinese companies
Trump’s public call for Tan’s resignation is similar to how he’s treated political rivals, according to Chandler James, an associate political science professor at the University of Oregon. Trump is taking a more aggressive approach to interacting with businesses — and most organizations — than is often seen from the highest office, James said. “This is not an isolated incident of Trump pressuring this one individual,” James said, “but a part of a pattern of activity that seeks to use the power of the presidency — and all the resources of the government to — bring pressure on individuals and businesses, and groups such as universities or law firms, to change their policies in a way that Trump sees fit.”
people standing by a body of water
Why Did Such a Powerful Earthquake Produce Such a Weak Tsunami?
Early Wednesday morning, a powerful earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, struck off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. Tsunami centers along the Pacific coastline quickly sprung into action, issuing warnings for the potential of colossal ocean waves that are often generated by big earthquakes. Why wasn't it a larger tsunami? “Not all earthquakes are created equal,” University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences geophysicist Diego Melgar told the New York Times. “We’re still untangling the details. It’s going to take weeks to months of research to figure out exactly what happened.”
two people in Sudan posing
Supreme Court rules Trump can rapidly deport immigrants to Libya, South Sudan and other countries they aren’t from
For the past several months, the Trump administration has been trying to deport immigrants to countries they are not from – despite an April 2025 federal ruling that had blocked the White House from doing so. In a brief emergency order, a divided Supreme Court decided on June 23 that the Trump administration can, for now, legally deport immigrants to countries they were not born in. Eleanor Paynter, assistant professor of Italian, migration, and global media studies, explains the legal case in The Conversation.

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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