CAS Connection - In Focus


In Focus

a person wearing orange stands near a lava flow

From Curiosity to Impact

Our faculty are investigating solutions to some of the world's most pressing issues, 
from AI to Alzheimer's to ice sheet loss in Greenland. Find out about the grant-funded research projects CAS researchers are working on.

A miniature globe resting on top of an open book

An Education Without Borders

The School of Global Studies and Languages is preparing today’s students to go out and serve the world tomorrow.

Timothy Chadwick

Serenade for La La Land

Cinema studies students gain show business experience working behind the scenes in LA on the set of a CAS professor’s upcoming feature film, La Serenata.

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.

Statue of Socrates illuminated with pink light

Taking Liberal Arts to the Next Level

Are liberal arts degrees becoming obsolete? Far from it, say CAS faculty who are evolving liberal arts education to prepare students for jobs that don’t exist yet.

Old ledger with names written down in grid

Uncovering Hidden Figures

History students are working to reveal hidden histories in Lane County, starting with stories of Jewish residents and Mexican, Mexican American migrants.

AI robot reading a book

Interrogating AI

Artificial intelligence can detect art forgeries and take scientific research in new directions. But its impact on the classroom raises as many questions as answers. Can AI help students learn what they need to succeed in a rapidly changing workplace—and at what cost?

Saghar Salehi

Battling to Learn

Robotics champion and international women's education advocate Saghar Salehi escaped certain death in Afghanistan to pursue her dream of becoming a software engineer in the US. Now the 19-year-old continues to fight for Afghan women’s rights as a computer science major at UO.

Road damage

CAS Earth Scientists Prepare for the Big One

What will happen if a massive earthquake reduces the Pacific Northwest to rubble? The nation’s first subduction zone earthquake hazards center, CRESCENT, brings together researchers and policymakers to help build resilience against the inevitable temblor—and increase diversity in the Earth sciences.

Student and professor analyze ash particles

Student Unearths Explosive Evidence

While cruising the Pacific Ocean looking for deep-sea creatures to study, a UO undergraduate researcher got more than he bargained for—rare ash samples from an underwater volcanic eruption 62 miles away.