CAS Connection - JAN - 2025

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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.

By Henry Houston

 

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

College of Arts and Sciences alum Devan Chandler on set of show ‘Ghosts.’

Good Vibes

Get Your
Winter Binge On

Need something to watch? Check out our list of movies and TV shows featuring CAS faculty and alumni.

By Nicole Krueger

Kaley McCarty

CAS Spotlights

Growing Global
Connections

Environmental studies alumna Kaley McCarty attends the world’s biggest climate change conference.

By Grace Connolly

Newspaper clipping of an old article

All Stories

Fueling Cultural
Debates

Professor Mark Whalan explores how media coverage of a 1920s criminal trial sparked a national debate.

By Grace Connolly

headshot of Brice Kuhl standing in front of a brick building

CAS Spotlights

Unlocking
Memory

Brice Kuhl receives the Posner Professorship for his investigation of how our brains encode memories. 

By Leo Brown

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

Experiential Learning

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

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

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.
people wrestling on the ground
Play shares the humanity of those living in a war zone
THEATRE ARTS - Local production of the play, "THEM," opens in Eugene July 24. “THEM,” produced and directed by University of Oregon professor, Malek Najjar is a powerful drama about war, hope and survival. Using humor, laughter and song, the play transports audiences into the extraordinary circumstances that reveal their shared humanity and the ordinary moments that shape their lives.

All news »

From the Media

a white van in front of a simpsons mural
De-escalation program saves cities money, increases public safety
ECONOMICS - A groundbreaking crisis de-escalation program that started in Eugene to help people with mental health or substance abuse issues saves cities money and reduces arrests, a University of Oregon-led study has found. The research team includes Jonathan Davis, an economics assistant professor at the College of Arts and Sciences.
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.
a person runs on a track
What it would take for Faith Kipyegon to become the first female sub four-minute miler?
Brad Wilkins, a human physiologist at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences, who led the Breaking2 “Science Team”, says they tested potential marathoners for VO2 max, running economy (how efficiently they use oxygen) and critical/sustainable speed, which is the highest pace that can be sustained for long periods without fatigue. They also looked for something more “squishy”, as Wilkins describes it — the capacity to show psychological resilience when suffering physically.

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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