March/April 2024
In Focus
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.
Around CAS
Blowing Minds
Have you ever held a human brain in your hand? Or watched in fascination as zebrafish neurons make connections in real time? Or helped develop a potential brain implant? These are just a few of our students' mind-blowing highlights from the growing Neuroscience Program.
Around CAS
Hacking the Job Market
Millions of cyberattacks each year put our sensitive information at risk. A new hands-on major prepares students to become front-line defenders of consumer privacy within the dynamic and growing cybersecurity field.
Q&A
Pushing Human Limits: Meet Brad Wilkins
Working with some of the world’s top marathon runners at Nike, human physiologist Brad Wilkins led the charge to break the 2-hour marathon barrier—an attempt that led to the National Geographic documentary Breaking2. Now head of the new Oregon Performance Research Laboratory, he’s using science to help athletes push past their perceived limitations and achieve new heights.
“What’s interesting is that every time we hit those limits as humans, we are able to then build a tool or create a strategy to help us go farther. This is why I believe humans do not have any limits,” he says.
Faculty Spotlight
Fighting Feminine Genocide
With gender-based violence against women spreading across Mexico, philosophy Professor Cintia Martínez Velasco recently urged Mexican consulates around the world to recognize feminine genocide as a federal crime.
Student Spotlight
From Eugene to the Santa Fe Opera
Taking a class in theater production opened up a new world for Grigorii Malakhov, an international student from Poland. He started out sewing costumes for University Theatre and ended up as an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera.
Page Turners
‘Pacific Arts Aotearoa’ Celebrates New Zealand History
After a three-year labor of love and a long-standing desire to give a voice to Pacific artists, Associate Professor Lana Lopesi offers a mosaic of narratives that delve into the complex and unique history of Aotearoa New Zealand in Pacific Arts Aotearoa.
More than just a compilation, the book serves as a celebration of resilience and a testament to cultural diversity while calling for more inclusivity of Pacific voices in art and literature.
“Pacific people are still significantly underrepresented in many spheres of life, and literature is one of those areas,” Lopesi says. “I’m hopeful that this work will inspire Pacific people to keep telling their stories and publishers to keep supporting them to do so.”
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