BIOLOGY, COMPUTER SCIENCE - Plant community ecologist Lauren Hallett and computer scientist Lei Jiao are getting a boost from the National Science Foundation through prestigious Career Awards, which are among the most sought-after grants from the foundation.

The UO’s Undergraduate Research Symposium is back this year with a virtual format that organizers say will make for an inspiring and accessible event. The symposium itself is May 27, but related events are going on throughout the week as part of the Week of Research.

MATHEMATICS - When I was teaching mathematics in the 1990s, before the internet, I had a book of “women mathematicians.” This was helpful for sharing inspirational stories with my middle school students, but there were just six women in this short book.

EARTH SCIENCES - Two UO graduates let the cat out of the bag this month, identifying a new saber-toothed cat species that roamed North America 9 to 5 million years ago. Weighing in at 600 to 900 pounds, the animal emerges as one of the largest cats in Earth’s history.

Co-organized by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation and the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success, the inaugural Week of Research will be held remotely and is open to students, faculty members and staff.

GEOGRAPHY, BIOLOGY - From the plains of Serengeti to the mountains of Wyoming, wildlife herds are facing threats to critical migration routes. But maps created by the UO’s InfoGraphics Lab could be key conservation tools to help these mammals on the move.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCES - University of Oregon research inspired by an undergraduate has uncovered a communications hazard that could accompany earthquakes along the Cascadia subduction zone: Internet traffic and cell signaling facilities could be crippled.

Over spring break, workers put the finishing touches on a permanent art installation in the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library. Commissioned by the Oregon Arts Commission Percent for Art program, the piece titled “1116 Pages” celebrates our pool of knowledge.

Twelve UO researchers and scholars pursuing research on subjects ranging from rock and roll music to data science to COVID-19 have received 2021 Faculty Research Awards, which support scholarship, creative projects and quantitative or qualitative research from all disciplinary backgrounds.

BIOLOGY - A research project from the lab of University of Oregon evolutionary biologist Bill Cresko is setting out to explore the effects of a remarkable evolutionary innovation: male pregnancy in seahorses, pipefish and seadragons.

CHEMISTRY - Geraldine Richmond, the UO’s Presidential Chair in Science and a much-honored professor of chemistry, has been nominated to serve in the Biden administration as undersecretary for science in the Department of Energy. Richmond is one of 16 people recently nominated by President Joe Biden for positions in his administration.

COMICS AND CARTOON STUDIES, PHYSICS - The University of Oregon Science/Comics Interdisciplinary Research Program pairs artistic students with accomplished scientists to create dynamic illustrations that tackle subjects not normally seen in the pages of a comic book.

The Glacier Lab is a group of graduate students, CHC undergrads and postdocs who study the societal impacts of glaciers, icebergs and snow worldwide. Members of the lab come from diverse academic backgrounds, including environmental studies, anthropology, history and English.

BIOLOGY - Alice Barkan, a UO molecular biologist who uses plant systems to answer fundamental biological questions, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Barkan joins 251 other new members from diverse fields.

In a state known for its inspiring landscapes — its beauty, how its residents both embrace and rely on it for sustenance — University of Oregon faculty, staff and students bring that same passion and fervor toward studying our environment and tackling the biggest challenges facing it.