Higher ed faces big challenges, but Tykeson Dean of Arts and Sciences Chris Poulsen is ready to meet them with a forward-thinking plan to establish CAS as a leader and innovator. Read how Poulsen views the state of higher education and how a new strategy will work to make the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences a place where students can receive a high-quality liberal arts education while also preparing them for a 21st century work place.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Bioengineers and chemists design fluorescent 3D-printed structures with potential medical applications. The discovery emerged from a collaboration between Paul Dalton’s engineering lab in the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and Ramesh Jasti’s lab in the chemistry and biochemistry department in the UO’s College of Arts and Sciences. The researchers describe their findings in a paper published this summer in the journal Small.

PSYCHOLOGY - Michael Posner, professor emerit in psychology, has had a career filled with accomplishments. He's received numerous honorary degrees, awards, and the National Medal of Science presented by President Barack Obama in 2009. Now the Posner family is establishing The Dr. Michael Posner Psychology Professorship in Cognition and Neuroscience to support a tenured professor or associate professor in strengthening the college’s contributions to cognition and neuroscience.

NEUROSCIENCE - Graduate student Angelique Allen has long been fascinated by the octopus, which led her to be a researcher in Cris Neill's lab in the College of Arts and Sciences's Institute of Neuroscience. Allen and Neill are recipients of the Gilliam Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a competitive award that recognizes student-adviser pairs for their top-notch research, as well as their commitment to advancing equity and inclusion in the sciences.

BIOCHEMISTRY AND CHEMISTRY, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, PHYSICS - The University of Oregon campus buzzed with energy this summer as local high school students attended the Summer Academy to Inspire Learning (SAIL) program. The students experienced some of the labs and academic opportunities at the College of Arts and Sciences.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Vickie DeRose, professor and head of chemistry and biochemistry, has been awarded a creativity extension by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research into the structure and function of ribonucleic acid (RNA) through its interactions with metal ions. Fellow chemist Mike Pluth was awarded an NSF creativity extension in 2023 for his work on the role small sulfur-based molecules play in many biological processes. These molecules were likely key species involved in evolution, especially before there was oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - Differences in the way muscles respond to stress could help explain why certain sports injuries are more common in women compared to men, and vice versa, new research from Damien Callahan, an exercise physiologist at the University of Oregon and graduate student Grace Privett. The two published a study in the journal Experimental Physiology that details how the mechanical properties of muscles change in response to exercise in women.

OIMB, BIOLOGY - At the Charleston Marine Life Center a growing collection of unique organisms serve as underwater ambassadors between UO researchers, local community partners, and the public. It’s a place where UO scientists share their discoveries with the public and community members rally around the preservation of local marine life.

At NW Cyber Camp, a free weeklong summer camp hosted by the University of Oregon Department of Computer Science, high school students learn some of the same skills cyber criminals use to hack into computer networks—but unlike illegal hackers, they’re using their abilities for good. Now in its second year at UO, the camp draws high school students from Eugene and beyond to campus for a week of experiential learning activities.

BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Associate Professor Lauren Hallett and other members of her lab collect data for the Nutrient Network, a web of 130 sites around the world that monitor how nutrient addition affects biodiversity loss. The resulting data will provide a foundation for research that helps predict and reduce this loss.

EARTH SCIENCES - The Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT) has awarded 14 grants to researchers across the US and beyond to study the Cascadia subduction zone, a massive fault along the West Coast that could generate a magnitude 9.0+ earthquake at any moment. The CRESCENT Seed Grant Program was established to enlist more researchers in the effort to meet those goals.

MATHEMATICS - Jaida Ross and Klaudia Kazimierska have earned spots on the 2023-24 College Sports Communications (CSC) Academic All-America Team. Kazimierska, who is majoring in mathematics, was voted to the second team. She's representing Poland at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the 1500-meter track and field event.

EARTH SCIENCES - More than 100 scientists and community partners recently convened to discuss resilience and preparedness planning in a workshop hosted by the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT), a new multi-institution earthquake research center led by the University of Oregon. Attendees discussed the latest science and resilience planning needs of communities related to a better understanding of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. 

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - College of Arts and Science remembers John Edwin Baldwin, a longtime faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and former dean of the college. Deeply interested in his field of physical organic chemistry and dedicated to the universities where he worked, as well as to his broader scholarly community, Baldwin developed a reputation as a gifted and meticulous scholar, researcher, collaborator, and legendary teacher and mentor. He died May 26, 2024. He was 86.

Three College of Arts and Sciences researchers have received the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty members in the past year: Luca Mazzucato (biology, mathematics and physics), Brittany Erickson (computer science and earth sciences) and Julia Widom (chemistry). Known as the CAREER Awards, the organization recognizes and fosters rising stars by funding innovative research.