Natural Sciences News

BIOLOGY - University of Oregon postdoctoral fellow Caitlin Kowalski is one of five women to win the 2023 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship for her work on the fungi genus Malassezia. Kowalski is a mentor for two UO undergraduate students.
BIOLOGY - New University of Oregon research in tiny worms is unpacking some of the ways that reproductive cells get used differently to make sperm and eggs. A team from the lab of UO biologist Diana Libuda in the College of Arts and Sciences reports their findings in a paper published Oct. 5 in the journal eLife.
GEOGRAPHY, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Three current UO students have been selected as finalists for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, the oldest international fellowship award in the world.
BIOLOGY, CINEMA STUDIES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY - From animals to adhesives to DJ food stamp, students in First-year Interest Groups follow their fascinations and create community.
ECONOMICS, INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES, GENERAL SOCIAL SCIENCES, PSYCHOLOGY, SPANISH - For Latinx History Month, read about some of the alumni from the College of Arts and Sciences and how they're making an impact in their community.
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - Thanks to an anonymous donor, the Department of Human Physiology in the UO’s College of Arts and Sciences now has a director of internships and has so far provided stipends for 61 undergraduate students to get paid, hands-on experience. 
EARTH SCIENCES - Research led by Rebecca Dorsey, an Earth sciences professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, led research that reveals the dynamics of seismically active faults on either side of the Strait of Messina and how they interact to create a narrow marine passage filled with geologic hazards.
Beginning just after 8 a.m., the moon will slowly pass between the sun and the earth. And for a few minutes starting at 9:16 a.m., it will almost overlap with the sun in the sky, leaving a glowing “ring of fire” around the dark void of the moon.
COMPUTER SCIENCE, ECONOMICS, PSYCHOLOGY - The University of Oregon jumped to a tie for 98th in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings for best national universities. The College of Arts and Sciences landed at 71st in computer science, 88th in economics and 51st in psychology.
The 2023-24 academic year began its ascent Tuesday as the second-largest class in school history hit the UO campuses. A total of 5,057 first-year students began their first day of classes; only last year’s class of 5,338 students was larger. The total included a record 38 percent who identify as domestic minority students.
BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - The Hallett Lab is collecting samples to test a new, more sustainable way to farm hazelnuts. Steve Haring, a postdoctoral researcher in the Hallett Lab, is studying what happens when cover crops, such as native wildflowers, are used as beds around the trees.
COMPUTER SCIENCE - High school students took part in the 2023 SAIL summer camp at the University of Oregon. Among the year's programs was one focused on computer science, led by Phil Colbert, a senior instructor in the College of Arts and Sciences.
EARTH SCIENCES - A new, innovative earthquake center, led by the University of Oregon, is receiving a five-year, $15-million grant from the National Science Foundation, to understand the Cascadia subduction zone and improve earthquake resiliency in the Pacific Northwest.
EARTH SCIENCES - The Greek island Santorini is known for its scenic beauty and the filming location for the hit ABBA-fueled musical Mamma Mia. However, geophysicist Emilie Hooft is interested in the underwater volcanoes that created the island about 3,600 years ago. For the past 10 years, Hooft has been studying those underwater volcanoes using state-of-the-art imaging.
Six faculty members in CAS were among this year’s 2023 Distinguished Teaching Awards. They include Jocelyn Hollander, professor of sociology; Faith Barter, assistant professor in English; Alex Zunterstein, senior instructor in Spanish; Kirby Brown, associate professor of Native American literatures; Robin Hopkins, senior instructor of human physiology; and Tricia Rodley, senior instructor in theatre arts.