CAS News

PHYSICS - On Nov. 14, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (D-OR) visited the University of Oregon Eugene campus to meet with Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry Geraldine Richmond, interim Vice President for Research and Innovation, and faculty from the Oregon Center for Optical, Molecular, and Quantum Science (OMQ). During her visit, the congresswoman learned more about College of Arts and Sciences faculty research and academic offerings in quantum science.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Sarah Koski graduated with a degree in political science in 2006 from the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences and Robert D. Clark Honors College. To find her purpose and mission, Koski first had to break up with the notion that all success is a high-powered executive job. Now a community resource liaison for Lane Transit District, Koski works to help people feel seen and heard, and to make real change in the unhoused community.

PHYSICS - University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences physicists Eric Corwin and Ben McMorran were awarded 2025 American Physical Society Fellowships. Corwin was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the physics of the glass and jamming transitions using simulations and experiments. McMorran was recognized for his contributions to electron matter wave physics.

ENGLISH, DIGITAL HUMANITIES — In 2024, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded $350,000 for the continued development of the London Stage Database, a groundbreaking digital catalog of theater events in London during the 18th century. Learn about the importance of this digital humanities project and its impact on researchers and ancestry sleuths everywhere.

SOCIOLOGY - New research co-authored by CAS sociology assistant professor Byron Villacis Cruz explores the forces that influenced Ecuador to adopt the dollar in 2000, which impacted the country on social and economic levels — and what it teaches us about future policies around the world.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - UO lab spaces are some of the most resource-intensive areas on campus, using two to three times more energy than typical offices and generating unique kinds of waste that aren’t collected through regular recycling streams. The recently launched Sustainable Labs program offers researchers a flexible framework to foster more sustainability in labs.

GLOBAL STUDIES — Learning about and engaging in the world got a little easier for students at University of Oregon thanks to a grant from the US Department of Education awarded to the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages. The grant funds are being used to strengthen curriculum for current students and attract the next generation of globally minded students from Oregon high schools. 

PHYSICS — College of Arts and Sciences physicists are part of a US Department of Defense three-year research endeavor — funded for $1.245 million — with the University of California, Los Angeles and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Researchers are tasked with expanding the capabilities of an advanced computing system that could be the key to new scientific frontiers.

EARTH SCIENCES - CRESCENT wrapped up its first-ever cohort for the Geoscience Education and Inclusion (GEI) Twinning Program. Students worked with mentors on fully funded research projects, developing practical skills and presenting their findings to fellow scientists. The program manager, Shannon Fasola, said it offered a unique opportunity because students could focus on research without having to worry about finances.

INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES — With a $524,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Education, Lana Lopesi, assistant professor and researcher specializing in Pacific Islander studies is collaborating with Oregon State University researcher Patricia Fifita to increase information about the history and culture of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in K-12 classrooms in Oregon. 

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY — Lila Wollman, an assistant professor and researcher in CAS’s Department of Human Physiology is studying the effects of nicotine withdrawal on the body’s respiratory control. To support her research, Wollman received a two-part grant from the National Institutes of Health designed to support post-doctorate researchers in developing independent research paths.

LINGUISTICS — How people learn language continues to puzzle many researchers in linguistics, but a team of College of Arts and Science linguists recently received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in 2025 to get closer to an answer. Volya Kapatsinski in the Department of Linguistics and Kaori Idemaru in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures secured the grant and are currently conducting the research.

THEATRE ARTS — University Theatre's fall production is "The Moors," and as with any good story, things are not what they appear, and the characters’ motives aren’t always honest. The play includes a six-member cast and the creative use of stage lighting to create a Victorian-style set for the manor and the moors outside the home. The show runs Nov. 7–23 and tickets are free for students.

SOCIOLOGY - As part of the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History summer field school, the students are spending a month immersed in Indigenous cultural landscapes while studying archaeology, history and ecology and, at the same time, helping restore oyster beds. They’re learning vital career skills while helping usher in a new era of archaeology with Gabe Sanchez, a CAS assistant professor of sociology.

PSYCHOLOGY - A new study led by researchers at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with Google Research found little evidence linking smartphone use with mental well-being in adults. Researchers analyzed more than 250,000 days of smartphone usage from more than 10,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and up.