CAS Connection - May

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Health without Home

CAS students are conducting interdisciplinary research with a social impact, all while finding their career and academic trajectory.

By Henry Houston

Experiential Learning  |  Research & Innovation  |  Community Impact  |  Career Preparation  |  Teaching Excellence  |  21st Century Liberal Arts  |  Building Community  |  Good Vibes  |  CAS Spotlights  |  All Stories  |  Past Issues
 

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Building Community

Making Sense of
Climate Change

Today’s students have been handed the bleakest future of any generation since World War II. Here’s how they’re dealing with it.

By Jenny Brooks

A student in lab wearing goggles illuminated by green laser

Research & Innovation

Green Chemistry for 
a Green Future

As the deadline to curb carbon emissions nears, CAS chemists are hard at work developing a new generation of sustainable tech.

By Nicole Krueger

An EPA official posing with a UO student

CAS Spotlights

Economics for a 
Healthier Planet

Econ graduate student Emmett Reynier uses economics research to inspire environmental policy changes.

By Henry Houston

A person atop of a tower installing equipment

CAS Spotlights

Building Hazard 
Resistance

Installing wildfire cameras and seismic sensors for OHAZ became a full-time gig for Earth sciences alum Sydney Whiting.

By Bailey Meyers

A collage of images representing a collisions of social values

Teaching Excellence

Eco-friendly or Ecofascist?

Students explore how environmentalist ideas can be weaponized in pursuit of a fascist political agenda.

By Jenny Brooks

CAS Spotlights

Building Resilience against Climate Change

Last spring, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide reached levels not seen in more than 14 million years. Dean Chris Poulsen explains how faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences are working across disciplines to address climate change.

CAS News

a person sitting in a chair with a laptop
Large national study finds minimal link between smartphone use and well-being in adults
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.
a person sitting at a desk
How particle physics is helping unravel the mysteries of our universe
PHYSICS - Far from home, Eric Torrence, a physics professor at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences, will spend the next year and a half being the ATLAS Run Coordinator at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). After being elected to the position fall 2024, Torrence ensures the largest particle accelerator in the world continuously produces usable data from May 2025 to July 2026.
an illustration that says This is Oregon Podcast
Biologist shares ideas for making hazelnuts more climate resistant
BIOLOGY - Lauren Hallett, biology associate professor at the College of Arts and Sciences discusses her ongoing work to enhance the climate resiliency of Oregon’s hazelnut farms, which account for 99% of the country's hazelnut production. With the support of a $2 million federal award, Hallett and her lab have designed an agricultural practice using native cover crops and basalt dust amendments to set a new standard for sustainable hazelnut farming.

All news »

From the Media

zebras in a field
The scientists making the case for nature’s rights
A growing number of scientists are backing laws recognizing that nature has inherent rights and intrinsic value. That includes political science professor Craig Kauffman. Kauffman founded the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor in 2022 to track rights of nature developments. Analyzing more than 450 examples worldwide, he tells Inside Climate News that he found a major commonality: They all treat nature, whether a river, forest or individual species, as part of a larger web of life.
stock photo of a person's back of their head staring at a wall
6 signs your memory isn’t normal
In a Buzzfeed article, College of Arts and Sciences professor Ulrich Mayr offers insight into some of the “red flags” of memory loss in old age. “One really telltale sign might be getting lost in your hometown, just not finding your way,” said Mayr, a professor of neuroscience.
a woman presenting at a conference
The one thing that defines WNBA players
As WNBA players negotiate their labor contract, the commissioner of the women’s basketball league is under scrutiny. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation spoke with Courtney M. Cox, an associate professor in the Department of Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies, about the negotiations. “Officiating is connected to labor, to shared governance of this league and speaks to what is important for multiple unions,” she said. “The frustration is not isolated but rather compounded by a sense of stagnation on several key issues.”

All media news »

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CAS Connection is produced by the CAS Communications Department and edited by Nicole Krueger.

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