CAS Connection - Sep 2025 Issue

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Table and chairs in the room

Fascinated with Fractals

Physics Professor Richard Taylor blends art and science to create award-winning nature-inspired designs for indoor environments.

By Nicole Krueger

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

a bee with a qr code

Research & Innovation

AI Tracks Endangered Bees

Biologist Lauren Ponisio and collaborators are using the technology in place of lethal capture.

By Leila Okahata

i voted stickers

Research & Innovation

Ballot Measures Are Booming

Some states are seeing an increase in ballot measures as voters act, in a way, as lawmakers.

By Grace Connolly

The James Miller Theatre Complex on the University of Oregon campus

Experiential Learning

New Season Spotlights Humanity

University Theatre’s 2025-2026 season is full of human stories with emotion, energy, and imagination.

By Leo Brown

a white van in front of a simpsons mural

Community Impact

The Economics of Well-being

Study found crisis de-escalation program that started in Eugene saves cities money and reduces arrests.

By Henry Houston

Cinama Studies Alumni, Natalie Jacobsen and husband

CAS Spotlights

CAS Alum Merges Interests for a Career with Impact

For Natalie Jacobsen, the path from the University of Oregon to becoming director of marketing and communications at Airlink, a humanitarian aviation nonprofit, has been anything but linear. Still, it brings together a lifetime of passions, including writing, activism, and global service.

Get to Know Natalie

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UO College of Arts & Sciences (@uocas) • Instagram photos and videos

CAS News

THEATRE ARTS — Love, mischief and mistaken intentions take center stage this winter as University Theatre presents “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare. Directed by Jerry Ferraccio, the production marks the grand reopening of Robinson Theatre and runs Feb. 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 and March 1.
PHYSICS - A supermassive black hole with a case of cosmic indigestion has been burping out the remains of a shredded star for four years — and it’s still going strong, new research led by University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences astrophysicist Yvette Cendes. Cendes and her team published findings about this one-of-kind black hole in the Feb. 5 issue of Astrophysical Journal Astrophysicists.
PHYSICS - Fascinated by the unexplored corners of the universe since childhood, physicist Tien-Tien Yu has made dark matter the pillar of her research career. In her quest to understand, she’s co-founded a major experiment in collaboration with physicists at other institutions, all of whom are trying try to bring light to the dark.

All news »


From the Media

Protests were planned across the world on May 1 in honor of International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, including in the Pacific Northwest. Steven Beda, an assistant professor of history at the College of Arts and Sciences, specializes in the history of labor in the Pacific Northwest. He said many in the labor movement came to believe that these men were convicted because they were immigrants, not because they committed a crime.
Mother Jones spoke with College of Arts and Sciences chemist and presidential chair Geraldine Richmond about the state of the National Science Foundation under the current White House administration. "This board is so important for being able to advise Congress as well as the president on issues that are so important to the country,” she said. Richmond was first appointed to the board by President Barack Obama and later by Trump during his first term.
Kenyan runners Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) and Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41) broke the two-hour marathon barrier at the 2026 London Marathon. College of Arts and Sciences human physiologist Brad Wilkins spoke with the publication Scientific American about the specially made Adidas shoes the two runners wore in the race and broke down why these shoes make such a difference.

All media news »

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