NEUROSCIENCE - If behavior is a language, UO neuroscientist Luca Mazzucato is decoding its grammar. Distinct, coordinated activity in large sets of neurons can predict a rat’s future behavior, he and his team showed in a new study.

CINEMA STUDIES - Live and in-person (once again!) in December ’21, the UO Hip Hop Jam celebrates diverse communities and hip-hop culture—while teaching first-year students the business of events planning.

ANTHROPOLOGY - On the football field, the University of Oregon and the University of Oklahoma are competing in the Alamo Bowl December 29. But in the research field, anthropologists from both schools are teaming up.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, BIOLOGY - While the climate crisis is a global issue that cannot be solved by any one person or entity alone, individuals can still take meaningful actions. At the time of year when we resolve to be better versions of ourselves, UO experts offer some suggestions for resolutions that individuals can adopt to counter climate change and help green up their lives, their communities, and the planet.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholar Alonso Cruz won the second place $750 prize in the undergraduate category of the Fund it Forward Student Video Challenge, a student video competition presented by the Science Coalition.

BIOLOGY, PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE - A University of Oregon scholarship program funded by the National Science Foundation is enhancing teacher education on campus and creating a ripple effect in public schools around Oregon.

PHYSICS - Three University of Oregon physicists are able to continue their mission to uncover the fundamental secrets of the universe, thanks to continued funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.

BIOLOGY - Two assistant professors of biology at the University of Oregon have landed prized early-stage research grants, funding their projects for the next five years.

NEUROSCIENCE - New research in mice sheds light on the seemingly random brain signals that hum in the background of brains. These signals might help the brain switch between states of inattention or disengagement and states of optimal performance, UO researchers reported Oct. 14 in the journal Neuron.

ENGLISH - Together with a team at the University of Idaho, librarians at the UO received a $49,919 digital humanities advancement grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop new technology-focused teaching plans for humanities courses.

EARTH SCIENCES - There’s a new saber-toothed predator in town — and it’s been hiding in plain sight. The fossil specimen, unearthed in Wyoming, was on display for decades at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. When it went off-exhibit in 2017 during a museum renovation, UO graduate student Paul Barrett finally got a closer look.

COMICS AND CARTOON STUDIES - ’Tis the season on campus for events guaranteed to lift your spirits.

THEATRE ARTS - A unique partnership between a Department of Theatre Arts professor, director and playwright and a Grand Ronde tribal elder and actor has given Native theater a voice and a presence on campus.

GEOGRAPHY - While there’s little doubt in the scientific community about the causes of climate change, questions remain on its effects on the Earth’s landscapes in the coming decades. With the help of two new grants for more than $600,000, UO geography professors Johnny Ryan and Sarah Cooley are working to shine a light on some of those unanswered questions.

LINGUISTICS - A Yakama Nation elder and language teacher who was the University of Oregon’s oldest-ever graduate will reach a major milestone next week.