CAS Connection Research & Innovation archive

College of Arts and Sciences researchers have tested a new combination drug therapy that could dismantle the difficult-to-treat bacteria inhabiting chronic wound infections. Their findings, published Sept. 29 in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, illuminate ways to develop more effective antimicrobial treatments that promote healing in chronic wounds.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Voters are in a way acting as lawmakers, as some states see an increase in ballot measures, spanning from county or city-level ordinances to state constitutional amendments, according to research by Madison Schroder, a political science PhD candidate at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences.

BIOLOGY - An AI-based imaging system that is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, funded by the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Inc., is working to monitor bee populations without harming the insects. The technology could solve a key paradox in bee conservation efforts. The collaboration includes CAS biologist Lauren Ponisio.

PHYSICS - Physics Professor Richard Taylor blends art and science to create award-winning nature-inspired designs for indoor environments. In collaboration with designers in Austria, Taylor has been using computer-generated fractal patterns, which have been shown to reduce people’s stress levels by up to 60%.

ENGLISH - A groundbreaking digital humanities project brings theater history to the public, despite federal funding cuts. “The 18th-century London theater world has it all,” says Mattie Burkert, an associate professor of English and director of the digital humanities minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. “Scandals, government censorship, audience riots, labor strikes, market manipulation, corporate intrigue—you name it.”