HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - While not a miracle cure, there might indeed be some health benefits to the trend of cold plunging, new research from the University of Oregon suggests. A study led by Chris Minson, the Kenneth and Kenda Singer Professor in Human Physiology at the UO.The study was published in the December 2023 edition of the Journal of Thermal Biology.

College of Arts and Sciences students had questions for Tykeson Dean of Arts and Sciences Chris Poulsen. And he has answers. Poulsen shares what the CAS dean does, his undergrad major, and his favorite ice cream flavor at Prince Pückler's.

GLOBAL STUDIES, SOCIOLOGY - Japan's energy shift after the Fukushima disaster saw a surge in fossil fuel use. How does this impact their long-term sustainability goals? Recent research by Yvonne Braun of global studies and Michael Dreiling of sociology is featured.

HISTORY, LINGUISTICS - A historian and a linguist have received National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) awards, a prestigious honor that goes to only 16% of applicants in a given year. The grants were awarded to Gabriela Pérez Báez, associate professor of linguistics and director of the Language Revitalization Lab, and Arafaat Valiani, an associate professor in the Department of History and affiliated faculty in the Global Health program.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Assistant Professor Neil O’Brian is among 28 academics and researchers across the United States to be selected as a 2024 Andrew Carnegie Fellow, which comes with a $200,000 grant. O'Brian's newest book, “The Roots of Polarization: From the Racial Realignment to the Culture Wars,” will be released in August by the University of Chicago Press.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE, SPANISH - Leah Middlebrook, associate professor of comparative literature and Spanish for the College of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed as the new director of the Oregon Humanities Center. Her new position starts July 1, 2024. Middlebrook brings a rich humanities background to the position and she said the position is an honor she takes seriously.

BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - University of Oregon neuroscientist Judith Eisen has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for her work on neuron development and how the enteric nervous system in the gut regulates and interacts with microbes in the intestine. Eisen is head of the Department of Biology and a member of the Institute of Neuroscience.

PHILOSOPHY - Cintia Martínez Velasco, an assistant professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, appears on an episode of UO Today, a production by the Oregon Humanities Center. Her research and teaching interests include feminist philosophy, gender theory, decolonial philosophy, and critical theory in Latin America.