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CINEMA STUDIES, EAST ASIAN STUDIES — For Natalie Jacobsen explored multiple majors before landing on cinema studies and media history. That well-rounded education took her across the globe and to her current position as director of marketing and communications at Airlink, a humanitarian aviation nonprofit. She is also a published novelist.

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%.

THEATRE ARTS - This year, the University Theatre’s season includes an exciting range of productions by Shakespeare, Jen Silverman, D.W. Gregory and Monica Sanchez. Each of the plays offers a mix of historical and contemporary themes, while also addressing timely issues such as immigration, gender roles, and workplace safety. And it marks the return of the Robinson Theatre.

EARTH SCIENCES - Researchers at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences are joining a new $15 million National Science Foundation center that will unite researchers across the country to understand and prepare for natural hazards like landslides, flooding, debris flows and river erosion. UO researchers will focus on how climate change and shifting storm patterns influence landslides and debris flows.

PSYCHOLOGY - Adolescence isn’t a time of dysfunction; it’s a peak period of brain development, adaptability, and growth. Jennifer Pfeifer, a psychology professor at the College of Arts and Sciences, discusses at the 2025 TEDxPortland that it’s time to flip the script and recognize that young people are acting exactly as they’re wired to, and are capable of far more than we’ve been led to believe.

EARTH SCIENCES - The earthquake geology workforce is depleted, limiting data collection and slowing progress in our understanding of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Cores to Code addresses this gap by training the next generation of paleoseismologists through immersive, hands-on experiences. But through CRESCENT's Cor to Code program, students from around the US are getting a thorough scientific experience.

EARTH SCIENCES - An analysis of the Columbia River Gorge, which runs along the border between Oregon and Washington, shows that steep, rocky watersheds in that area have been prone to debris flows and rockfall for thousands of years. Those events didn’t measurably increase after the Eagle Creek Fire, which scorched 47,000 acres of the gorge over three months in 2017. CAS Earth scientist Josh Roering and members of his lab published their findings Aug. 8 in Science Advances.