Our science departments are committed to creating and disseminating new knowledge in their fields by combining research and teaching. Our 300 faculty members — including fellows of many learned societies and academies — are engaged in research that spans a broad range, from questions about the foundations of quantum mechanics, to the development of cancer cells and the workings of the brain, to work resulting in the spin-off of high-technology companies. Faculty share their excitement about their research with their students, training them to become part of the next generation of scientists who will push the frontiers of human knowledge. Explore majors, minors, concentrations, and academic programs in the Natural Sciences.
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World-Class Faculty in the Natural Sciences
Thien Nguyen
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Thien Nguyen is an expert in natural language processing, or the ability of artificial intelligence to understand, interpret and generate meaningful human language. He aims to enable computers to perform cognitive language-related tasks. His lab is among the first to develop deep learning algorithms for information extraction and text mining in natural language processing and data mining. His research on using natural language processing for multilingual learning earned him a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation.
Nguyen's recent research focuses on programming computers to improve the efficiency and safety of large language models (LLMs) across human languages while extracting valuable information about events like natural disasters, cyberattacks, disease outbreaks, and protests from news articles and other sources. His work seeks to deliver useful insights from diverse data and make these technologies accessible in low-resource languages that lack adequate data sets for training AI models.
Tien-Tien Yu
Associate Professor of Physics, Institute for Fundamental Science
Tien-Tien is a theoretical particle physicist working at the interface of theory and experiment. She is particularly interested in understanding the nature of dark matter, whose existence is known through its gravitational effects on ordinary matter. She co-founded the SENSEI collaboration, an experiment utilizing silicon chips, much like those found in digital cameras, to search for dark matter. She was recently appointed to P5, an advisory group convened once a decade by the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation to help determine the next funded projects in particle physics.
On Jan. 14, 2025, Yu was one of nearly 400 scientists and engineers to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest award the US government awards to early career scientists.
A founding member of the group Particles for Justice, Yu is also a leader in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the physics field. In collaboration with the Comics and Cartoon Studies program, Yu created the UO Science and Comics Initiative. Read more about the initiative here.
Santiago Jaramillo
Associate Professor of Biology, Institute of Neuroscience
Santiago Jaramillo leads a research group dedicated to understanding how the brain processes and interprets sounds. Using advanced techniques to monitor and manipulate neural activity in mice, along with computational approaches, he investigates how the brain filters, learns, and assigns meaning to sounds and how brain disorders can affect these processes. His interdisciplinary work, supported by the BRAIN Initiative of the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, includes collaborations with psychologists, bioengineers, theoretical neuroscientists, and linguists, with the long-term goal of developing neural interfaces to improve human-to-human and human-to-machine communication.
Beyond the lab, Jaramillo is deeply committed to broadening participation in STEM. He provides hands-on neuroscience experiences to middle school girls through the SPICE program, serves as an advisor for international programs engaging young minds in scientific critical thinking, and mentors college students from a wide range of backgrounds through programs such as NSF STEP-UP, SPUR, and the ESPRIT scholarship for aspiring K-12 science teachers.
School of Computer and Data Sciences
The mission at SCDS is to empower a diverse population of students and faculty working to advance knowledge in computer and data science, train the next generation of scholars, and engage with the wider world to tackle interdisciplinary challenges.
To do this, we start by applying our knowledge and experience at home across the University of Oregon campus.
Research in the Natural Sciences
Natural scientists use data to understand, predict, and work with naturally occurring phenomena on earth and in the universe. From highly controlled experiments in the lab to observations collected in the field, our findings help make sense of the natural world while driving advancements in society and technology that touch everyone. By expanding the limits of human knowledge, we provide a scientific foundation for helping people live better, longer lives.
Explore Other Majors and Minors in the College of Arts and Sciences
Meet our Dean
Welcome to the natural sciences, where our top-flight researchers bring students in to experience the biological, physical, and computational sciences. Working side-by-side with faculty who are equally committed to student success and scientific discovery, students learn valuable critical thinking skills through hands-on research in the lab, field, and classroom—from studying marine biology at the Oregon Institute for Marine Biology on our beautiful campus on the coast to coding advanced systems and analyzing complex data in the School of Computer and Data Science.
The research we’re conducting at the UO makes a tangible difference in our communities, our nation, and the world. For example, our chemists are pioneering the materials and techniques that will inspire the next generation of batteries for energy storage. Our psychologists are developing and testing cutting-edge interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing. Our geologists and environmental scientists are collaborating with governments, tribes, and industry partners to protect communities from earthquakes and wildfires.
You may or may not end up in a science career, but either way these experiences will change the way you experience and interact with the world. A healthy society depends on people who know how to gather evidence and critically analyze data. No matter what field you enter, scientific thinking will help you become a more thoughtful, engaged, and critical citizen in modern society.
We’re excited to explore the natural world with you.
Elliot Berkman
Divisional Associate Dean, Natural Sciences
Happening at CAS
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The Limits and Possibilities of Cross-border Latinidades & Indigeneities April 24 / 12pm-5pm / Ford Lecture Hall, JSMA
The Limits and Possibilities of Cross-border Latinidades & Indigeneities symposium will bring together interdisciplinary Latinx and Indigenous scholars and researchers studying settler colonialism, transnational Indigeneities, and race through archival and ethnographic approaches. The conference will explore the boundaries between Indigeneity and Latinidad, both historically and in the present. It examines shifting borders and interactions of Indigenous and Latine people and diasporas, focusing on regions that are now California, Texas, Oregon, Mexico, and Central America.
12pm-1pm: Conference Opening and Keynote Presenters: María Josefina Saldaña-Portillo (New York University); Moderated by Chris Chavez (SOJC, University of Oregon); Special remarks by Jason Younker, Assistant Vice President, Advisor to the President on Sovereignty and Government-to-Government Relations, Chief, Coquille Tribe
1pm-2pm: Pre-1848 Mexican Borderlands: Californio Ranchero Culture and Indigenous California Presenters: Yvette Saavedra (Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Oregon) and Naomi Sussman (History, University of Oregon); Moderated by Laura Pulido (Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon)
2pm-3pm: Media, History and Citizenship of Indigenous and Latinx Peoples: Contested Lands and Identities across the Borderlands Presenters: Ramón Resendiz (Indiana University, UO Anthropology) and Rachel Nez (Navajo Diné Nation, Fort Lewis College); Moderated by Gabe Sanchez (Anthropology, University of Oregon)
3pm-4pm: Building Comunidad and Transborder Territories in Indigenous Diasporas From Mexico and Guatemala Presenters: Daina Sanchez (UC Santa Barbara) and Lynn Stephen (Anthropology, University of Oregon); Moderated by Jason Younker (University of Oregon)
4pm-5pm: Closing Remarks and Conversation Closing remarks from Miguel Gualdrón Ramírez (Philosophy, University of Oregon) and María Josefina Saldaña-Portillo (New York University)
5pm-6pm: Post-conference Reception Mingle with presenters and enjoy complimentary food and refreshments. All are welcome!
Questions? Email cllas@uoregon.edu
3:30–5:30 p.m.
The 2025 China Town Hall program will discuss President Trump’s China policy 100 days in, with featured speakers Ryan Hass, Director of John L. Thorton China Center at the Brookings Institution; Matthew Turpin, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and Lingling Wei, Chief China Correspondent at The Wall Street Journal.
The University of Oregon's local discussion will be led by Daniel Buck, Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Oregon, who is currently teaching ASIA 480: Chinese Economy in spring, 2025.
The event is hosted by the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Oregon.
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Will Jones, professor of history at the University of Minnesota, will deliver the Bob Bussel Labor History Lecture on April 24, 2025.
The UO Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) created the lecture in recognition of Bob Bussel’s years of service as LERC’s director and an affiliated member of the UO history department. The lecture features historians with a distinguished record of scholarship, a commitment to public history, and an interest in labor and working-class issues. Will Jones is a professor of history at the University of Minnesota with a particular interest in issues of race and class. Professor Jones is the author of two books and numerous articles on labor and working-class history. He is also a past president of the Labor and Working-Class History Association.
6:00–10:00 p.m.
The Women’s Center is beyond excited to invite you to our annual Take Back the Night Rally, March and Speak-Out Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
Take Back the Night is on Thursday, April 24, starting with the rally at 6:00pm followed by the march at 7:00pm and student-led speak-out at 8pm.
The rally begins in the EMU Amphitheater at 13th Ave. and University St. followed by an approximately 1.6 mile march from the UO campus through the streets of Eugene and back to UO campus in the EMU Cedar and Spruce Rooms where the student-led speak out (by and for students) is held.
The UO Women’s Center holds this event in collaboration with the UO Campus Community (UO Muxeres, UOIWMGW, Prevention SVPE,UO Green and Yellow Garter Band and more).
Community collaborators will be on hand from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm at tables surrounding the rally area.
Take Back the Night Rally, March and Speak-Out Against Sexual and Domestic Violence is an event for the entire University of Oregon campus community. Take Back the Night is a yearly international protest founded in 1976 which seeks to raise awareness about the realities of sexual and domestic violence on campus and in the community, both for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and those who want to support and bear witness in solidarity. Take Back the Night is a survivor-centered event that begins with a rally in the EMU Amphitheater, continues as a march through the streets of Eugene to symbolize reclaiming people’s safety on public streets at night, and ends with a student-led speak-out on campus during which survivors and allies can share personal stories of how sexual and domestic violence has impacted their lives.
The rally will feature UO student speakers from diverse intersecting identities and lived experiences, including the Native American community, Latine community, LGBTQIA2S+ community, a child abuse prevention advocacy organization and more.
Our theme for this year’s event is REST IS RESISTANCE, inspired by the work of Black activist Tricia Hersey. As well, we will continue to center marginalized communities too often left out of essential dialogue about sexual and domestic violence - despite being disproportionately impacted by these systems of oppression. As always, the Women’s Center is committed to providing this essential event to support survivors, educate the community and prevent future harm.
ASL interpretation will be provided at the rally. This event is wheelchair accessible and will have transportation available during the march and back to student-led speak-out. We ask that no UO professional staff or media be present during the student-led speak-out portion of the event to provide a sacred space for students to have dialogue circles of peer-to-peer support.
Event will take place **rain or shine** and is free and open to the public. We support and believe survivors in ALL WEATHER! Masks are not required but highly encouraged. Questions regarding Take Back the Night should be directed to:
UO Women’s Center Program Assistant, Karyn Schultz (karyns@uoregon.edu) UO Women's Center Leadership Fellow, alejandra pedraza (apedraza@uoregon.edu) UO Women’s Center Sexual Violence Prevention & Education Student Coordinator, Lola Sponaas (svpewc@uoregon.edu)