Ducks Give is May 14. And We Need Your Help!
Ducks Give is the University of Oregon’s annual 24-hour fundraiser. On Thursday, May 14, your gifts — no matter how small — can support programs that benefit undergraduate and graduate students, including experiential learning and scholarships that are making a real impact to prepare them for careers after college.
Join Ducks from around the world to support current and future students. Let’s rise together on May 14!
Congratulations, Graduating Ducks!
You’ve put in the work and earned the diploma. Now let’s celebrate! On June 15, join your fellow CAS Ducks for this year’s CAS commencement ceremony. Head over to the 2026 CAS Commencement website where you can find ceremony details for each CAS ceremony, logistics and any other answers to all your questions about the big day.
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.
News from Natural Sciences
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We Love Our Supporters
Gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences can help our students make the most of their college careers. To do this, CAS needs your support. Your contributions help us ensure that teaching, research, advising, mentoring, and support services are fully available to every student. Thank you!
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.
2024-2025 Sponsored Research in Natural Sciences
Between July 2024 and June 2025, researchers in CAS received $83 million to fund 199 research projects, including approximately $75 million in Natural Sciences. The research projects, which span divisions and fields of study, represent CAS's commitment to curiosity, discovery, and innovation.
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
2:00–4:00 p.m.
In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder, an idealistic man who cannot bring himself to believe that the same element that shrinks tumors could have anything to do with the terrifying rash of illnesses among his employees. As the case goes on, however, Grace finds herself battling not just with the U.S. Radium Corporation, but with her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will backfire. Written with warmth and humor, Radium Girls is a fast-moving, highly theatrical ensemble piece for 9 to 10 actors, who play more than 30 parts—friends, co-workers, lovers, relatives, attorneys, scientists, consumer advocates, and myriad interested bystanders. Called a “powerful” and “engrossing” drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science. Produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. Originally produced by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey and developed with a commissioning grant from The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science and Technology Project.
by D. W. Gregory Directed by Willow Jade Norton Zolan
5:00–7:30 p.m.
Meet director Shiori Ito in person on the UO campus! https://www.shioriito.com/en/films
- Woman who sparked Japan’s #MeToo movement
- Peabody Award winner
- Oscar-nominated filmmaker
This event will feature a screening of the widely acclaimed memoir documentary film, Black Box Diaries, followed by an in-person conversation with director Shiori Ito.
Ito is the first Japanese documentary filmmaker to be nominated for an Academy Award. The film chronicles Ito’s investigation and pursuit for justice following a sexual assault she suffered in 2015 as a young journalist. It follows her attempt to prosecute the high-profile offender, a senior figure in the Japanese media. Her challenge to Japan’s patriarchal, judicial, political, and media systems has made this a landmark case of gender-based violence in Japan.
Content warning: This film contains accounts of sexual violence. We encourage viewers to practice self care and take breaks from the film as needed.
The event is sponsored by:
- Yoko McClain Lecture Series in Japanese Studies
- Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
- Oregon Humanities Center Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities
- Center for Asian and Pacific Studies
5:00–6:45 p.m.
Do you want to use your critical thinking skills to make an impact on safety, security, and justice? Investigative careers span a range of roles within public and private agencies, from legal advocacy to data-driven crime analysis and frontline public safety. They share a focus on gathering evidence, analyzing information, and solving cases to protect people and assets. But there are so many types of investigative careers across various jurisdictions, so where do you start?
Join us for a special panel + connect night dedicated to helping YOU get career-ready for your future in investigative careers. Come to either or both events—Learn something new and meet employers and alumni you can add to your network! Both events are open to all majors and academic years. Snacks provided. Casual Dress. No RSVP is required. Bring your friends! ALL students are welcome to participate!
PANEL DISCUSSION: 5:00pm-6:00pm Facilitated by Dr. Stephanie Wiley, Director, Criminology Minor
PANELISTS
- Haley Kotkin, Social Service Specialist I, Oregon Department of Human Services
- Detective Ryan Underwood, Eugene Police Department
- Sergeant Chris Duffitt, Benton County Sheriff's Office
- Elle McCall OR Spencer Gwartney, Lane County District Attorney's Office
- Special Agent Damara Gonzalez, Federal Bureau of Investigations
CONNECT/NETWORKING: 6:00pm-6:45pm
This open networking session allows students to rotate through tables to learn more about your organization and to get advice about how to find career-building opportunities and connections in the field.
CONNECT ORGANIZATIONS - open networking
- Lane County Parole and Probation (Tabitha Rose, Jenalee Nichols, and Brittany Marshall)
- Benton County Sheriff’s Office (Ryan Roth &/or Chris Duffitt)
- Eugene Police Department (Lauren Fechtel-Nusser & Trent Magnuson?)
- Portland Police Bureau (Emily Cote)
- Lane County District Attorney's Office (Elle McCall, Spencer Gwartney, &/or Monte Ludington)
- Federal Bureau of Investigations (Damara Gonzalez & Flo Mackey)
- Multnomah County Department of Community Justice (Travis Gamble)
- Oregon Department of Human Services (Lorenzo Olono &/or Haley Kotkin)
- University of Oregon Police Department (Anthony Button & K9 Thor)
1:00 p.m.
Please join us Wednesday afternoons for a free cup of coffee, pastries, and conversation with your history department community! We’re excited to continue this tradition for our history undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff. We hope to see you there!