Natural Sciences News

EARTH SCIENCES - More than 100 scientists and community partners recently convened to discuss resilience and preparedness planning in a workshop hosted by the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT), a new multi-institution earthquake research center led by the University of Oregon. Attendees discussed the latest science and resilience planning needs of communities related to a better understanding of the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
MATHEMATICS - Jaida Ross and Klaudia Kazimierska have earned spots on the 2023-24 College Sports Communications (CSC) Academic All-America Team. Kazimierska, who is majoring in mathematics, was voted to the second team. She's representing Poland at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the 1500-meter track and field event.
CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - College of Arts and Science remembers John Edwin Baldwin, a longtime faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and former dean of the college. Deeply interested in his field of physical organic chemistry and dedicated to the universities where he worked, as well as to his broader scholarly community, Baldwin developed a reputation as a gifted and meticulous scholar, researcher, collaborator, and legendary teacher and mentor. He died May 26, 2024. He was 86.
Three College of Arts and Sciences researchers have received the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty members in the past year: Luca Mazzucato (biology, mathematics and physics), Brittany Erickson (computer science and earth sciences) and Julia Widom (chemistry). Known as the CAREER Awards, the organization recognizes and fosters rising stars by funding innovative research.
BIOLOGY - People are living longer, but that comes with age-related health issues, including Alzheimer’s disease, osteoarthritis and dementia. Biology Professor Patrick Phillips is spearheading a new research initiative focused on age-related diseases. The effort employs technology that will accelerate discovery and fuel new approaches to research, launched with a major gift from longtime UO donors Kenda and Kenneth Singer.
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation announced this year's Outstanding Research Awards, many of which went to College of Arts and Sciences faculty members: Professor Carlos Aguirre (history and Latin American studies), Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanchez (anthropology) and Leland O'Driscoll (associate director of the Oregon Hazards Lab).
PSYCHOLOGY - Jennifer M. Gómez, an assistant professor in the Clinical Practice department at Boston University School of Social Work (PhD, '17), was recently awarded the 2024 International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) Frank W. Putnam Outstanding Book Award for her new book, The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women and Girls: A Black Feminist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse.
BIOLOGY - New research from Judith Eisen, a neuroscientist in the College of Arts and Sciences, describes how nerve cells and muscle cells communicate through electrical signals during development—a phenomenon known as bioelectricity. Research by Eisen and her colleagues was published in Current Biology.
EARTH SCIENCES - Iceland’s ongoing volcanic eruptions may continue on and off for years to decades, threatening the country’s most densely populated region and vital infrastructure. Ilya Bindeman, an earth sciences professor in CAS, said volcanoes are ordinary on the geological scale, but on the human scale, they can be devastating.
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Oregon is centered in the Knight Campus but involves investigators from across the UO. A project from the lab of Damien Callahan, a professor in the Department of Human Physiology, examines the role of proteins contributing to the structure and function of skeletal muscle, with the goal of predicting muscle tissue injury in female athletes.
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - Faculty members and graduate students at the Bowerman Sports Science Center (BSSC) conduct groundbreaking research on the mechanics of the human body and how it reacts to stress. Along the way, they work with local runners, both amateur and professional, to help them achieve their performance goals while avoiding injury.
EARTH SCIENCES, PHYSICS - Staff and faculty members came together for the inaugural College of Arts and Sciences Awards and Hallmark Achievement Reception, which celebrated some of the achievements of faculty and staff. In addition to celebrating some of the college’s faculty members who have received accolades outside of the university, the ceremony featured the college’s first-ever awards that recognize the work of faculty and staff.
BIOLOGY - This June, the UO celebrates Pride Month and the diverse identities of alumni identifying as LGBTQ+. When the UO Alumni Association asked Kevin Thomas, biology, '85, what Pride means to him, he said it’s about being his most “open, authentic, and truest self.” He reflected how his identity as a gay man has opened doors to educate others on 2SLGBTQIA3+ issues and to “change hearts and minds one person at a time.”
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - As a senior human physiology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Colleen Uzoekwe works in Exercise and Environmental Physiology Labs in the Bowerman Sports Science Center, conducting research on muscle temperature changes with sauna sessions.
GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL STUDIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE, PHYSICS - Where can a liberal arts degree take you? These College of Arts and Sciences seniors are charting their own course as they pursue careers in the specialty coffee industry, particle physics and public service.