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Higher education faces new challenges—from rising costs and a perceived declining return on investment to evolving workforce demands. CAS Dean Chris Poulsen is leading the charge on a new strategy to establish CAS as an innovator and leader in liberal arts education. With a strategic plan, Poulsen sees CAS as a place to prepare students to meet the challenges of a 21st-century world, equipping them with skills and knowledge to set them up for changing workplaces and to excel as global citizens.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Bioengineers and chemists design fluorescent 3D-printed structures with potential medical applications. The discovery emerged from a collaboration between Paul Dalton’s engineering lab in the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and Ramesh Jasti’s lab in the chemistry and biochemistry department in the UO’s College of Arts and Sciences. The researchers describe their findings in a paper published this summer in the journal Small.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Hear about Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Christopher Hendon's coffee lab, his ongoing quest for better coffee through chemistry, and tips for at-home baristas. Link goes to Spotify.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - On this episode we’re joined by Mike Hahn, professor of human physiology and director of the Bowerman Sports Science Center. The This is Oregon Podcast team discusses his team’s research on distance running, fatigue, and tips to get the most out of your run while avoiding injury. Link goes to Spotify.

PSYCHOLOGY - The College of Arts and Sciences is investing in its Latinx studies courses by hiring nine new tenure-track faculty members. Meet Blanche Wright—a new hire in the Department of Psychology—wants to change that by inspiring Latinx students in the classroom and through mentorship to hopefully become professors.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Vickie DeRose, professor and head of chemistry and biochemistry, has been awarded a creativity extension by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research into the structure and function of ribonucleic acid (RNA) through its interactions with metal ions. Fellow chemist Mike Pluth was awarded an NSF creativity extension in 2023 for his work on the role small sulfur-based molecules play in many biological processes. These molecules were likely key species involved in evolution, especially before there was oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.

OIMB, BIOLOGY - At the Charleston Marine Life Center a growing collection of unique organisms serve as underwater ambassadors between UO researchers, local community partners, and the public. It’s a place where UO scientists share their discoveries with the public and community members rally around the preservation of local marine life.

BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Associate Professor Lauren Hallett and other members of her lab collect data for the Nutrient Network, a web of 130 sites around the world that monitor how nutrient addition affects biodiversity loss. The resulting data will provide a foundation for research that helps predict and reduce this loss.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Professor Darren Johnson is among 11 accomplished researchers selected to receive Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s Cottrell Plus SEED Award for 2024. Johnson is an academic expert in green chemistry. He studies water pollution and purification, especially agriculture and industrial waste water.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - In July, the Teresa Rapp Lab received a $100,000 grant from the Donald E. And Deliah B. Baxter Foundation, a charitable institution established to advance medical and scientific research at institutions of higher learning. In the Rapp Lab, the funding will support a new project modeling late-stage fibrosis with light-responsive biomaterials.

EARTH SCIENCES - The Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT) has awarded 14 grants to researchers across the US and beyond to study the Cascadia subduction zone, a massive fault along the West Coast that could generate a magnitude 9.0+ earthquake at any moment. The CRESCENT Seed Grant Program was established to enlist more researchers in the effort to meet those goals.

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.