COMPUTER SCIENCE - Student coders put their creativity to the test at QuackHacks, a 24-hour hackathon organized by computer science students. More than 100 participants, from seasoned computer veterans to those entirely new to coding, showed up for the hackathon. Over 24 hours, they worked in teams to develop computer programs, apps, machine learning models and games to present for judging later in the day.

PSYCHOLOGY - Since earning his PhD from the Department of Psychology in 1996 under the joint supervision of professors emeriti Douglas Hintzman and Michael Posner, Levitin has become one of the most prominent figures in cognitive science. During a recent visit to campus to donate his papers to the UO Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives, Levitin delivered a guest lecture about his new book to students.

DATA SCIENCE - In Applied Data Science for Social Justice, a new course developed by Associate Professor Rori Rohlfs in the School of Computer and Data Sciences, students partner with CAHOOTS in Eugene to help its organizers sift through data they’ve collected from thousands of dispatch calls to glean insights on how they can improve their services.

BIOLOGY, PHYSICS - A new study published in the journal mBio shows how one kind of bacteria, Vibrio cholerae, triggers those painful contractions by activating the immune system. The research also finds a more general explanation for how the gut rids itself of unwanted intruders, which could also help scientists better understand chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. The research was led by Julia Ngo, a now-graduated doctoral student in Karen Guillemin and Raghu Parthasarathy’s labs.

PHYSICS - Professor Tien-Tien Yu is one of nearly 400 scientists and engineers awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the US government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.

EARTH SCIENCES - Any moment, the "Big One" could hit the Pacific Northwest. It's been more than 300 years since the last 9.0+ Cascadia earthquake. At the University of Oregon, researchers are working from many angles to make sure people across the region are as prepared as possible.

EARTH SCIENCES - Oregon’s Cascade Range mountains might not hold gold, but they store another precious resource in abundance: water. Scientists from the University of Oregon and their partners have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated — at least 81 cubic kilometers.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY - Check out the latest in faculty, student and alumni news in our Winter 2025 Chemistry and Biochemistry Newsletter!