College of Science • Winter 2019
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COLLEGE OF SCIENCE • WINTER 2019 Impact Winter 2019.indd 1 11/12/18 8:01 PM WINTER 2019 Editor Debbie Farris Contents Writers Katharine de Baun Srila Nayak Passion & Purpose Faculty and student excellence Designer Sharon Betterton Thinkers & Doers College of Science Science alumni transform Roy Haggerty, Dean the world. Publisher College of Science 128 Kidder Hall Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 Synergies Unleashed An interdisciplinary approach to human health and disease On the cover — High-population cities like Miami (pictured) have longer-lasting flu seasons. Climate conditions actually play a relatively smaller role in flu transmission. Read more on p. 9. News Science that matters Real Estate = Real Opportunity Your gift of property can open doors at OSU Learn how you can boost your retirement Discover Research, breakthroughs plans through a life-income gift, eliminate capital gains taxes, and create life-changing and innovation opportunities for students. All with real estate! Contact us today. Julie Irmer, 800-336-8217 • [email protected] osufoundation.org/giftplanning Impact Winter 2019.indd 2 11/12/18 8:01 PM a science degree. I believe that Science offers students, and society, the greatest opportunity for innovation, creativity and discovery to solve the 21st century problems that affect us all. As an example, the College Salary Report states that the average mid-career employee with a biology degree earns $77,200 per year. Employees with a biochemistry and molecular biology degree average $103,400 per year. For physics graduates, it is $110,000 per year, similar for those with mathematics degrees. Most of these employees do not hold jobs with titles like “biologist, “physicist” This fall, we welcomed 700 first-year has forced students and parents to or “mathematician.” However, students. My hope for them is that examine the return on investment the training that these graduates they, like you as alumni of Oregon of a college degree. As a result, received is highly valued by State, will appreciate the value of enrollment in academic programs employers, often for positions with their science degree and experience like engineering and business have vastly different job titles. firsthand its powerful impact on surged, while academic programs their career and their lives. Since in the humanities and arts have A science education at OSU gives 2008, more students are seeking declined. We have held steady students the best long-term degrees with titles that sound in Science, with flat or slightly insurance for successful careers in like jobs, a lingering aftereffect declining enrollment. innovation, entrepreneurship and of the Great Recession. Whereas leadership. In this newsletter, read many students once sought an The message we need to about the extraordinary impact education to broaden their minds communicate is that investing in a science alumni, students and faculty and perspectives and as a means science degree is a good decision. at Oregon State University are to better navigate the world, now It is valuable both as a means to having on our world. students are feeling tremendous get a good paying job and to better economic pressure to get a degree understand our world. But many that will land them a well-paying job. students and their parents do not Roy Haggerty The escalating cost of college tuition realize the incredible rewards of Dean, College of Science from last year; and 16 percent are first–year women students in science underrepresented minorities. since 2013. The College of Science is thrilled to Parsing the numbers further shows Class of 2022: welcome the most high-achieving a strong correlation between a first- students in its incoming class ever: year student’s ethnicity and their 68% women 50 percent — up from 47 percent parents’ educational background: 19 last year and 29 percent in 2016! percent of the 193 first-generation These students enter OSU with a students are also underrepresented This fall the College of Science high school GPA of 3.75 and above. minority students. Of the 375 high- welcomed 744 new first-year The College has the highest number achieving students, only 19 percent students and 180 transfer students, of high-achieving students at OSU. are first-generation students, an a nearly 7 percent increase over last increase of 9 percent from last year; fall’s enrollment. Twenty-six percent, The majority of the class of 2022, and just 7 percent are minority or 193 first-year students, indicated roughly 68 percent (502 students), students. Five percent of our high- they are first in their family to identified as female, which achieving students are both minority attend college, a 12 percent increase constitutes the highest number of and first-generation students. Impact Winter 2019.indd 1 11/12/18 8:01 PM National recognition for mentoring, diversity commitment Javier Rojo (left), the Korvis Professor of Statistics at OSU, is the recipient of the 2018 Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Award for Mentoring and Commitment to Diversity. Rojo received his award at the Infinite Possibilities PASSION & Conference at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a professional PURPOSE commitment to mentoring and increasing diversity in Faculty and student excellence the mathematical sciences. Rojo leads and directs the nationally recognized and his systematic study of the Research for Undergraduates Global recognition for nuclear reactions that create Summer Institute of mathematician super-heavy elements has provided Statistics. This program Mathematics professor powerful tools for nuclear scientists. has garnered national Juan Restrepo was named a 2018 accolades as a model Fellow for the Society of Industrial program for encouraging and Applied Mathematicians (SIAM). National Science Board undergraduates to pursue He was one of 28 researchers in recognizes Lubchenco for graduate studies in the SIAM’s 2018 Class of Fellows. He lifetime achievement mathematical sciences and was recognized for his research Marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco for increasing the numbers of contributions to the mathematical was honored by the National Science underrepresented minorities and computational modeling of Board with its 2018 Vannevar Bush and women in mathematics ocean and climate dynamics. This Award, recognizing “lifelong leaders and statistics. has had substantial impact in in science and technology who have computational geosciences. made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service.” Distinguished Professor, the highest Famed nuclear chemist academic honor the university can elected ACS Fellow Lubchenco, a distinguished bestow on a faculty member. Tate’s Chemistry professor Walter Loveland university professor and marine research stimulated the Oregon was named an American Chemical studies advisor to President Ed State invention of the transparent Society (ACS) Fellow, one of 51 in Ray, is one of the world’s most oxide transistor, the enabling 2018. The ACS Fellows Program highly cited ecologists and served technology for the Retina 5K display recognizes ACS members for their as administrator of the National found in many Apple products. She outstanding achievements in Oceanic and Atmospheric has received more than $5 million in and contributions to science, the Administration from 2009–2013. research grants. profession and the Society. For over four decades, Loveland, who Physicist named OSU Taking top OSU honors joined the chemistry department at distinguished professor The College is proud of our eight OSU in 1968, has made pioneering Oregon State has named professor science faculty who received contributions to nuclear chemistry of physics Janet Tate a 2018 OSU’s most prestigious awards for Impact Winter 2019.indd 2 11/12/18 8:01 PM iMPACT WINTER 2019 3 scholarship, teamwork, mentoring courses, a leading predictor of the Science graduates win and service at 2018 University Day. success of STEM students. Fulbright awards Microbiology professor Michael Microbiology alumni Dang Duong Kent received the OSU Alumni Grad students win (’18) and Grace D’Angelo (’17) Association Distinguished Professor national fellowships are two out of seven Oregon State Award for his superior academic We congratulate Ph.D. students students selected for the 2018–19 performance, professional renown Rebecca Mostow in integrative Fulbright U.S. Student Program. and service to OSU and the public. biology and Julia (Grace) Klinges The Kent Lab is developing zebrafish in microbiology for receiving Duong was awarded an English as models for infectious diseases in prestigious National Science Teaching Assistantship to humans. They demonstrated that Foundation Graduate Research Kazakhstan. He is engaging zebrafish can become infected with Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) with students in and out of the Toxoplasma gondii, a pathogenic awards in 2018. classroom to share the American parasite that is the second most language and culture. significant cause of lethal food- Mostow’s award-winning research borne infections in the U.S. This project focuses on unearthing D’Angelo graduated with was the first time this infection was the mechanisms of hybridization microbiology honors and minors reported in a fish. that underlie beachgrass invasion in music and chemistry. She and proliferation on the U.S. will use her Fulbright toward Chemist Xiulei (David) Ji received Pacific Northwest Coast. Klinges’ an M.S. in marine microbiology two awards