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Chemistry

Three Department of Chemistry faculty awarded endowed positions

Congratulations to three Department of Chemistry faculty members awarded endowed positions, recognizing their exceptional contributions to solving major challenges in material science currently facing humankind. May Nyman is the Terrence Bradshaw Chemistry Professor; David Ji is the Bert and Emelyn Christensen Professor; and Chong Fang is the Patricia Valian Reser Endowed Faculty Scholar.

University Day 2023
Events

Science receives record-breaking 12 awards at University Day

College of Science faculty, staff, and graduate students have earned a record-breaking number of honors at University Day, a celebratory launch to the academic year featuring an annual awards ceremony. Science winners amassed an impressive 12 awards, beating the previous record of seven and garnering the most of any college across Oregon State.

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College of Science

Building bridges: College of Science outreach fosters science literacy and inclusion

The College of Science is dedicated to enriching our community and promoting science literacy. Our recently launched Strategic Plan emphasizes making meaningful contributions on local, national, and global scales.

Picture of storytelling_animated_zinc-battery
News

Breaking through with a better battery for storing renewable energy.

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a solution for a better battery — one that’s efficient, safe, sustainable and economical for both utilities and consumers.

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Graduate students

Treating everyone: Martin O’Neill fellow aims to improve drug accessibility

Shaping challenges into opportunities is what chemistry Ph.D. student Abdikani Omar Farah has done nearly all of his life. After growing up in East Africa and experiencing firsthand what it meant to lack access to medicine, Farah now wants to use his career to fill this drug scarcity and give back to his communities.

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Faculty and Staff

Oregon State names new College of Science dean

Eleanor Feingold, a statistical geneticist and associate dean with nearly 20 years of leadership experience at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named dean of Oregon State University’s College of Science. She will start Oct. 31.

A visual representation of a nanomaterial.
Sustainable Energy and Materials

College of Science researchers find a better way to capture carbon from industrial emissions

Researchers in the College of Science have demonstrated the potential of an inexpensive nanomaterial to scrub carbon dioxide from industrial emissions. The findings, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, are important because improved carbon capture methods are key to addressing climate change, said Oregon State's Kyriakos Stylianou, who led the study.

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Students

Brussels sprouts and Parkinson's push chemistry senior toward Ph.D. at Oregon State

Graduating high school at 16 is no easy feat. For Jessica Etter, it also meant the additional challenge of starting college at 17. Etter started her journey as an Oregon State University chemistry student with the goal of becoming a forensic scientist, however, she has since found a passion for research and will be starting a Ph.D. at Oregon State this fall.

May Nyman in the lab with students
Chemistry

Prestigious awards and the ultimate recycling: Oregon State professor spearheads chemistry innovations

Oregon State University Professor May Nyman received the prestigious F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.

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Graduate students

Graduate student traverses the frontier of radioactive metal research

Actinide chemistry is defined by its cutting-edge research, which graduate student Jenna Bustos has a passion for pursuing. From becoming a member of the Nyman Research Group at Oregon State to interning at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Bustos is well-versed in the field and eager to see what it brings next for her.

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Faculty and Staff

Faculty excellence: Promotions and tenure 2023

The College of Science congratulates 17 faculty on receiving promotions and/or tenure this year.

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News

Researchers develop electrolyte enabling high efficiency of safe, sustainable zinc batteries

The Oregon State University top 10 stories of 2023 included two science stories! Xiulei “David” Ji’s development of a new electrolyte that enables high efficiency of a safe, sustainable zinc battery was number 9!

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OSU Press Releases

College of Science researchers help develop electrolyte enabling high efficiency of safe, sustainable zinc batteries

Scientists led by an Oregon State College of Science researcher have developed a new electrolyte that raises the efficiency of the zinc metal anode in zinc batteries to nearly 100%, a breakthrough on the way to an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for large-scale energy storage.

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Events

Annual Health Professions Fair opens doors for students interested in graduate health programs

The annual Health Professions Fair will take place on April 25, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

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OSU Press Releases

Oregon State develops catalyst that purifies herbicide-tainted water and produces hydrogen

Researchers in the Department of Chemistry have developed a dual-purpose catalyst that purifies herbicide-tainted water while also producing hydrogen.

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Diversity in Science

Championing culture in science: SACNAS diversity conference

Students from Oregon State University along with thousands of other attendees from across the nation were welcomed to the National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Conference Oct. 27, 2022. The event was built to serve as a reminder that culture and science are not mutually exclusive or contradictory. NDiSTEM asserted that science is not a place to shed culture, but a place where it should thrive.

A star in a circle sits above a wreath on a blue background with glitter. The year 2023 is visible.
Events

Celebrating inclusive excellence, administration, service and performance: 2023 College of Science Awards

The College of Science gathered on Feb. 22 to recognize and celebrate our high achieving faculty and staff at the 2023 Combined Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrated the very best in the College, from teaching, advising and research to inclusive excellence, administration and service.

The following faculty and staff received awards in the categories of Inclusive Excellence, Administration, Service and Performance.

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Events

Celebrating excellence in research: 2023 College of Science Awards

The College of Science gathered on Feb. 22 to recognize and celebrate our high achieving faculty and staff at the 2023 Combined Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrated the very best in the College, from teaching, advising and research to inclusive excellence, administration and service. During the research awards portion of the evening, the College saluted innovative discoveries made by faculty and staff who are breaking the boundaries of their respective fields.

A scroll sits above a wreath on a blue background with glitter.
Events

Celebrating excellence in teaching and advising: 2023 College of Science Awards

The College of Science gathered on Feb. 22 to recognize and celebrate our high-achieving faculty and staff at the 2023 Combined Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrates the best in the college, from excellence in teaching and advising, service and administration to inclusive excellence, to outstanding achievements in research. During the teaching, advising and mentoring portion of the evening, many of the awards were determined based on student nominations.

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Events

Inclusive Excellence Lecture: Empowering Cultures of Belonging

National Science Foundation CAREER award recipient Marilyn Rampersad Mackiewicz will present the inaugural 2022 College of Science Inclusive Excellence Lecture, “Empowering Cultures of Belonging: Thriving, Innovating and Solving Global Challenges.”

Selfie of Erin McCarn in front of a forest and river.
Graduate students

Veteran Erin McCarn: Chemistry is the 'language the atoms speak’

After serving in the U.S. Air Force for five years, Erin McCarn decided to start researching graduate programs. The more time she spent searching, the more she realized her passion for chemistry ran deep. An eastern U.S. native, McCarn picked Oregon State because of its proximity to her family and the diverse chemistry graduate research program.

Sunset over Corvallis
Events

Alumni Awards celebrates excellence in the College of Science

On October 24, 2022, the College of Science community gathered to celebrate this year’s Alumni Award recipients. These awards publicly recognize our alumni, friends, and colleagues for their distinguished personal and career achievements, service, and contributions to society that reflect positively on the College of Science and on Oregon State University.

Gilbert Hall, side entrance
OSU Press Releases

Oregon State receives $3M from U.S. Dept. of Energy to explore a more sustainable battery

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $3 million to an Oregon State University College of Science researcher to lead the development of a new, high-energy-density battery that does not rely on rare elements.

Doug Keszler headshot on campus
Faculty and Staff

Lifetime Achievement in Science Award: Pioneer of sustainability-driven science and innovation

University Distinguished Professor Douglas Keszler is the recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement in Science Award for his contributions to the field of a new generation of semiconductor and solar energy devices.