McKenna Crise graduated from Oregon State in winter term with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and a minor in chemistry. She is now beginning her career at CCRM Fertility in Denver, where she hopes to make the world of genetics less intimidating and more approachable for patients and families.
Juliana Betancourt has been using chemistry to dive into the secrets of nanoplastics, taking part in crucial research well before she finishes her undergraduate studies.
One day, in chemistry class at Hermiston High School, Trey Stephens-Cherry watched as his teacher let a piece of sodium plummet into a bucket full of water. The resulting explosion kickstarted a passion for chemistry that propelled him into the chemistry major at Oregon State University.
Over a handful of years, Audrey Garrison has gone from a high school student with an interest in chemistry to a scientist taking on the pollutants in our water and soil.
A College of Science alumna and a Ph.D. student have been awarded 2025–26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants to conduct research abroad. They join 17 College of Science students and alumni who have earned Fulbright honors over the past decade.
The College of Science is using research-backed pedagogy, interactive labs, and virtual kits to let students worldwide master science courses like chemistry, physics, and anatomy with the same rigor as in-person classes.
With a meaningful summer abroad and years of undergraduate research under his belt, chemistry senior Mitchell Kenny is heading into his Ph.D. with a strong foundation from Oregon State.
Since the early 2000s, Family Science and Engineering Nights have brought science and discovery to elementary schools across western Oregon. With bubbling beakers, cryogenic demonstrations and gooey gel beads, these interactive evenings make STEM come alive for countless families — thanks in large part to longtime co-organizer Margie Haak.
When homelessness and poverty strike, dental care often becomes a distant priority, leading many to resort to desperate measures like pulling their own teeth. Anika Phuvasate and her fellow Oregon State University Pre-Dental Club members are changing that narrative by organizing free clinics that offer compassionate, judgment-free dental services. These efforts not only restore smiles but also dignity, proving that everyone deserves access to essential care.
Catherine Sterrett has always been called to medicine, but when she found herself as a patient, compassion became her greatest motivation. Now a graduating senior, she looks forward to where her career will take her.
Heading to college can feel like moving to a whole new world. For chemistry senior Marua Bekbossyn, this rang even more true. Her move from Almaty, Kazakhstan to the U.S. had its challenges, but the resources and genuine connections she discovered at Oregon State made all the difference.
One course stands out for its creative new approach to the age-old question, “Why does this matter?”— a three-week general chemistry laboratory on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) pioneered at Oregon State. Two members of the Department of Chemistry, Assistant Professor Kyriakos Stylianou and graduate student Karlie Bach, were interested in invigorating chemistry education and fostering student enthusiasm for research through hands-on laboratory experiences.
Manon Vezinet spent last summer working with the Cornelius Laboratory, led by Integrative Biology Assistant Professor Jamie Cornelius, studying how increased frequency of unfavorable weather events affects nestling growth. Because of the SURE program, Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, Vezinet was able to experience the once-in-a lifetime opportunity to conduct undergraduate field research and get paid to do it.
In 2023, there were an estimated 1.5 million animal species on Earth– only one is truly blue.
The Obrina Olivewing butterfly is the only observed animal that internally produces a blue pigment; the scales of other blue butterflies are complex structures that only refract blue light.
But blue’s rarity is not limited to the organic world.
Being a Beaver has stretched Ebunoluwa Morakinyo to develop her passions inside and outside of the lab. A senior honors biochemistry and molecular biology student at Oregon State, her time on campus has included celebrating her culture while looking forward to a career dedicated to helping others.
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.
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.
This spring, Karlie Wiese is graduating with a degree in chemistry from Oregon State University and has been accepted into the University’s materials chemistry Ph.D. program. But Wiese is not your typical undergraduate student.
