Skip to main content
Anne Dunn, Department Head of Microbiology, smiles in a professional headshot
Microbiology

Announcing new Gorman Faculty Scholar as incoming Department Head of Microbiology

Following a competitive national search, the College of Science and the College of Agricultural Sciences is excited to announce Professor Anne Dunn as Department Head of Microbiology, effective January 1, 2024. Dunn brings expertise in departmental leadership from the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology at the University of Oklahoma, as well as extensive research experience and undergraduate and graduate student mentorship.

A kid stands in the water holding wildlife.
College of Science

Building bridges: College of Science outreach creates pathways to science literacy and inclusion

The College of Science is committed to community service and fostering science literacy. Our recently launched Strategic Plan prioritizes impactful contributions at local, national and global levels. Across our seven departments, we are actively implementing outreach initiatives that align with our mission of engagement and societal impact. Last year, the College actively supported community-focused events, such as Discovery Days, Juntos Family Day and many others.

A researcher extends a tool over a small body of water to sample algae.
OSU Press Releases

Microbiology professor leads novel technique development for sniffing out algae blooms

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new way to monitor the danger associated with algae blooms: “sniffing” the water for gases associated with toxins.

A woman with short dark hair poses for a headshot wearing a black shirt and red suit jacket.
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.

Photo of Kidder Hall from a low angle looking at a door with science written in the glass above the door, and Kidder Hall written in the stone above the glass. Blurred pink flowers appear in the foreground.
Graduate students

Science graduate students receive prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship

Four College of Science graduate students were selected for the prestigious NSF Graduate Student Research Fellowship Program in the 2022-23 school year. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in STEM who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the U.S.

Kendra Yasui
Students

BioHealth Sciences senior breaks down barriers to bring healing and science education

Aspiring doctor Kendra Yasui began her medical education during her early years working in her family's orchard near Hood River, Oregon. Now graduated with Honor's degrees in biohealth science and Spanish, she hopes to provide health care for underserved Spanish-speaking communities.

Jessica Lopez standing in a white dress with sunflower infant of a brick building.
Students

A comforting hand and healing career: Biohealth sciences senior strides into healthcare

Jessica Lopez, who graduated from Oregon State this spring with a bachelor's degree in biohealth sciences, spent the worst of the pandemic watching hundreds of people die.

Amelia Noall standing at the top of Torc Mountain in Ireland, overlooking a vast field.
Students

French, microbes and the microbiology senior who speaks both

Lice: creepy, crawly, but to a young Amelia Noall, fascinating. “There was an outbreak at my school, and of course I got it. But I started looking at the bugs through my microscope and thinking, ‘Wow, these are so interesting!’” she recalled. As she followed her curiosity, picking leaves from the ground and examining their hidden structures through the microscope lens, she unknowingly paved the way toward her time as a microbiology major — and now senior — at Oregon State.

A diver looks under clear blue water at corals.
Marine Science

Esteemed coral scientist to help identify sites for restoration in South Pacific

Sometimes knowing where not to deploy conservation efforts is the most valuable information. Oregon State Pernot Distinguished Professor of Microbiology Rebecca Vega Thurber and her team have received a half million-dollar grant to help grass roots conservation groups in French Polynesia identify ideal sites for coral restoration.

Valley Library and OSU clock tower in the background with sunshine.
Faculty and Staff

Faculty excellence: Promotions and tenure 2023

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

High school students stand around a microscope in a lab wearing lab coats.
Diversity in Science

Breaking down barriers to a future in science

This past summer, Ph.D. student Savanah Leidholt set out to create a summer “bootcamp” for area high school students to draw more students from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, low-income and other diverse backgrounds to the study of microbiology.

A background of brown soil with a white outline of earth.
Events

Saving soil: Inaugural Berg Lecture features prominent microbiologist

Internationally acclaimed microbiologist Jo Handelsman, who served as the science advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama as the Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will give the inaugural Berg Lecture on Thursday, April 27 at 5 p.m.