Students, faculty and staff sought for Power Up Challenge</h1> <article> <h1>Students, faculty and staff sought for Power Up Challenge</h1> <p>hogueth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:25:34 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/10/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Rainbow </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>We’re looking for two teams of students, faculty and staff who are interested in challenging themselves to become the healthiest they can be, and who want to inspire others to meet and set realistic physical and mental health goals that will improve their lives.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>Are you ready for the Power Up Challenge?</p> <p>We’re looking for two teams of students, faculty and staff who are interested in challenging themselves to become the healthiest they can be, and who want to inspire others to meet and set realistic physical and mental health goals that will improve their lives.</p> <p>Oregon State University is focused on creating solutions for a healthier world, healthier people and a healthier economy. It makes sense that OSU students, staff and faculty would also want to focus on becoming the healthiest versions of themselves.</p> <p>The Power Up Challenge will feature two eight-member teams who will select individual health goals, and then will have winter and spring term to meet those goals, with the help of health coaches, nutritionists, personal trainers and a panel of experts who will provide them information and support. </p> <p>The teams will also face a series of team challenges focusing on physical, social, environmental and emotional health. They’ll also be asked to attend Power Up! presentations featuring experts who will share information on healthy choices. Team members will be eligible for individual prizes as they meet goals and win challenges, but will also compete for team prizes. </p> <p>Team members must be able to commit the time needed to complete their challenges, and must be willing to participate as public figures in the competition. This means dedicating at least five hours a week on average to working on your goals, attending events and participating in social media.</p> <p>They will be expected to blog about their participation on a weekly basis, and their photographs and stories will be used on OSU web sites and in promotional media materials. The team members will be used to inspire others in the OSU community to challenge themselves to meet holistic health goals.</p> <p>One student co-captain and one employee co-captain will be selected by each team. Co-captains will have extra responsibilities and compensatory privileges.</p> <p>If you’re ready for the challenge, please fill out our on-line application. We will select a number of applicants and ask them to sit down for a brief personal interview before making the final selection. Deadline for applying is Nov. 25.</p> <p>If you are not selected to be on the Power Up team, or if you want to participate in the challenge but not as a public figure, you can still form your own team. Go to http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/powerup/ to find out more.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 22,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 90 nations. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance. </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/theresa-hogue">Theresa Hogue</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:kerry.evans@oregonstate.edu">Kerry Evans</a>, 541-737-4883</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>OSU enrollment jumps more than 8 percent to nearly 22,000</h1> <p>simmonto — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:31:53 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/10/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> MU-inside </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>OSU charts significant enrollment growth across the board this fall, with record numbers of graduate students, students of color, out-of-state and international students.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – Underscoring recent public discussions regarding possible Oregon State University enrollment growth over the next 15 years, OSU this fall has enrolled nearly 22,000 students – its largest student body ever, with major growth among graduate and other high-achieving students, students of color and out-of-state students at all levels.</p> <p>The official overall enrollment of 21,969 represents an overall jump of 8.1 percent over last year’s 20,320. Enrollment for OSU-Cascades in Bend shot up by nearly 20 percent to 611, up from 510 last year. The university has now grown by more than 6,000 students over the past decade -- a trend that OSU President Ed Ray has said may continue for some time.</p> <p>“This should not be mistaken as growth for growth’s sake,” said Ray. “The academic quality of our student body grows stronger with each successive year. Add to that this fall’s largest-ever enrollment of doctoral students and our significant growth in scientific research, which attracts outstanding graduate and undergraduate students, and it’s easy to see that ours is a university that is making tremendous academic progress. To be competitive in a global economy, Oregon must provide a college education for more of its high school graduates, and Oregon State University must contribute to that effort. ”</p> <p>While some growth is attributable to the national and state economic downturns that have caused many individuals to seek additional education, OSU leaders point to enrollment increases across student demographics that is much more intentional. As Ray notes, for instance, doctoral student enrollment of 1,150 set another institutional record, as did professional student enrollment (574), while the number of masters students (1,567) reached its highest level in five years. All told, a record 3,902 graduate students are enrolled at OSU this fall.</p> <p>Undergraduate numbers showed even larger gains. Non-resident domestic student enrollment shot up by 24.1 percent to 5,299. International student enrollment grew by 13.4 percent to 1,120, buoyed in part by the first students arriving as part of OSU’s joint venture with the British firm INTO University Partnerships.</p> <p>Domestic students of color grew significantly too, from 3,207 to 3,542 – a hike of 10.4 percent, continuing a decade-long trend. Asian/Pacific Islander enrollment experienced the largest spike, from 1,719 last fall to 1,905 this year, a 10.8-percent increase. But the number of Latino students also grew significantly, from 911 to 1,024 (12.4 percent), while the greatest percentage of growth occurred among Native American students, whose numbers expanded by 14.1 percent (from 256 to 292).</p> <p>While increasing enrollment, OSU is also doing more than ever to help students attend, especially Oregon students. New Oregon resident undergraduates increased by 336 this fall to a total of 3,973, for instance, a jump that OSU leaders attribute in part to a 20 percent increase in financial aid applications. Most of that increase is a result of the Bridge to Success Program, which packages financial aid awards to Oregon students, allowing them to attend the university free of tuition and fee charges.</p> <p>“Our planning efforts have enabled us to reach our enrollment targets in most areas, meaning that we are growing mindfully in ways that allow us to provide the support and services that students need to succeed while allowing for growth that is healthy for the university, as well,” said Kate Peterson, assistant provost for enrollment management. “So while we feel good about what this means for OSU, we feel even better about the university experience it makes possible for our students.”</p> <p>Complete statistical detail on this fall's OSU enrollment is available via <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/admin/aa/ir/enrollment/ES_Fall_2009.pdf">the Institutional Research Web site</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Generic OSU Boiler Plate </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/todd-simmons">Todd Simmons</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>Kate Peterson, 541-737-0759</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Ancient penguin DNA raises doubts about accuracy of genetic dating techniques</h1> <p>leasej — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:09:19 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/10/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. - Penguins that died 44,000 years ago in Antarctica have provided extraordinary frozen DNA samples that challenge the accuracy of traditional genetic aging measurements, and suggest those approaches have been routinely underestimating the age of many specimens by 200 to 600 percent.</p> <p>In other words, a biological specimen determined by traditional DNA testing to be 100,000 years old may actually be 200,000 to 600,000 years old, researchers suggest in a new report in Trends in Genetics, a professional journal.</p> <p>The findings raise doubts about the accuracy of many evolutionary rates based on conventional types of genetic analysis.</p> <p>“Some earlier work based on small amounts of DNA indicated this same problem, but now we have more conclusive evidence based on the study of almost an entire mitochondrial genome,” said Dee Denver, an evolutionary biologist with the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing at Oregon State University.</p> <p>“The observations in this report appear to be fundamental and should extend to most animal species,” he added. “We believe that traditional DNA dating techniques are fundamentally flawed, and that the rates of evolution are in fact much faster than conventional technologies have led us to believe.”</p> <p>The findings, researchers say, are primarily a challenge to the techniques used to determine the age of a sample by genetic analysis alone, rather than by other observations about fossils. In particular, they may force a widespread re-examination of determinations about when one species split off from another, if that determination was based largely on genetic evidence.</p> <p>For years, researchers have been using their understanding of the rates of genetic mutations in cells to help date ancient biological samples, and in what’s called “phylogenetic comparison,” used that information along with fossil evidence to determine the dates of fossils and the history of evolution. The rates of molecular evolution “underpin much of modern evolutionary biology,” the researchers noted in their report.</p> <p>“For the genetic analysis to be accurate, however, you must have the right molecular clock rate,” Denver said. “We now think that many genetic changes were happening that conventional DNA analysis did not capture. They were fairly easy to use and apply but also too indirect, and inaccurate as a result.”</p> <p>This conclusion, researchers said, was forced by the study of many penguin bones that were well preserved by sub-freezing temperatures in Antarctica. These penguins live in massive rookeries, have inhabited the same areas for thousands of years, and it was comparatively simple to identify bones of different ages just by digging deeper in areas where they died and their bones piled up.</p> <p>For their study, the scientists used a range of mitochondrial DNA found in bones ranging from 250 years to about 44,000 years old.</p> <p>“In a temperate zone when an animal dies and falls to the ground, their DNA might degrade within a year,” Denver said. “In Antarctica the same remains are well-preserved for tens of thousands of years. It’s a remarkable scientific resource.”</p> <p>A precise study of this ancient DNA was compared to the known ages of the bones, and produced results that were far different than conventional analysis would have suggested. Researchers also determined that different types of DNA sequences changed at different rates.</p> <p>Aside from raising doubts about the accuracy of many specimens dated with conventional approaches, the study may give researchers tools to improve their future dating estimates, Denver said.</p> <p>Collaborators on the research included scientists from OSU, Griffith University in Australia, the University of Auckland in New Zealand, Massey University in New Zealand, University of North Carolina in Wilmington, the Scripps Research Institute, and Universita’ di Pisa in Italy.</p> <p>The studies were supported by the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and other agencies.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Science </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/david-stauth">David Stauth</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:denvedee@cgrb.oregonstate.edu">Dee Denver</a>, 541-737-3698</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4093180590/" title="Adelie penguin by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a></p> <p>Adelie penguins have survived in Antarctica for thousands of years and are invaluable for genetic research.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4092424595/" title="Penguins by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a></p> <p>A group of Adelie penguins strolls across the Antarctic snow.</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>OSU researcher receives recovery grant for national HIV/STD prevention work</h1> <p>yeagera — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:33:28 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/09/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – An Oregon State University researcher has been awarded more than $2 million in grants to conduct HIV and STD-prevention research.</p> <p><a href="http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/faculty-staff/userinfo.php?id=505">Peggy Dolcini</a>, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health at OSU, has worked on HIV and STD-prevention research for more than 20 years.</p> <p>The first grant of $1.2 million was awarded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is a national study measuring the effectiveness of a community-based HIV and STD-prevention program in 30 locations across the country. (More information OSU ARRA grants can be found at: <a href="../../../../research/ARRA">http://oregonstate.edu/research/ARRA</a> )</p> <p>The two-year study will look at how effectively an intervention program by the Centers for Disease Control is being delivered, and surveying how organizational factors affect program delivery.</p> <p>According to Dolcini, this grant is part of the translational research effort of the <a href="http://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a>, which moves to take basic science and prevention research findings into everyday applications. She will collaborate on the project with <a href="http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/faculty-staff/userinfo.php?id=506">Joseph Catania</a>, a professor, and <a href="http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/faculty-staff/userinfo.php?id=22">Stephanie Bernell</a>, an associate professor, both in public health at OSU, as well as the regional STD/HIV Prevention Training Center that serves Oregon, California, Idaho, Arizona, Washington, Nevada, Hawaii, and Alaska.</p> <p>“We want to know how well this intervention is being delivered in the field,” Dolcini said, adding that the researchers are especially interested in how HIV programs are being administered in rural areas. “We want to see if this program is being delivered in ways that truly meet the needs of the community.”</p> <p>In addition to the federal recovery act grant, Dolcini was also awarded a $1.3 million grant to conduct HIV and STD-prevention research among inner-city African American teens in San Francisco and Chicago. This research, funded by the <a href="http://www.nichd.nih.gov/">National Institute of Child Health and Human Development</a>, will build on Dolcini’s previous work in this area, including more than a decade of published studies. Catania of OSU, as well as Cherrie Boyer of the University of California-San Francisco, and Gary Harper of DePaul University, are co-investigators on this study.</p> <p>African American youth are one of the highest risk groups in the United States. According to the CDC, in 2004 HIV/AIDS was the No. 1 cause of death for African American women aged 25-34. And a 2008 CDC study showed that 48 percent of young African American women aged 14-19 were infected with one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (such as human papillomavirus or HPV, chlamydia, herpes simplex virus), compared with 20 percent of white women in the same age group.</p> <p>Dolcini’s new study builds on her prior research in this area, which has documented the importance of social factors, including friendships and other peer groups, in shaping adolescents’ risk behavior. The three-year study will look at the sex and gender roles in the context of African American urban neighborhoods, with an eye toward understanding how social and developmental factors contribute to gender-related beliefs and behaviors.</p> <p>“We want to build a better understanding of what factors contribute to adolescents’ ideas about being a young African American man or woman,” Dolcini said. “With a better understanding of these issues, we can develop programs that are tailored to the needs of these youth.”</p> <p>Dolcini said the longer-term goal with this research is to develop gender-specific HIV-prevention programs for African American teenagers.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Health and Human Sciences </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:peggy.dolcini@oregonstate.edu">Peggy Dolcini</a>, 541-737-3829</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>OSU's College of Ag Sciences honors four alumni for professional achievements</h1> <p>leasej — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:00:56 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/09/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences has honored four alumni for their professional achievements.</p> <p>The first was Ken Bailey, the chief financial officer and vice president of Orchard View Farms in The Dalles. The business manages about 1,700 acres of cherries, which it grows, packs and ships. Bailey grew up on the farm, which his grandparents founded in 1923. He is the governor-appointed chair of the Oregon State Board of Agriculture and was a member of the Oregon Task Force on Land Use Planning, also known as the Big Look. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in horticulture from OSU in 1966. Bailey received the college’s Leader Alumni Award.</p> <p>Next was Joseph Chapman, the president of North Dakota State University since 1999. Last month he said he plans to leave the university. He has held teaching and administrative positions at the University of Maryland, Utah State University and Montana State University. Between 1965 and 1970, he received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from OSU, all in wildlife science. Chapman received the Legacy Alumni Award.</p> <p>Also receiving an award was Colby Marshall, who has worked for U.S. Rep. Greg Walden since 2002. He lives in Bend and manages two of Walden's offices. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture business management through the OSU agriculture program at Eastern Oregon University in 1999. Marshall received the Luminary Alumni Award.</p> <p>The fourth recipient was Gary Perdew, the director of the Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis at Penn State University since 1999. His lab is interested in the health effects of exposure to industrial pollutants. The lab's research has focused in part on a specific nuclear receptor that plays a central role in the biological response to dioxin, which can cause cancer. Perdew graduated from OSU in 1984 with a doctorate in food toxicology. He received the Leader Alumni Award.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Agricultural Sciences </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/tiffany-woods">Tiffany Woods</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:betsy.hartley@oregonstate.edu">Betsy Hartley</a>, 541-737-5822</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Acclaimed Northwest novelist Jess Walter to visit OSU</h1> <p>yeagera — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:19:09 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/09/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – A Pacific Northwest writer who has received national praise for his novels and investigative journalism will visit Oregon State University on Friday, Nov. 20. Jess Walter will read from his new novel, “The Financial Lives of the Poets,” a darkly comic tour de force released this fall to critical acclaim.</p> <p>The literary event, sponsored by the OSU Visiting Writers Series, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Valley Library’s main floor rotunda. The reading will be followed by a question-and-answer session as well as a book signing. The event is free and open to the public.</p> <p>Walter is the author of four previous novels, including “The Zero,” a finalist for the National Book Award; “Citizen Vince,” which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel; “Land of the Blind”; and “Over Tumbled Graves,” a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He is also the author of the nonfiction book “Ruby Ridge,” about the federal standoff with Randy Weaver.</p> <p>An investigative journalist for many years, Walter lives with his family in Spokane, Wash. His newest novel, “The Financial Lives of the Poets,” has received near-universal acclaim. The New York Times wrote that the book is “an apt and timely version of the current Great Recession ... dangerously astute.” And the Washington Post’s review said the novel is “A deliciously antic tale of an American dream gone very sour ... sharp, wide-eyed, soulful ... a scathing indictment of our country’s character and the ‘ruined systems’ we labor under.” Popular Web site The Daily Beast listed it as one of the best books of the fall of 2009.</p> <p>Walter’s visit to Corvallis is part of the 2009-10 Visiting Writers Series, supported by the OSU Department of English, The Valley Library, and the Office of the Provost.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Liberal Arts </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:msandor@oregonstate.edu">Marjorie Sandor</a>, 541-737-1648</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4078900496/" title="Jess Walter by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />Jess Walter</p> <p> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4078145811/" title="The Financial Lives of the Poets by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />"The Financial Lives of the Poets" by Jess Walter</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Debate on euthanasia to be held Nov. 16</h1> <p>yeagera — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:41:21 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/09/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Socratic Club at Oregon State University will sponsor a debate on the topic, “Euthanasia: A Good Death?” on Monday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. in Gilfillan Auditorium. The speakers are Jerome Wernow and Lani Roberts.</p> <p>Euthanasia poses a moral dilemma that stands at the forefront of contemporary discussion over physician-assisted suicide. The subject raises questions that often produce lively and provocative debate. What are the moral implications of euthanasia? Do we have a right to die? Is euthanasia a personal decision based on one’s autonomy and right to happiness? How should social and religious factors influence our views?</p> <p>The speakers will offer widely differing points of view. Wernow will present a Christian narrative approach and Roberts a philosophical perspective on the subject of euthanasia.</p> <p>Wernow is director of the <a href="http://www.ncbioethics.org/">Northwest Center for Bioethics</a> in Portland, where he has served for the last 12 years addressing issues such as euthanasia, assisted suicide, advanced directives, and conscientious objection. He spent 2008-09 at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, as part of an international team that studied conscientious objection to euthanasia among healthcare professionals. Wernow, a licensed pharmacist in Oregon, is lead pastor of GracePoint Fellowship in Camas, Wash.</p> <p>Roberts is associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at OSU, where she has taught ethical theory, the ethics of diversity, and feminist philosophy since 1989. She has won several university awards including the Meehan Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Dar Reese Excellence in Advising Award.</p> <p>The Socratic Club is in its eighth year as a student organization at OSU. The club is modeled on the original Socratic Club, which was founded at Oxford University in 1941, with C. S. Lewis serving as president. At OSU it offers a forum for opposing points of view on subjects of contemporary debate at the intersection of Christian belief and contemporary culture. For more information visit the OSU Socratic Club online at <a href="../../../../groups/socratic">http://oregonstate.edu/groups/socratic</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Liberal Arts </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:gary.ferngren@oregonstate.edu">Gary Ferngren</a>, 541-752-7224</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Mural contest to feature sustainability and renewable energy</h1> <p>stauthd — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:58:22 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/06/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>CORVALLIS</span><span>, Ore. – Sustainability and renewable energy are the topic of a new mural contest being sponsored by the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>The contest is open to anyone who wishes to submit an entry, and will recognize the new degree tracks offered in sustainability and renewable energy for engineering and software systems at OSU.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>When complete, the mural will be approximately 10 feet high by 30 feet wide, and will be located just inside the main door of the Kelley Engineering Center on the OSU campus. The completed work will allow the artist to show their vision of OSU leadership in sustainability and renewable energy, and will serve as a focal point for visitors entering the building.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>To enter the competition, artists should submit a portfolio of previous work and a scaled-version of their proposed mural, along with a description and budget for materials. </span><span>The mural should represent the spirit of sustainability and renewable energy, and how the fields of electrical engineering and computer science contribute to the sustainability of our planet.</span><span> </span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span>Complete information on the competition can be found at <a href="http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/mural"><span>http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/mural</span></a>, and all entries must be received by Dec. 31. The winner will be announced Jan. 8, 2010, and will receive all materials needed for them to create the mural. The work will be unveiled in a ceremony in mid-February, and the artist will receive a $1,000 honorarium.</span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span>Entries should be sent to the School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, attn: Tina Batten-Mural Contest, 1148 Kelley Engineering Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., 97331. They may also be sent by email to <a href="mailto:tinab@eecs.orst.edu"><span>tinab@eecs.orst.edu</span></a></span></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Engineering </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/david-stauth">David Stauth</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:terri@eecs.oregonstate.edu"><span></span></a><a href="mailto:karti@eecs.oregonstate.edu">Karti Mayaram</a>, 541-737-2972</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>OSU Seed Laboratory open house celebrates 100 years of service</h1> <p>leasej — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:54:36 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/06/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University Seed Laboratory will celebrate 100 years of continuous service to Oregon agriculture with an open house Wednesday, Nov.18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A short centennial recognition ceremony will be at noon. </p> <p>The event offers hands-on displays and demonstrations of old-time and modern seed testing methods. The laboratory houses the Emil Zivney collection of tropical seeds from around the world, including the double coconut or coco-de-mere (Lodoica maldivica), the largest seed on the planet. </p> <p>The seed laboratory is located on Campus Way, across from the motor pool between 30th and 35th streets. Free parking will be available across the street from the laboratory and in the fenced-in area of the motor pool, also across the street.</p> <p>The official seed laboratory of the state of Oregon began as a cooperative venture with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1909 and continued until 1954 when the state of Oregon took over. The lab was part of the OSU agronomy department until 1916 and a section of the crop and soil science department since then. As it grew, with the help of the seed industry, it moved first to a World War II-era Quonset hut in 1946 and in 1989 into its current quarters, a custom-designed facility. </p> <p>"Up to 30,000 tests are performed in a typical year for seed growers, cleaners and dealers that depend on the information for business and seed lot labeling," said Adriel Garay, manager of the seed lab. Twenty-two permanent staff and 10 to 20 seasonal employees serve thousands of customers in Oregon and beyond.</p> <p>"Seeds sold in interstate and international commerce must be tested and labeled," Garay said. "The most frequent tests include purity, germination and noxious weed exams. However, many additional and special tests are frequently used."<br /> <br />Test results are used by the Oregon Seed Certification Service to issue Blue Tag, or certified designation, and by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, to issue the Gold Sod Quality Tag. Recently accredited by the International Seed Testing Association, the OSU seed lab also can issue International Seed Testing Association Blue and Orange Certificates used in the international market. </p> <p>The laboratory has contributed to testing method development for many years. In partnership with Corvallis Mater Seed Equipment, lab researchers developed the Ergostation, an ergonomically designed seed inspection workstation sold internationally. </p> <p>During the open house lab personnel will demonstrate uniform seed-blowing protocols, which use calibrated air velocity. "This technology has great potential applications for grass and other seeds," Garay said. "The lab is also initiating new research to assist seed growers, cleaners and dealers." </p> <p>For more information contact seedlab@oregonstate.edu or visit the website: seedlab.oregonstate.edu</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Agricultural Sciences </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/judy-scott">Judy Scott</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:adriel.garay@oscs.orst">Adriel Garay</a>, 541-737-4464</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>John Kitzhaber to give talk on health care reform at OSU</h1> <p>yeagera — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:59:37 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/06/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – Former Oregon governor and current gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber will visit Oregon State University on Thursday, Nov. 12, to give a seminar on health care reform and how to transition to a more sustainable future.</p> <p>The seminar, which begins at 4 p.m., is part of a new course at OSU called Public Health Policy and Politics that has featured guest speakers ranging from health policy experts to researchers. It takes place at Gilfillan Auditorium, 2601 S.W. Orchard Ave., Corvallis.</p> <p>Tom Eversole, project director of strategic development for the College of Health and Human Sciences, is teaching the course, which takes place Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 5:20 p.m. during fall term. The seminar course looks at the interface of policy and public health, and is intended to give students a broader context for the topics they’re studying.</p> <p>“This year Oregonians passed some of the most progressive health reform legislation in the nation, due in large part to a participatory public process,” Eversole said. “This course exposes students to real-life accounts by our citizen-legislators working to move important concepts into law.</p> <p>“I especially like it when policy-makers and leaders in public service challenge our students to accept responsibility for improving the status quo.” Eversole added.</p> <p>Eversole said Kitzhaber was chosen as a speaker for the course because of his advocacy work on health policy issues, as well as his perspective as a medical doctor. It is not an endorsement of his candidacy for governor, he pointed out.</p> <p>Kitzhaber’s talk, “Health Care Reform for the 21st Century,” will address the issue of transitioning to a more sustainable future. Whether the issue is health care, public education, energy or transportation, the political dynamic, he says, is the same. Kitzhaber will use the crisis in the health care system to illustrate the nature of the problem and to argue that successfully making this transition depends on an understanding of the danger inherent in clinging to the status quo and on a clear vision of the future.</p> <p>The public is invited to attend this free lecture. The rest of the series, which takes place in Kearney Hall 112, is also open to the public. It includes:</p> <p><strong>4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23</strong>: “Provider Taxes: Making our Current Medical System Work”</p> <p>Speakers: Betsy Johnson, Oregon Senate; Ron Maurer, Oregon House of Representatives; and Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director of Oregon Department of Human Services</p> <p><strong>4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec 2</strong>.: “Water Policy and Politics in Oregon”</p> <p>Jackie Dingfelder, Oregon Senate; Jules Bailey, Oregon House of Representatives; and Mark Hass, Oregon Senate</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 20,300 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance. </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:tom.eversole@oregonstate.edu">Tom Eversole</a>, 541-737-3827</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Sewing industry icon to speak at OSU</h1> <p>yeagera — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:35:57 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/06/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – <a href="http://www.palmerpletsch.com/">Pati Palmer</a>, founder of the Palmer/Pletsch International School of Sewing in Portland, will discuss how she turned her fashion dreams into a multi-million-dollar international industry during a lecture on Thursday, Nov. 12, at Oregon State University.</p> <p>The free, public event, which is part of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program’s Entrepreneur in Residence Series, will run from noon to 1:20 p.m. at the Construction & Engineering Auditorium at LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St.</p> <p>Palmer’s talk is titled “Dreams on Paper.” Brain dumping on paper has been Palmer’s life-long talent, whether it is for books, articles, or designing patterns and writing the guide sheets. She will discuss creativity, timing, promotion, and partnering in an inspiring and sometimes humorous presentation.</p> <p>Palmer has been teaching sewing for 39 years and was recently inducted into The American Sewing Guild’s Sewers Hall of Fame. In 1985, she established the Palmer/Pletsch International School of Sewing in Portland, where she now trains consumers and sewing educators. She is the author of 10 sewing books and editor/publisher of 23 more books and 15 how-to DVD’s, and creator of eight Palmer/Pletsch sewing notion products, including an interfacing line.</p> <p>Since 1980, Palmer has designed and written instructions for more than 100 patterns for The McCall Pattern Co. Prior to that she designed for Vogue.</p> <p>Palmer graduated from OSU in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in clothing, textiles and related arts and a minor in business.</p> <p>The Entrepreneur in Residence Series at OSU’s <a href="http://www.bus.oregonstate.edu/programs/austin_entrep.htm">Austin Entrepreneurship Program</a> provides the campus and wider community a chance to meet and gain inspiration from a variety of entrepreneurs. Each Entrepreneur in Residence, in addition to giving a lecture, has a chance to meet with faculty, college administrators, and students.</p> <p>The event is sponsored by the OSU College of Business’ Austin Entrepreneurship Program and OSU’s <a href="http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/dhe/">Department of Design & Human Environment</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 20,300 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance. </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>Source: <a href="mailto:mary.mckillop@bus.oregonstate.edu">Mary McKillop</a>, 541-713-8044</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4075792199/" title="Pati Palmer by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />Pati Palmer</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>NSF grant brings humanities into the forest to imagine future impacts of climate change</h1> <p>yeagera — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:51 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/06/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – The <a href="http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/">H.J Andrews Experimental Forest</a> will soon host a variety of poets, writers and artists who will look at the next 150 years, imagining what impact climate change will have on the land, and what the landscape will look like in the coming century as a result of these changes.</p> <p>This new project, funded as a supplemental project to the National Science Foundation-sponsored <a href="http://www.lternet.edu/">Long-Term Ecological Research</a> program, which has operated since 1980, will include four sites that will build events and communications around the theme of “Future Scenarios of Landscape Change.”</p> <p>The Andrews Experimental Forest, located in the Oregon Cascade Range, is one of 26 sites in the nation’s Long Term Ecological Research Program. It is a key source of information about Northwest forest management, riparian zones, endangered species and many other critical environmental issues. Six years ago, the <a href="http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/research/related/writers/template.cfm?next=cp&topnav=168">Long-Term Ecological Reflections</a> program was launched to bring the humanities and arts into the same place where forest scientists work.</p> <p>The sites selected for funding from NSF include Bonanza Creek in Fairbanks, Alaska; Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, North Temperate Lakes in Madison, Wis., and the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program at Andrews Forest, a project of OSU’s <a href="http://springcreek.oregonstate.edu/">Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature and the Written Word</a> and with support from the US Forest Service. Each site will receive $30,000 over a two-year period to conduct collaborative programs designed to engage people in the humanities and arts to conceive and communicate about the future.</p> <p>“Historians will tell you that what we think we know about the past is uncertain,” said Fred Swanson, a U.S. Forest Service geologist with a courtesy appointment at OSU. “Clearly, the future is even more uncertain. Part of the role that the humanities can have in understanding landscape change is to give voice to that uncertainty and explore the big picture of what this all means not just in terms of the changes on the land itself, but how it impacts social change and our relationship with the land and each other.”</p> <p>Kathleen Dean Moore, a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at OSU and director of the Spring Creek Project, is researching and writing on the topic of responsibilities to future generations. She said this future-focused project couldn’t come at a better time.</p> <p>“This is a pivotal time for a project like this,” she said. “We are in a position to wreck the future, quite literally. When you are talking about the future, you are talking about losses and there will be grief associated with the loss of habitats and ecosystems. We need scientific modeling, but we also need the people who can communicate these conflicts and these feelings.”</p> <p>To Moore, this is the beauty of the Andrews Experimental Forest and what the Spring Creek Project brings to the forest. She said there is no question of the need for empirical scientific data on the impacts of climate change. In the past though, the role of artists, writers and philosophers was not always clear.</p> <p>“There is a role, a very important role, for normative data, which is asking what do we value and what do we hope to achieve?” Moore said. “If we know what it is we value and what we want to do, then we can determine what we ought to do as a society. Philosophers and writers are the guardians of this kind of cultural discourse.”</p> <p>Swanson and Charles Goodrich, program director for the Spring Creek Project, said they plan to bring together stakeholders, including scientists, urban planners, forestry and agricultural policy makers, timber company owners, together with writers and philosophers for a series of events focused on the future scenarios of climate change and a changing landscape. All four of the sites across the country will network and share lessons from their regional workshops on this topic.</p> <p>“As OSU moves toward integrating the humanities and environmental science, here is an example of how to do it to address future issues,” Moore said. “It is a model of how a land grant university utilizes its resources and comes together to work on climate change issues.”</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 20,300 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance. </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:fred.swanson@oregonstate.edu">Fred Swanson</a>, (541) 750-7355</p> </div> <div class="field-item even"> <p><a href="mailto:kmoore@oregonstate.edu">Kathleen Dean Moore</a>, 541-737-5652</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>OSU partnering with Naval Research Lab, others on space-borne coastal imaging</h1> <p>floydma — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:21:28 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/05/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences is partnering with the Naval Research Lab on a new coastal imaging system deployed aboard the International Space Station.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – A sophisticated new imaging system developed by the Naval Research Laboratory has just been installed aboard the international space station, where it will scan coastal oceans and nearby land masses and beam the data to Earth.</p> <p> The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean, or HICO, is the first space-borne sensor created specifically for observing the coastal ocean and will allow scientists to better analyze human impacts and climate change effects on the world’s coastal regions. The applications include oil spills, plankton growth, harmful algal blooms, and sediment plumes from major rivers.</p> <p> The HICO science data will be archived at Oregon State University, which will be the repository for distribution to researchers in the United States and internationally.</p> <p> “The timing couldn’t be better,” said Curtiss O. Davis, an OSU oceanographer and project scientist. “The development of different Earth observation systems, for whatever reason, has stalled. All of the current NASA ocean color sensors are beyond the end of their planned lifetimes. At a time when observation and analysis of the world’s oceans is critical to monitor climate change, we were losing our ability to do so.”</p> <p> What the HICO system will do, Davis said, is provide much higher-resolution imaging and a full spectrum of color. Previous imaging systems had a resolution of about one kilometer and about nine spectral channels. HICO’s scale is at 90 meters and it has 90 spectral channels, which is “a tremendous leap forward,” he pointed out.</p> <p> “In most previous systems, the imager would pick up grass, brush and trees and just display it all as green,” Davis explained. “When HICO becomes operational, we will be able to tell grass from shrubs, and in some case even identify the types of shrub. In the ocean, we can separate phytoplankton blooms from sediment plumes from rivers, and better measure chlorophyll levels in the ocean, which are associated with phytoplankton production.”</p> <p> The imaging system has other scientific applications, using optics to analyze water clarity, shallow water bottom features, and on-shore vegetation.</p> <p> The development of HICO is a story in itself. Such projects typically take up to a decade to develop, but when the opportunity became available to utilize the International Space Station for scientific observation of the oceans, the Naval Research Laboratory put the project on a fast track and developed HICO within 16 months, said Davis, who worked for the Navy lab for 11 years prior to joining the OSU faculty.</p> <p> Using the International Space Station for such observation is also new and adds a different wrinkle to environmental monitoring. Its orbit is not “sun-synchronous” and thus the station platform offers a wide range of illumination angles and sampling times not available via satellite observation. This makes the station an ideal platform for an experimental sensor like HICO, researchers say.</p> <p> “Never has the (space station) been utilized as a platform to conduct scientific Earth observations of this nature,” said Mike Corson, principal investigator for the HICO project at the Naval Research Laboratory’s Remote Sensing Division. “This collaboration of a diverse international and interagency consortium opens exciting opportunities for future basic and applied space-based research.”</p> <p> Davis, the Naval Research Laboratory and officials at the Office of Naval Research are working on a protocol for how HICO projects will be approved and data shared. HICO was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and is integrated and flown with the support and direction of the Department of Defense Space Test Program. Additional support was provided by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency JAXA.</p> <p> “HICO can look anywhere, but its strength will be to monitor specific areas that are facing environmental pressures – such as the plume from the Mississippi River that creates a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, or at harmful algal blooms off our own Pacific coast,” Davis said.</p> <p> He anticipates data will begin flowing in one to two months.</p> <p> More information on HICO and applications of the data will be posted soon on an Oregon State University-HICO web site that is under construction.</p> <p> </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/mark-floyd">Mark Floyd</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>Curt Davis, 541-737-5707 (<a href="mailto:cdavis@coas.oregonstate.edu">cdavis@coas.oregonstate.edu</a>)</p> <p> </p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>International Film Festival includes free film screenings, lecture, German dance</h1> <p>yeagera — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:54:01 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/05/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – A series of award-winning foreign films from Germany, France and Spain will be screened at Oregon State University from Nov. 16-20 as part of OSU’s International Education Week.</p> <p>The International Film Festival is presented by OSU’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in cooperation with the Goethe Institute in New York, the German and French Consulates in San Francisco and the Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C.</p> <p>In addition to the films, Arndt Pelter of Radio Goethe in San Francisco will give a public lecture, “Twenty Years after the Fall of the Wall – Personal Stories” on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 1-2 p.m. in Stagg Agriculture Hall 222.</p> <p>OSU's Student Sustainability Initiative is sponsoring a dance after the screening of the German film, “A Friend of Mine,” on Wednesday, Nov. 18. This event will take place in the Club Escape room in the Memorial Union from 9 p.m. to midnight.</p> <p>All screenings will take place in OSU’s Owen Hall 101 from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 16-20. Admission is free and open to the general public.</p> <p>Here is the schedule of film screenings:</p> <p><strong>Monday, Nov. 16</strong>: “Grave Decisions” (“Wer Früher Stirbt, Ist Länger Tot”), Germany, 2006. Directed by Marcus H. Rosenmüller, the script is about a boy who feels he is responsible for his mother’s death; the film is full of offbeat humor and everyday magic.</p> <p><strong>Tuesday, Nov. 17</strong>: “Paloma Delight” (“Délice Paloma”), France/Algeria, 2007. Directed by Nadir Mokneche. The title character is a resourceful scam artist who specializes in solving other people’s problems, in this witty modern film.</p> <p><strong>Wednesday, Nov. 18</strong>: “A Friend of Mine” (“Ein Freun von mir”) Germany, 2006. Directed by Sebastian Schipper. This film juxtaposes an introverted young man named Karl with his friend Hans, a brash rule-breaker.</p> <p><strong>Thursday, Nov. 19</strong>: “13 Roses” (“Les trece rosas”), Spain, 2007. Directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro. Based on a true story, “13 Roses” follows the tragic fate of 13 young women who continued to fight for their ideals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.</p> <p><strong>Friday, Nov. 20</strong>: “The Last of the Crazy People” (“Le Dernier Des Fous”), France, 2006. Directed by Laurent Achard. The film depicts the break-up of a peasant family as seen through the eyes of Martin, an 11-year old boy.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Liberal Arts </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:gwood@oregonstate.edu">Guy Wood</a>, 541-737-3936</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4076305992/" title="Grave Decisions movie by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />"Grave Decisions" <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4076516322/" title="13 roses movie by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />"13 Roses"</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Coral reefs inspire rare consensus in new survey – just save them</h1> <p>stauthd — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:35:14 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/05/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">CORVALLIS, Ore. – One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation – their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That core belief is often strong enough that if it means people have to be kept out, so be it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The analysis, done in Hawaii by researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Hawaii, found that most people visiting the state’s coral reef ecosystems care deeply about these areas and very much enjoy visiting them, but will generally endorse whatever amount of management is needed to protect them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“It was really quite astonishing, almost shocking how much people wanted this resource protected for its own sake,” said Mark Needham, an assistant professor of forest ecosystems and society at OSU. “We fish and hunt wildlife for food or sport, we cut trees for timber. In most natural resource issues, we find conflicts over management for economic value versus environmental preservation or protection, but we really didn’t see that here.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Our surveys found overwhelmingly that people visiting coral reef areas did not think that human use and access were the most important issues when it came to these areas,” he said. “And if anything was to have a deleterious effect on reef ecosystems, they would want it stopped.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That attitude was also of interest, Needham said, because in Hawaii coral reef ecosystems are a major draw for the tourism industry – seven million people a year who spend more than $11 billion, in part, to enjoy the glistening waters, multi-colored corals, and myriad tropical fish. They are a destination for everyone from snorkelers and scuba divers to tourists in glass-bottom boats and toddlers wading knee-deep, all who come to see the incredible diversity of marine life. More than 80 percent of Hawaii’s visitors recreate in the state's coastal and marine areas, and a majority go snorkeling or diving.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Past research has been done in many places around the world to analyze physical damage or other pressures placed on coral reefs, which in some cases has resulted in steps to reduce human use or educate visitors on reef protection. But until now, resource managers had no real barometer on just how much public support there was for such measures, especially among hobbyists and tourists who use this resource.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">These recent surveys obtained attitudes and opinions from more than 3,500 residents and tourists visiting seven coral reef sites in the Hawaiian Islands, including state marine protected areas, fisheries management areas, and a county beach park. The surveys also measured attitudes about overuse and crowding, and opinions about management needs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Opinions about coral reefs varied, Needham said, but were mostly just variations on how much protection might be needed, with some people feeling more extreme than others. Virtually no one wanted expanded use of coral reefs to the extent it might degrade them for enjoyment by future generations, and many were willing to endorse any level of protection needed, even if it meant banning human use. These views toward coral reefs reflected peoples’ core personal values and are unlikely to change much, scientists said.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The studies showed that acceptance of potential future management strategies would be driven largely by perceived health of coral reefs and changes to these ecosystems.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">"Litter, facilities, and crowding were not as important as coral reef conditions in influencing support or opposition to management actions such as limiting human use and increasing public information," Needham said. "This is surprising because in many parks and protected areas on land, social issues such as crowding and litter heavily influence attitudes toward management.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“In a marine context,” he added, “it appears that environmental conditions may be more important."</p> <p class="MsoNormal">More education and interpretation was commonly sought to help address issues of concern, such as people damaging corals by standing on them, the report found. The studies were supported by the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources. Some results of this work have been accepted for publication in professional journals.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This research should be considered good news for managers seeking support for their marine protection and conservation efforts, Needham said.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, further studies are needed in other states and countries and with other segments of the public, he said, including some that have a much stronger orientation toward managed use instead of recreation or environmental protection. Needham is now working with Brian Szuster, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Hawaii, to examine this topic in other areas of Hawaii and in other countries.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Forestry </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/david-stauth">David Stauth</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><span><a href="mailto:mark.needham@oregonstate.edu">Mark Needham</a>, 541-737-1498 </span></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4071858461/" title="Hawaiian coral reefs by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a></p> <p>Hawaiian coral reefs</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4072607590/" title="Coral reef by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a></p> <p>Tropical fish</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4071835765/" title="Sea turtle by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a></p> <p>Sea turtle</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Pirates invade OSU’s University Theatre</h1> <p>yeagera — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:29:59 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/05/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s classic light opera, “The Pirates of Penzance,” will run Nov. 12-13 and Nov. 19-21 at Oregon State University. Performances begin nightly at 7:30 p.m., except for the Nov. 15 show at 2 p.m. – all on the Withycombe Hall main stage, located at 30th Street and Campus Way in Corvallis.</p> <p>The production is produced in cooperation with OSU’s University Theatre, the OSU Department of Music, and the Friends of OSU Opera.</p> <p>Director and scenic designer George Caldwell brings a new twist on this beloved musical romance by changing the traditional setting from Victorian England to the coast near Savannah, Ga., capturing the drama of the Antebellum South of the 1850s.</p> <p>“’Pirates’ is a wonderful send-up of social hypocrisy satirizing the absurd nature of classicism and aristocratic rule,” Caldwell said. “The audience will hardly have to be reminded that in less than 10 years the entire nation will be ravaged by a conflict largely initiated by the actions of an entire class of ‘royal’ gentry.”</p> <p>The play begins with a motley crew of pirates who encounter a group of southern belles. Not having seen maidens in many months, the sea-faring rogues begin their hot pursuit led by the most earnest pirate of all, Frederick, who has fallen for Mabel, the fairest of all the debutants. Frederick’s advances are soon impeded by Mabel’s papa, a local land baron and plantation owner named Major General. The state’s militia soon joins in the fun and complications ensue as the play builds into a classic Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic climax.</p> <p>This production marks 100 years of OSU’s University Theatre producing works by Gilbert and Sullivan. The first OSU Gilbert and Sullivan production was “The Mikado” in 1909. This production of the “Pirates of Penzance” will be the largest cast to ever appear on the Withycombe stage.</p> <p>In featured roles, the cast includes OSU students Brian Barlow (Portland) as Sergeant, Alison Duever (Corvallis) as Isabel, Shayne Flock (Central Point) as Samuel, Abbe Groh (Dallas) as Kate, Stuart Krug (Tualatin) as Major-General, Jeffrey Larkin (Gresham) as Frederic, Aubrey Peterson (Grants Pass) as Edith, Sarah R. Saul (Portland) as Ruth, Mari Stoner (Corvallis) as Mabel, and Nickoli Strommer (Baker City) as the pirate king.</p> <p>Tickets are $14 general, $12 senior, $10 youth/student, and $5 for OSU students. Call the theater box office at 541-737-2784 for tickets and more information. Online purchases can be made at <a href="http://www.oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre/">http://www.oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre/</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Liberal Arts </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:george.caldwell@oregonstate.edu">George Caldwell</a>, 541-737-4627</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4074867701/" title="pirates of penzance by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />"The Pirates of Penzance" will run Nov. 12-13, 15, and Nov. 19-21 at Oregon State University.</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>OSU forensics team takes home trophies from Idaho tournament</h1> <p>yeagera — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:39:51 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/04/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University’s forensics team racked up impressive wins at the Coyote Classic Speech and Debate Tournament at The College of Idaho last week. The tournament featured schools from around the region, including Whitman College and Utah State University. </p> <p>“This was our first year attending the tournament,” said Mark Porrovecchio, director of the team. “It was great to compete against some of the schools that don’t regularly make it to Oregon.”</p> <p>The list of wins started with individual speech events:</p> <ul> <li>Dalicia Fennell, of Sutherlin, took first place in novice impromptu speaking and novice prose interpretation;</li> <li>Loni Sturm, of Albany, received second place in open persuasive speaking;</li> <li>David Kubota, of Forest Grove, took third place in after dinner speaking;</li> <li>Morgan Mansker, of Sisters, received third place in open prose interpretation.</li> </ul> <p>The team’s rankings garnered them third place overall in the Sweepstakes Award for individual events.</p> <p>The team’s strong performance continued with the International Public Debate Association debate.</p> <ul> <li>Sturm (Albany) received a gold medal in open debate and was named best overall speaker;</li> <li>Forest Ledbetter (Sheridan), also took a gold medal in open debate and was fourth best overall speaker.</li> <li>Fennell (Sutherlin) and Mansker (Sisters) received silver medals in open debate and were ranked third and sixth best speaker respectively.</li> <li>Andrew Leder (Albany) rounded out the debate wins, receiving a bronze medal in open debate and a ninth best speaker award.</li> </ul> <p>For their efforts, the team was recognized with second place overall in the Sweepstakes Award debate category.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Liberal Arts </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/angela-yeager">Angela Yeager</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:mark.porrovecchio@oregonstate.edu">Mark Porrovecchio</a>, (541) 737-8230</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4075868380/" title="OSU Forensics Team by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />OSU forensics team</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Unique biology lab gives freshmen the chance to do real research</h1> <p>hogueth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:28:28 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/04/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>OSU is one of 12 universities around the country selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to create an undergraduate genomics lab for freshmen and sophomore students that specifically researches and catalogues phage DNA.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – Magnified, they look a bit like robots that NASA would send to explore distant planets, but phages – also known as bacteriophages – are actually tiny viruses that infect and destroy bacteria. For the last two years, Oregon State University freshmen in a unique biology lab have been researching and documenting phages, and their work is contributing to a Howard Hughes Medical Institute project.</p> <p>In fact, a phage discovered at OSU – and named “Colbert,” after Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert – could hold the key to treating tuberculosis. That phage, along with others with names like Noggin and Ostrich, are being archived for later use by scientists with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.</p> <p>Phages are the perfect research subject. Not only are they incredibly common and easy to find, but some of them may help battle bacteria that sicken and kill humans. OSU is one of 12 universities around the country selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to create an undergraduate genomics lab for freshmen and sophomore students that specifically researches and catalogues phage DNA. This three-year genome research project provides undergraduates with the opportunity to do research that is published and could be used by other researchers to develop treatments for tuberculosis.</p> <p>“This is one of the first national projects to change the way undergraduates experience biology labs,” said co-instructor Barbara Taylor, a professor of zoology, who co-leads the lab along with Dee Denver, an associate professor of zoology, and graduate teaching assistant Christine Schnitzler. Students are taking the phage lab in place of a traditional lab associated with an introductory biology course, and must apply to be in the special lab.</p> <p>“This is inquiry-based learning, and it has really positive outcomes in terms of grades,” Denver said. Not only do the students score better in their regular biology courses after participating in the lab, but they are more likely to view a career in science as a positive possibility.</p> <p>“It has a big effect on confidence,” Denver said. The students are in charge of their research, he added, and although they have the support of their co-instructors and several undergraduate helpers, they are expected to work fairly independently.</p> <p>While each student gathers, identifies and researches their own phage, they also work in teams, meaning that there is a lot of interaction and cooperation in the lab, an important skill set to have if they pursue work in labs later. Several of last year’s students, like Daryl Khaw of Portland, have found work in OSU labs, based in part on their experience in the biology lab.</p> <p>“It’s a great experience you can’t get in a regular lab,” Khaw said. He enjoyed his time so much that he’s returned to help out this year’s crop of students. “I know last year was a big learning experience and I needed a lot of help,” so he decided he’d be part of the support staff for this year’s group of students.</p> <p>Freshman Katlyn Taylor decided to apply for the special lab because she felt it would be challenging, and wouldn’t repeat the information she’d already learned in her high school advanced placement science courses in Oregon City. </p> <p>“I like that (the lab) is small and the teachers are excited about what we’re learning,” Taylor said. “And you get to be a published scientist.”</p> <p>Taylor has named her phage “Darth Phager.” Her teammate, Roopa Sriram, is an Honors College freshman from Beaverton, who also feels the lab provides an exciting challenge.</p> <p>“Initially I thought this was going to be awesome and it’s turning out to be exactly that,” she said. She likes how the research keeps students thinking on their feet, and how much of their work is done independently.</p> <p>“There’s a certain amount of autonomy,” in the lab, she said. And working with “Phagebacca” as she’s named her phage, has given her the chance to work in a lab setting not unlike she’d experience as a medical student.</p> <p>“I want to be a doctor,” she said, “and research is a huge part of that.”</p> <p>Once the phage-sequencing project is complete, the Joint Genome Institute will examine the student’s work, and the most promising of the complete samples will be sequenced and then sent on for research purposes. Last year’s selected phage was Colbert, but this year’s most successful phage has yet to be determined.</p> <p>To view the lab Web site, see <a href="http://biology.science.oregonstate.edu/courses/genomics-lab/">http://biology.science.oregonstate.edu/courses/genomics-lab/</a><br />To see the 2007-2008 student blog, go here <a href="http://osugenomicslaboratory.blogspot.com/">http://osugenomicslaboratory.blogspot.com/</a></p> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Science </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/theresa-hogue">Theresa Hogue</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:denvedee@cgrb.oregonstate.edu">Dee Denver</a>, 541-737-3698</p> </div> <div class="field-item even"> <p><a href="mailto:taylorb@science.oregonstate.edu">Barbara Taylor</a>, 541-737-5344</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4075191629/" title="Phage Lab 1 by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />Genomics lab</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>LIDAR mapping after Samoan tsunami could boost research efforts</h1> <p>stauthd — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:11:52 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/04/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">CORVALLIS, Ore. – The use of sophisticated LIDAR imaging following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Samoa should give scientists some of the most accurate and detailed maps ever made of the forces of these powerful events, helping them to improve building design and other mitigation efforts.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In this initiative, researchers from Oregon State University worked with the geoengineering extreme events reconnaissance team sponsored by the National Science Foundation and led by Jennifer Donahue of Geosyntec, Inc. They went to American Samoa immediately after the event and were able to capture LIDAR images for one of the first times following a tsunami.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>“LIDAR is a recent technology, and with it we can produce images and maps that are accurate to within a few millimeters,” said Michael Olsen, an assistant professor of geomatics with the OSU School of Civil and Construction Engineering. “By arriving at the disaster site quickly, we were able to make maps before things got cleaned up or vegetation grew back. This will provide excellent data for research on tsunami wave forces, impacts on buildings, response of structures and other issues.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">LIDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging, is a technology that can rapidly map topography, structures and other objects with precise detail. It has been used, for instance, in aerial applications to spot ancient earthquake ruptures or landslides, and to map ground deformation from recent earthquakes. In Samoa, it was used on the ground to provide highly detailed, three-dimensional models of tsunami damage such as ground scouring, sediment transport, high water marks, building damage and many other features.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The destruction in Samoa was caused mostly by tsunami impacts rather than the ground shaking from the earthquake, Olsen said. Wave heights varied greatly from about six to almost 40 feet high, causing enormous devastation in some villages.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The permanent record provided by the Samoan LIDAR data, Olsen said, will help scientists reconstruct exactly how the tsunami hit, and to determine what types of buildings, foundation designs, structural placement or other features were best able to resist its forces.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The research program there was aided by equipment and software loaned by David Evans and Associates, Inc., in Portland, Ore., and Leica Geosystems in San Ramon, Calif. A strategic partnership was recently established between these organizations to provide students with advanced training in geomatics.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">OSU experts and others will use this information for tsunami modeling, advance planning and mitigation programs. The university has several earthquake and tsunami experts, and operates the world’s most sophisticated “tsunami wave basin” designed to simulate these events and test their effects on various structures or landforms. Solomon Yim, a professor of civil engineering, is leading another expedition in American Samoa to study structural damage.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">OSU is also assisting community leaders in Cannon Beach, Ore., who are considering the construction of the nation’s first structure designed specifically to resist the forces of a tsunami and serve as a refuge that people might quickly move to for protection. The Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific Northwest is believed to have caused numerous earthquakes and tsunamis in the past, the last one in the year 1700, and experts say it’s inevitable that more such events will occur in the future.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Although far less destructive than the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit East Asia in 2004, the Samoan event caused considerable damage and is believed to have killed more than 175 people. It was triggered by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake deep beneath the sea near Samoa.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Where the worst of the tsunami hit on American Samoa, there was just complete destruction, total ruin,” Olsen said.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Engineering </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/david-stauth">David Stauth</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><span><a href="mailto:michael.olsen@oregonstate.edu">Michael Olsen</a>, 541-737-9327 </span></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-multimedia"> <div class="field-label">Multimedia: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4069367723/" title="Research in American Samoa by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a></p> <p>Work in Samoa</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4070138882/" title="LIDAR image of tsunami damage by Oregon State University, on Flickr"></a><br />LIDAR image</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>“Genome 10K” proposal aims to sequence 10,000 vertebrates</h1> <p>leasej — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:15:59 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/04/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>An international group of 50 scientists, including a leading OSU geneticist, have announced a project to sequence the genomes of 10,000 different vertebrate species.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>NEWPORT, Ore. – An international group of scientists is proposing to generate whole genome sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species using technology so new it hasn’t yet been invented. But the scientists say new genome sequencing instruments that will allow them to embark on the project may be available within a year or two.</p> <p>In preparation, they are identifying collaborators who can help assemble a collection of frozen or otherwise suitably preserved tissues or DNA samples from these species.</p> <p>Their proposal, called “Genome 10K,” will be published this week in the Journal of Heredity.</p> <p>“The idea behind the project is to prepare for this third generation of DNA sequencing technology that began with the Humane Genome Project,” said Oregon State University’s Scott Baker, who edits the Journal of Heredity. “Whereas that project took nearly 10 years at a cost of more than $3 billion, the goal now is to sequence an entire genome in less than a week, for a cost of less than $1,000.</p> <p>“If that happens, the impact would be remarkable,” added Baker. “And it will happen – the only question is, how soon?”</p> <p>Baker, who is associate director of OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute, is one of more than 50 scientists from around the world who is collaborating on the proposal. He is coordinating the effort to assemble DNA samples for all known species of cetaceans – whales, dolphins and porpoises – a task made more difficult because the exact number of species keeps changing.</p> <p>As DNA analysis becomes more sophisticated, Baker said, molecular differences are emerging among some animals thought to belong to the same species.</p> <p>“We are adding a new species every year or two,” Baker said, “and there is some disagreement about what criteria we should use to describe new species. But to date, more than 90 species have been identified and officially recognized that will require tissue or DNA samples.”</p> <p>Thus far, Baker and his colleagues have viable DNA samples from 87 of those species, stored at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Ore., at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif., which holds the largest repository of cetacean tissues.</p> <p>One of the challenges is to obtain samples for rare, endangered and even extinct species, Baker said.</p> <p>“We have thousands of samples from humpback whales, for example,” he pointed out. “But there are a few cetacean species that are known literally from only a single skull, and it can be tough to extract DNA from that.”</p> <p>The feasibility of sequencing 10,000 vertebrate genomes “requires only one more order of magnitude reduction in the cost of DNA sequencing, following the four orders of magnitude reduction we have seen in the last 10 years,” the scientists write in their article.</p> <p>The variety of species identified will present different challenges for genome sequencing, Baker says, and whales, dolphins and porpoises could be among the most difficult.</p> <p>“With some species of mammals, the computational assembly process is relatively simple – you start with one DNA sequence and stitch it together with an existing sequence that is similar, but not identical,” Baker said. “With whales, though, it is what’s called a ‘de-novo’ assembly. There is no template to follow.</p> <p>“It’s like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle and you have to figure out where the pieces go,” he added.</p> <p> </p> <p>Baker and his colleagues have been working for nearly 20 years on creating DNA barcodes for different cetacean species. The ability to create entire genome sequences would be of enormous benefits to conservation and basic scientific understanding of cetaceans, he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It would give us tremendous new insight into a group of mammals that went through one of the most remarkable adaptations in evolutionary history,” Baker pointed out. “Cetaceans represent an incredible range of ‘extremophiles,’ including the blue whale, which can reach up to 100 feet in length, the bowhead whale, thought to live up to 200 years of age, and the sperm whales, capable of diving to more than a mile in depth.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Yet despite this rapid adaptation in physiology and physical form, the molecular evolution of whales is 10 times slower than in other mammals,” Baked added. “This may help us find out why. The more we learn about how whales and dolphins have evolved – and how they are similar or different in genetic diversity – the better we will be able to protect species driven to the verge of extinction.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The Genome 10K proposal is available free online at the Journal of Heredity, <a href="http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/" title="http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/">http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org</a></p> <p> Further information is available from the Genome 10K Community of Scientists, <a href="http://www.genome10k.org/" title="http://www.genome10k.org/" class="moz">http://www.genome10k.org</a></p> <p> </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Hatfield Marine Science Center </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/mark-floyd">Mark Floyd</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:scott.baker@oregonstate.edu">Scott Baker</a>, 541-867-0255</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>4-H participatory youth program wins national award</h1> <p>leasej — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:14:41 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/04/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 4-H Participatory Evaluation with Youth program at Oregon State University has received the MetLife Foundation Award of Excellence. </p> <p>The $1,500 award is one of four given by the National 4-H Council to programs that are approved as “Programs of Distinction” through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. The OSU program was recognized for excellence in citizenship programming in an after-school/out-of-school environment. </p> <p>The award money will be used for travel by 4-H teens from Deschutes County who were selected to make a presentation at the national meeting of the American Evaluation Association Nov. 14 in Orlando, Fla. Their presentation is "Youth Participatory Evaluation: The Perspectives of Youth Researchers and Evaluators." </p> <p>"This marks the first time that youth will be peer-reviewed presenters at the AEA conference," said Mary Arnold, an OSU 4-H youth development specialist. Deschutes County presenters are Madison Mills, Kendal Johnson, Netti Knowles and Anna Shoffner. David White is leader of the team.</p> <p>The Participatory Evaluation with Youth program was developed by Arnold and Elissa Wells, an OSU 4-H educator in Coos County. The program trains youths and adults to work together to identify community needs and find ways to address them.</p> <p>The team from Deschutes County is helping students navigate the transition from high school to college or career. Another group created a beautification project for the U.S. Olympic team track and field trials in Eugene. In Newport, young people interviewed employers and shared job information with their peers.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Extension Service </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/judy-scott">Judy Scott</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:mary.arnold@oregonstate.edu">Mary E. Arnold</a>, 541-737-1315</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Learn about wetlands online through ‘Oregon Wetlands Explorer’</h1> <p>simmonto — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:32:35 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/03/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>Oregon Wetlands Explorer offers richly interactive, heavily detailed information, images and graphics on the history and current nature of Oregon's valuable, sensitive wetlands statewide.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – A far-reaching, highly interactive Web experience that provides deep, richly illustrated insight on the historic and current states of Oregon’s wetlands is the newest member of the critically acclaimed Oregon Explorer family of sites produced by <a href="http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University Libraries</a>, <a href="http://inr.oregonstate.edu/">the Institute for Natural Resources</a> and, in this case, <a href="http://www.wetlandsconservancy.org/">The Wetlands Conservancy</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://oregonexplorer.info/wetlands/">Oregon Wetlands Explorer</a> takes users virtually to areas throughout the state, from coastal salt marshes to mountain fens desert salt grass flats and many points in between, providing information on wetland ecology, history, wildlife and restoration opportunities. Oregon has lost more than half of its wetlands since European settlers arrived in the 1800s, and producers of the site hope the information will be helpful in encouraging protection of the areas that remain.</p> <p>“Wetlands are uniquely productive and valuable ecosystems, occurring in all corners of Oregon and are among the most biologically productive and species-rich habitats in the state,” said Esther Lev of The Wetlands Conservancy. “Oregon Wetlands Explorer is designed to support the work of citizens, agencies and watershed councils and non-profits by providing information on wetland ecology, history and restoration opportunities in the conservation of these sensitive, vital areas.”</p> <p>In addition to deep historical data, charts and graphics, site visitors can expect to experience such highlights as:</p> <ul> <li>Images from the <a href="http://oregonexplorer.info/Wetlands/photos_videos/PhotosVideos.aspx?Res=21508">William L. Finley Photo Collection</a> taken by the important early conservationist of Oregon wetlands. The images are housed at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service library.</li> <li><a href="http://oregonexplorer.info/Wetlands/photos_videos/PhotosVideos.aspx?Res=21508">The Passing of Marshlands</a>, a silent, 1930 black-and-white documentary by Finley and Arthur N. Pack of the American Nature Association that incorporates footage from such periods as the Clear Lake reservation in 1912 and the Malheur Lake in 1915.</li> <li>Mapping tools allowing users with a variety of skills and experience to use Geographic Information Systems to create their own maps with rich data layers and other advanced features. </li> </ul> <p>The site was developed over the past two years with funding from the Murdock Memorial Trust, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Highways Administration. It joins such others sites as Oregon Land Use Explorer, Wildlife Risk Explorer, Oregon Imagery Explorer and sites specific to the Umpqua Basin, Willamette Valley, North Coast and more. Browse them all at <a href="http://oregonexplorer.info/index.aspx">http://oregonexplorer.info/index.aspx</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Valley Library </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/todd-simmons">Todd Simmons</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:heather.stout@oregonstate.edu">Heather Stout</a>, 541-867-0237</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Genetic tracking of sudden oak death may help monitoring</h1> <p>stauthd — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:09:14 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/03/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>OSU and USDA researchers have traced three separate lineages of a pathogen that causes sudden oak death, which may help control the spread of this costly disease.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers have determined that the pathogen that causes sudden oak death, a major concern for both forests and nurseries in the United States, has three distinct lineages whose origins are still unknown but have been around for hundreds of thousands of years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The separate lineages and the development of genetic markers is now allowing experts to track this deadly plant pathogen more accurately, and hopefully help control its spread, researchers say. But the existence of three lineages also opens the door to sexual, rather than clonal reproduction – which could allow the pathogen to “shuffle” its genes fairly quickly and become even more virulent.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Even now, sudden oak death is killing forests on the West Coast, causing 80 percent tanoak mortality in some places, and has been a costly problem for the export business of Pacific Northwest and California nurseries since first identified in the U.S. in the 1990s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“We still don’t know where sudden oak death evolved, but it’s clear there are at least three separate lineages that have been separated for 100,000 to 500,000 years,” said Niklaus Grunwald, an associate professor of plant pathology at Oregon State University and researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Two of these lineages are of one mating type and the other of the opposite, raising concerns about sexual reproduction,” Grunwald said. “This could allow what’s already a very destructive pathogen to change and more easily adapt to new hosts or become more virulent.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“At one point I thought this was inevitable,” Grunwald said, “but it may be the lineages have been separate so long they can’t sexually reproduce. We just don’t know for sure yet.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">What is clear, researchers say, is that the threat posed by this pathogen, called <em>Phytophthora ramorum</em>, is serious and growing. The presence of three different lineages in the U.S. suggests that it was introduced on at least three separate occasions. Since those introductions, plants infected with the pathogen have been shipped to many states, but aggressive inspections have helped to control its spread.</p> <p><span>Researchers from OSU and the USDA are continuing to work on control measures, and have traveled to Asia looking for the native home of the pathogen, so far without success. Sudden oak death can also cause non-lethal damage to many types of plants and trees common to the Pacific Northwest, including azaleas, big leaf maples, huckleberries, California bay laurels, camellias, myrtles, honeysuckles, Pacific madrones, Douglas firs, rhododendrons and others.</span></p> <p><span> </span></p> <p><span>The newest findings on the genetic makeup and movement of the different lineages of this pathogen were recently published in PLoS Pathogens, a professional journal. The work has been supported by the USDA.</span></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> College of Science </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/david-stauth">David Stauth</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><span><a href="mailto:grunwaln@science.oregonstate.edu">Niklaus Grunwald</a>, 541-738-4049</span></p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Five inducted into Oregon 4-H Hall of Fame</h1> <p>leasej — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:20:57 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/03/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. – Five adult volunteers from across the state will be inducted into the Oregon 4-H Hall of Fame during their county recognition nights in November.</p> <p>The Oregon 4-H Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to recognize those who have had a significant impact upon the Oregon State University Extension 4-H Youth Development Program and its members and leaders. One hundred people were inducted in that first year – one person for each year 4-H had existed in Oregon – and more honorees are added each year.</p> <p>The 2009 Hall of Fame inductees are: Patricia Combest, Marion County; Mike and Gail Mann, Linn County; Nellie Oehler, Benton County; and Vern Struble, Benton County.</p> <p>Marion County:<br />Combest will be honored at the Marion County recognition night Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stayton Community Center. A well-known leader and supporter of Marion County 4-H, she created the Willamette River Riders riding club 43 years ago. Combest encouraged club members to win riding competitions, but also to try other areas in 4-H such as presentations, photography and educational displays to build confidence and responsibility. She has served as superintendent of the Marion County Fair and in several other leadership positions, and her name is on many of the 4-H horse-training manuals.</p> <p>Linn County:<br />The Linn County award winners will receive their award Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Linn County Fairgrounds conference rooms. Nationally recognized quarter horse breeders, the Manns have been involved in 4-H since the mid-1950s, when they were children participating in equine and livestock clubs. Gail Mann has been an active 4-H leader for 30 years, and led the largest horse 4-H club in Linn County for more than 20 years. The Manns offer free clinics and riding space at their equine facility to any Linn County 4-H member who wishes to visit and learn. They provide 4-H horse club members with educational opportunities and have given horses to 4-H members who could not afford project animals. Gail Mann also has been a 4-H judge in county and state fairs for many years.</p> <p>Benton County:<br />Benton County will recognize Oehler and Struble at the awards and recognition banquet Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at Philomath Elementary School.</p> <p>Oehler has given 44 years to the Oregon 4-H program as a volunteer leader and many years as a family and community development Extension agent in Linn, Benton and Lane Counties. She has touched the lives of many 4-H members, leaders and families and is known statewide for her humor, wit, energy and commitment. Oehler has led home economics, livestock and 4-H Cloverbud clubs in Linn and Benton counties and is known for helping youth focus on learning and fun. She has been a county 4-H sheep barn superintendent for more than15 years and coordinates the large animal Master Showmanship contest each year at the county fair. At the state level she serves as the "Dorm Mom" at the State Fair, and is also the State Fair herdsmanship judge.</p> <p>Struble has led the Benton 4-H Archers for 45 years and has served on the county 4-H Advisory Council for six years. The archery program has brought urban residents and youths from underrepresented groups into 4-H. At the state level, Struble coordinated the 4-H archery contest for many years and served on the state 4-H Shooting Sports Development and Natural Resources Development committees. He encourages fellow bow hunters to make a difference in the lives of youth by getting involved as 4-H leaders.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Extension Service </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/judy-scott">Judy Scott</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p><a href="mailto:helen.pease@oregonstate.edu">Helen Pease</a>, 541-737-1314</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>In first major act of academic restructuring, OSU names executive deans</h1> <p>simmonto — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:30:07 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-date"> <div class="field-label">Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">11/02/2009</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-default-thumb"> <div class="field-label">Default Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Custom </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>OSU appoints four new executive deans to lead four academic divisions recently approved by President Ray. The four deans have 30 years in leadership at OSU between them.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-body"> <div class="field-label">Body: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>CORVALLIS, Ore. –Oregon State University named four “executive deans” on Monday to oversee four new academic divisions approved earlier this fall to provide a new organizational framework for OSU’s existing 11 colleges.</p> <p>The announcement of the deans is the first step in implementation of a division structure that university leaders believe will create coalitions with the “necessary assets” to advance OSU’s strategic plan and move the institution closer to its goal of becoming one of America’s leading land-grant universities. The divisional change is part of OSU’s Strategic Alignment and Budget Reduction Implementation Plan.</p> <p>In their first year, the executive deans will collaborate with academic deans to create a vision and goals for each division, as well as plans for modification, consolidation, elimination, creation or realignment of degree programs, departments, centers and institutes. Decisions regarding all of the above, with the exception of degree programs, are targeted for implementation beginning in July 2010. Degree program implementation will begin in September.</p> <p>OSU’s seven-member Advisory Council on Budget and Strategic Priorities, created last year to make critical recommendations on financial and organizational matters in light of ongoing public funding challenges that have cut deeply into the university’s operating budget, recommended the divisions last spring, and President Ed Ray approved them in October. All of OSU’s college deans, who will continue to administer their colleges under the division plan, support the new structure.</p> <p>“Our strategic planning processes over the past year have led us to this place, and because of that, our academic leaders are well prepared to move into this exciting new phase of our work,” said Ray. “We believe the new division framework will not only encourage even deeper collaboration than the cross-disciplinary work for which our faculty is already well known, but guide us in making decisions during the current budget challenges that will both address current realities and serve us well over the long term.</p> <p>“The executive deans we’re announcing today will be chiefly responsible for marshalling these transformational efforts.”</p> <p>The new divisions, included in each and respective executive deans are:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Division of Arts and Science -</strong> colleges of Education, Liberal Arts, Science; Executive Dean Lawrence Rodgers (dean of the College of Liberal Arts);</li> <li><strong>Division of Earth Systems Science - </strong>colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Forestry, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences; Executive Dean Hal Salwasser (dean of the College of Forestry);</li> <li><strong>Division of Health Sciences - c</strong>olleges of Health and Human Sciences, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine; Executive Dean Tammy Bray (dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences); and</li> <li><strong>Division of Business and Engineering</strong> - Executive Dean Ron Adams (dean of the College of Engineering).</li> </ul> <p>Rodgers, Salwasser, Bray and Adams have 30 years between them in academic leadership at OSU. They also bring to their new duties considerable experience from other universities, government agencies and private industry. While their appointments to the new positions are effective immediately, each will continue to serve as leader of his/her respective college.</p> <p>Provost/Executive Vice President Sabah Randhawa praised them for their willingness to serve and provide leadership on “the University’s most pressing needs and opportunities.” But he also cautioned that meeting those challenges may uncover new issues to address along the way.</p> <p>“Implementation of the divisional model is a significant departure from the college-based leadership model used in the past,” said Randhawa. “Because this is a new direction for the University, it is recognized that ideas, relationships and leadership will evolve, necessitating that goals and processes will be adjusted as learning occurs.”</p> <p>Randhawa added that while collaboration within and between divisions will be the hallmark characteristic of the new structures, it is hoped that college identities, missions and visions will be maintained within the divisions.</p> <p>More information on the Advisory Council on Budgets and Strategic Priorities and the Strategic Alignment and Budget Reduction Implementation Plan for 2009-2011 <a href="../../../../leadership/budget/president-advisory-council-budget-strategic-priorities.html">is available online</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><span>Additional background: Executive Deans</span></strong></p> <p><strong>Division of Business and Engineering</strong> <strong>- Executive Dean Ron Adams </strong></p> <p>An OSU alumnus with a doctorate in mechanical engineering earned in 1977, Adams has been dean of the College of Engineering at OSU since 1998. An expert in fluid mechanics, aerodynamics and fluidized bed heat transfer, he has held a number of positions in academia and private industry, including work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and U.S. Air Force. Adams worked in various positions at Oregon-based Tektronix, Inc., first leading their jet physics group and eventually becoming vice president of technology and a senior Tektronix fellow. A <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4069463348/">headshot of Adams</a> is available via Flickr.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Division of Health Sciences – Executive Dean Tammy Bray</strong></p> <p>Bray was named dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences in March 2002 after having served as an associate dean and department chair at The Ohio State University for the previous seven years. During her career, she has attracted more than $8 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other sources and has published more than one hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals and written two books, including a food guide for cancer patients, “Champions in the Kitchen - Good Food for Healthful Living.” She holds a Ph.D. in nutrition and biochemistry from Washington State University. A <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4068725717/">headshot of Bray</a> is available via Flickr.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Division of Arts and Science – Executive Dean Lawrence Rodgers</strong></p> <p>A former associate dean at Kansas State University, Rodgers was named dean of the OSU College of Liberal Arts in 2008. Rodgers was a faculty member, department head and administrator in Kansas State’s College of Arts and Sciences over the prior two decades. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Liberal Arts at OSU has more than 200 faculty members in 13 departments, and more than 3,000 students pursue one of the 19 majors offered by the college. A <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4068705481/">headshot of Rodgers</a> is available via Flickr.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Division of Earth Systems Science – Executive Dean Hal Salwasser</strong></p> <p>Salwasser was named dean of the OSU College of Forestry in 2000 and is also director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory. He received his doctorate in wildland resource science from the University of California, has published more than 80 professional papers and co-edited two books on natural resource issues and currently serves on the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry. Salwasser has held numerous career positions with the U.S. Forest Service, including service as the regional forester in the Northern Rockies and research station director in California in the 1990s. A <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/4068706523/">headshot of Salwasser</a> is available via Flickr.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-boiler-plate"> <div class="field-label">Boiler Plate: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 20,300 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance. </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-media-contact-0"> <div class="field-label">Media Contact: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/ua/ncs/contact/todd-simmons">Todd Simmons</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-source"> <div class="field-label">Source: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p>President Ed Ray</p> </div> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Provost / Executive Vice President Sabah Randhawa</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> </main></body></html>