Transforming Computing through Spintronics

SciRIS Stage 3 Award

Members of the physics, mathematics and chemistry departments are leading a collaborative project to design and control spin waves in quantum magnets for future spintronic technologies.

Spintronics is an emerging field that could transform computing by using magnons — tiny packets of spin waves — instead of electrons to process and store information. Because magnons do not produce resistive heating, they offer a path to faster, more energy-efficient devices. Yet, scientists still need to understand how these waves behave and how to manipulate them for practical applications.

The cross-disciplinary team includes Oksana Ostroverkhova from the Department of Physics, Axel Saenz Rodriguez from the Department of Mathematics and Chong Fang and Tim Zuehlsdorff from the Department of Chemistry.

The group will focus on two-dimensional magnetic materials with highly tunable properties. Using OSU’s ultrafast laser facility and advanced theoretical models, the researchers aim to uncover the physical mechanisms behind spin-wave propagation in emerging 2D magnetics and develop innovative ways to control spin-wave properties for next-generation spintronics.

Cell Based Artificial Intelligence

Stage 2 Award

Bo Sun is building a transdisciplinary team to address key challenges in cell-based artificial intelligence, a groundbreaking approach in the field of computation, leveraging the inherent processing capabilities of biological cells to perform complex calculations and tasks.

With modern science, these cells can be engineered to process information, sense environmental changes, and produce outputs in response to specific inputs, much like traditional computer systems. Cell-based computing is energy efficient, environmentally friendly and capable of self-replication and repair. Advancements in cell-based artificial intelligence may also help researchers better understand brain functions to treat neurological and cognitive disorders.

Collaborating with Patrick Chappell in the College of Veterinary Medicine and an external partner at the University of Pittsburgh, Sun aims to address key challenges in cell-based artificial intelligence using a transdisciplinary approach.

Using Machine Learning to Develop Single Pixel Spectrometers

Stage 2 Award

Experimental physicist Ethan Minot is leading a pioneering effort to reinvent how we measure light. His team is developing “single-pixel spectrometers,” ultra-compact devices built from atomically thin semiconductors that can provide detailed spectral data without the bulky components used in traditional systems.

Working with electrical engineering professor Xiao Fu, Minot’s group is pairing these next-generation photodetectors with advanced machine-learning algorithms. Their goal is to enable new uses of spectroscopy through these ultra-compact photodetectors.

Future applications could include drone-based crop monitoring and wearable sensors to record ambient environmental data and manage health and well-being. Together, the team will lower barriers to deploying spectroscopy, enabling new scientific discovery and commercial opportunities.

Labeling Nanoplastics

Stage 2 Award

Marilyn Mackiewicz, associate professor of chemistry, leads a transdisciplinary project developing a metal nanoparticle-based tracker for visually tracking nanoplastic uptake in cells and in embryonic zebrafish models.

Nanoplastics, created by the breakdown of larger plastic debris, are increasingly found in water, soil and even the human body. However, concerns about the health implications of widespread exposure to micro- and nanoplastics remain largely unanswered. While toxicity studies are being conducted, visualizing these plastics in living systems is difficult due to their small size and composition.

Along with a Stacey Harper, from the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering, Mackiewicz plans to develop a customized, stable nanotracer designed to label nanoplastics ranging from just a few billionths of a meter, slightly wider than a DNA strand, to the size of microscopic bacteria.

This tool would allow researchers to increase their understanding of nanoplastics, nanoparticle-biological interactions, and their mechanisms of uptake and toxicity. This information would be valuable to a diverse array of experts, including scientists in bioengineering, imaging and analytics, as well as climate scientists, waste management professionals and toxicologists.

Student Learning and Success Teamwork Award

The General Chemistry Team received the Student Learning and Success Teamwork Award. This award recognizes departments or interdisciplinary groups that have demonstrated exceptional teamwork in creating and sustaining an exemplary teaching and learning environment that advances the university’s strategic goal of student success and excellence.

Oregon State’s general chemistry sequence is often a student’s first experience with college-level science. Thousands of students pursuing science degrees, as well as students from every college and Ecampus, complete the sequence.

The General Chemistry Teaching Team has collaborated extensively to improve instructional practices, revamping lectures, labs and exams. In-class peer learning assistants and teaching assistants help students feel like they belong. The team’s faculty nominator notes their efforts “not only help students succeed in these courses but also help students be successful in future science courses.” They have had “a strongly positive, measurable impact” on students, most of whom are in their first year at OSU.

A student nominator says, “Chemistry is a subject that students such as myself are often terrified of.” But she felt “a deep sense of relief” on the first day of class when her professor acknowledged that while chemistry could be challenging, she would always be available for questions and assistance. And she was.

The team consists of the following members: Marita Barth, Michael Burand, Denis Drolet, Margaret Haak, Jun Li, Amila Liyanage, Shrikant Londhe, Richard Nafshun, Cassie Siler, Artiom Skripka, John Terhorst, Paula Weiss, and Lou Wojcinski.

Impact Award for Outstanding Scholarship

Physics Professor Xavier Siemens received the Impact Award for Outstanding Scholarship. This award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship in a specific project or activity resulting in substantial impact beyond the university setting.

Xavier Siemens is director of the NSF-funded North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, an international collaboration of more than 200 astrophysicists at more than 90 institutions. In this 15-year study, the NANOGrav team presented evidence of a chorus of low-frequency gravitational waves, which is key to understanding how structures form in the universe.

The NANOGrav discovery was featured in media outlets worldwide, including the New York Times, Nature, Reuters, AP News, The Guardian, The Washington Post, BBC and NPR. It was also named among the top 11 most astonishing scientific discoveries of 2023 by National Geographic.

Siemens’ faculty nominators note he is the most cited faculty member at Oregon State with 110,563 citations. “His groundbreaking contributions have deepened our collective understanding of the universe, inspiring curiosity and wonder on a global scale.” Siemens also developed a popular Ecampus course introducing modern astronomy research, has taught upper-division and graduate courses and has mentored numerous students pursuing research in astrophysics.

Elizabeth P. Ritchie Distinguished Professor Award

Mathematics Professor Mary Beisiegel received the Elizabeth P. Richie Distinguished Professor Award. This award recognizes an OSU faculty member for outstanding undergraduate teaching and research focused on the improvement of instruction and professional leadership.

Mary Beisiegel has consistently earned excellent teaching evaluations — especially for the instructor’s contribution — from students across a range of courses. A leader in mathematics education at Oregon State and nationally, Beisiegel has worked on collaborative projects to redesign undergraduate math courses and has published 40 refereed articles in journals and conference proceedings. In 2023, she was awarded the College of Science Fred Horne Award for her exceptional and sustained instructional achievements and high student praise.

One faculty nominator calls Beisiegel “a masterful, passionate teacher” who sets high expectations for her students while supporting and connecting with them on a human level. Another highlights her expertise in professional development, particularly in transforming the fall TA workshop into a practical, research-based introduction to teaching for new graduate teaching assistants.

An undergraduate who has taken four classes with Beisiegel notes how she helps students develop “an individualized, deep understanding” of course material and make connections to real-world applications. She creates “a brave and safe learning environment for all” and enables students to showcase their knowledge in ways other than written exams, in his case with an oral presentation.

Faculty Teaching Excellence Award

Associate Professor Adam Chouinard, from the Department of Integrative Biology, received the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. This award honors unusually significant and meritorious achievement in teaching and scholarship that enhances effective instruction.

Chouinard teaches several large-enrollment biology classes and central majors courses for the zoology degree. He also teaches a capstone seminar for the Graduate Certificate for College and University Teaching program and a professional development class for all graduate teaching assistants in integrative biology.

One faculty nominator describes Chouinard as “an engaging, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable instructor” who combines mini-lectures, group discussions and problem-solving to highlight the scientific process rather than direct right and wrong answers. Another notes that Chouinard continually improves his courses based on current research and literature, “showing students that our discipline is vibrant and ever advancing.” Chouinard’s student evaluation of teaching scores are consistently high.

A former student acknowledges that Chouinard’s class was not easy, “but the environment that Adam cultivated was welcoming and engaging, which made me excited to be there every day.” Chouinard’s lectures, a mix of storytelling, questions and discussion, and relevant examples, work together to help students make sense of complex processes and mechanisms.

Faculty Affordability Award

Senior Instructor Lauren Dalton, from the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, received the Faculty Affordability Award. This award recognizes a demonstrated commitment to providing affordable course learning materials to students, using no-cost or low-cost course materials in their classes.

Lauren Dalton coauthored an open-access textbook, Fundamentals of Cell Biology, for a class required in many science majors that enrolls more than 900 students each year in Corvallis, OSU-Cascades and Ecampus. Replacing a commercial textbook costing around $75 per copy has saved OSU students more than $60,000 to date. Five other universities have adopted the textbook so far, with more under consideration.

Dalton’s faculty nominator says she has “demonstrated exceptional commitment to reducing the cost of course materials while maintaining high educational standards.” She also notes that Dalton’s involvement in fundraising campaigns, such as Dam Proud Day, has raised significant funds for scholarships, as well as for paid research and conference attendance.

Beyond the open-source textbook, two of Dalton’s students appreciate other free resources, including YouTube videos and other links that students can access outside class. This approach “enhances the visualization of complex processes, making abstract concepts more tangible.” Students can “explore topics in greater depth without the barrier of paywalls.”

Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Award

Associate Professor Molly Burke, from the Department of Integrative Biology, received the Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Award.

Over the last eight years, Molly Burke has successfully recruited and mentored three postdoctoral scholars, two of whom have earned fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Her postdocs have played critical roles in advancing the understanding of fundamental evolutionary processes with ties to human health.

One former postdoc, now a faculty colleague, describes her mentoring style as “based squarely on trust, open dialogue and mutual respect.” She always welcomed thoughtful discussion and when they disagreed on project design or data interpretation, “she listened carefully, challenged me when necessary and encouraged me to refine my thinking.”

A current postdoctoral fellow who wants to pursue a career in industry says Burke has helped her build skills that are valuable both within and outside academia. Burke’s approach to mentorship goes beyond the lab, showing “a genuine investment and a sincere commitment to the growth of those she mentors. I already feel more confident as a scientist thanks to the opportunities she has provided me.”

Postdoctoral Excellence Award

Megan Sandoval-Powers, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Integrative Biology, received the Postdoctoral Excellence Award. This award recognizes exceptional postdoctoral scholars, fellows or research associates for their exceptional contributions to their research field, OSU and the greater postdoctoral community.

Sandoval-Powers’ dissertation research focused on microbial ecology and natural product biosynthesis, but at Oregon State, she has pivoted to evolutionary genomics. Having earned an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, she is investigating the genetics and evolutionary dynamics of adaptation to complex environmental stressors, with a focus on antifungal drug resistance. She is also a science communication fellow for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Sandoval-Powers’ faculty nominators highlight her “talent, work ethic and willingness to contribute.” In taking on a new discipline, “what would be a steep learning curve for most was one she navigated with intellectual agility, curiosity and speed.” Within weeks of joining the project, she began making contributions to data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Sandoval-Powers is the backbone of the lab’s mentorship ecosystem, supporting nearly every aspect of lab operations and academic development for both undergraduates and graduate students. “She is generous with her time, very effective in her communication and deeply respected as a result.”

Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring by a Faculty Member

Kenton Hokanson received the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring by a Faculty Member Award. Hokanson is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. This award recognizes an OSU faculty member who has provided significant research-related mentoring to undergraduate students within the past three years.

Kenton Hokanson uses electrophysiology to investigate the creation and maintenance of functional neural circuits. Over the past seven years, he has mentored 18 undergraduates, including a current team of six.

A faculty nominator says Hokanson “is excited to take on first-year undergraduates with no formal experience in research. He then invests his all in guiding them to become independent, confident research scientists.” Hokanson builds a welcoming and respectful environment, encourages students to design and execute their own experiments and finds “genuine joy in the role of mentor.”

One former student says the Hokanson laboratory “was the first place where I truly felt my opinions were heard and valued, an experience that has had a remarkable influence on my confidence and identity as a scientist.” Another found a strong sense of community in the lab, which “became my anchor at OSU.” Hokanson’s patience, clarity and “understanding that failure is an unavoidable component of eventual success inspire perseverance.”

Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring by a Graduate Student

Jessica (Jessie) Karr, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology, received the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring by a Graduate Student Award. This award celebrates an OSU graduate student who has provided significant research-related mentoring to undergraduate students within the past three years.

Jessie Karr is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate studying the effects of unpredictable weather and climate change on the metabolic strategies of birds. She has mentored six undergraduate students, helping them develop their proposals, hypotheses, study designs, and statistical approaches, and then generate final reports, theses and posters.

Karr’s faculty mentors say she encourages students to do their own thinking and take ownership of their research projects. She challenges them and holds high expectations, but does so “with a positive, approachable and fun attitude. She makes science accessible and rewarding.”

One mentee says Karr is “incredibly kind and encouraging, but also makes sure she pushes me,” which has been imperative to her growth as a scientist. Karr has helped her develop several projects and grants, gather data and ensure questions and predictions are thoughtful and backed by research. Another mentee says Karr constantly looked for opportunities for her to be involved in research projects, experiences that will better prepare her for veterinary school.

How he got involved with undergraduate research

Luikart’s passion for math didn’t begin in a classroom. In eighth grade, after transferring schools and being placed in the wrong math track, he found himself catching up over winter break with a thick packet of make-up work. He was unmotivated — until his father brought him along to work and left him with nothing else to do but finish the assignments.

“Through that experience, I formed a greater appreciation for it and fell in love with math,” he said. “I found out how fun it can be especially when you have a higher level of understanding.”

By high school, he was even more enthusiastic about math. And once he discovered he could make a career out of it, he was sold.

Raised between Oregon and New Hampshire, Luikart chose Oregon State in part for in-state tuition and its strong research focus. He capitalized on this strength and completed two major research projects, one on campus and the other as a part of an NSF funded summer research opportunity.

Asking his favorite professor if he could do research with him snowballed into his Honors thesis project and a mentor for life.

Luikart approached assistant professor Nick Marshall, who is interested in mathematics problems that involve interactions between analysis, geometry and probability, especially such problems motivated by applications to data science.

“He is a fantastic teacher, and past that, a great research mentor. He’s given me a lot of advice, and I don’t know where I would be without it,” Luikart said.

Together with Marshall and a graduate student, Luikart co-authored a paper published in the SIAM Journal On Matrix Analysis and Applications. Their work focused on improving a numerical algorithm, relevant to fields like medical imaging and computer tomography (CT, also known as CAT scans), by adding a method known as “momentum” to speed the algorithm.

“We need algorithms that can quickly solve these linear systems of equations. We added a term that incorporates past movement of the algorithm so it can speed up,” he said.

Equipped with knowledge from multiple terms working with Marshall, Luikart applied for multiple REUs (competitive summer National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates programs), covering all sides of mathematics research.

He was accepted and spent three months in Illinois working on mathematical biology at Northwestern University.

His research mentor was studying circannual rhythms, a biological rhythm that happens annually in different species like birds or bears. While many of the models assume this behavior is intrinsic and doesn’t take into account environmental influences, his mentor theorized differently.

Luikart worked on the early development of a new mathematical model that incorporates external factors like temperature or duration of daylight.

“I improved my independent problem solving and learned how mathematical modeling works. I did most of it on my own and it was interesting because I could mathematically model the same biological observation in different ways,” he said.

Undergraduate research has not been the only way Luikart has gotten involved on campus.

He joined the Math Club as a first-year student and became president in his senior year, helping revive the organization after it dwindled during the pandemic.

“It has been a huge part of my time here,” he said.

Today, the club hosts weekly meetings and game nights for all students who love math or are interested in it. Luikart’s energy and passion for connecting with students led to him becoming a resident assistant in the dormitories for three years.

Studying abroad

Second to meeting Nick Marshall, studying abroad was a top transformative experience for Luikart. Similar to knowing he wanted a Ph.D., studying abroad was a no-brainer. Travel has been a huge part of his life, with his mother taking him to a new country almost every year since he was a young child. At last count, he has been to about 20 countries.

Working with OSU Go, he was able to tailor his experience and enroll in Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. Often ranked in the top 15 mathematics programs in the UK, Lancaster fit everything he was looking for.

His favorite detail was one he almost didn’t notice. On an evening walk home, he noticed covered walkways along campus buildings, designed to shelter from frequent rain. Between the supporting pillars were carefully tended flower planters. Careful not to damage them, gardeners were taking each planter down to water. This small attention to detail left a lasting impression.

“I really liked the university, and the campus turned out to be the biggest highlight for me. It is incredibly beautiful. I was already loving the campus, but as I was nearing the end of my time there, I started to take more time to appreciate things. I could go on and on,” he said.

A thirst for more math

This July, Luikart will head to Charlottesville to begin his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. While professorship remains his goal, the draw of graduate school goes further than fulfilling a career path.

“Even if I don’t end up becoming a professor, having that further mathematical understanding is something I desire. Right now, I know just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

For Luikart, math is a subject to explore. And thanks to the community, opportunities and mentorship he found at Oregon State, he’s ready for whatever comes next.

How the College of Science prepared him to change the landscape of AI

When Clark arrived as a freshman at Oregon State in 2008, he met Rubin Landau, who ran the (since discontinued) computational physics program at the time. Clark became especially enthralled with Landau's work after checking out one of his books from OSU's Valley Library.

"It was everything that I loved, all put together," Clark said. "It was physics with math on computers. It was like, 'Here's how you teach a computer physics.'"

He convinced his advisor to let him take a 400-level class as a freshman. Although he started out as a math and computer science double major, he switched to a triple major in math, physics and computational physics halfway through his freshman year.

"One of the things I loved about Oregon State was that they let me explore as much as possible."

Oregon State has one of the best numerical analysis departments in the world with legendary professors such as Malgorzata Peszynska and Bob Higdon, he added.

"One of the things I loved about Oregon State was that they let me explore as much as possible," Clark said. "They never told me I wasn't allowed to take a class because I didn't have the prerequisite, or it was a 600-level class, and I was only a sophomore. They always let me try it, to jump into the deep end and see if I could swim."

Clark began expanding his work, pursuing summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) in biophysics at the University of California at Davis. He also worked at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, doing computational quantum mechanics work.

He and Malgorzata Peszynska spent a summer working on fluid dynamics problems.

"What I really loved was all this interdisciplinary work of how you fit these fields together and using computational simulations to push that forward," Clark said.

After graduating from Oregon State in 2012, he pursued graduate school at Cornell University in its applied mathematics department. "I could work on all these problems that would otherwise fall through the cracks," he said.

Clark soon received a fellowship from the U.S. Department of Energy, allowing him to work in computational science at various national laboratories, including Los Alamos and Lawrence Berkeley. The latter focuses on scientific discovery and solving large-scale problems in energy, health and the environment.

"A lot of these problems end up looking similar," Clark said. "They end up looking like difficult optimization problems where you build some big, complex machine, system or algorithm, and you want to make it work as well as possible."

Figuring out how to use computers to solve extremely hard optimization problems became his next passion, Companies often spent exorbitant amounts of money grappling to increase optimization. Clark saw an opportunity. "In as few attempts as possible, you want to get to the best possible answer," he said.

Toward the end of graduate school, he faced a choice -- heading to academia or industry. He decided it would be more interesting and fast-paced to at least try industry first.

An internship with Bloomberg in New York City working in finances helped finalize his decision. Clark recalled the thrill of working at a fast pace with highly intelligent people.

"Everyone had something to optimize."

He took the private-sector skills he acquired in New York City and began working for Yelp. The company needed help building a targeting system as it ventured into advertising. "This was like a really fun, hard math problem," Clark recalled. "There was enough scale to make it really interesting, but it was early enough that it was very greenfield, so I wasn't trying to make something slightly better. We were starting from scratch, basically."

It struck him other companies could benefit from what he was doing for Yelp. He created MOE -- the Metric Optimization Engine -- and presented it to companies like Google, Facebook and OpenAI.

"Everyone had something to optimize," Clark said. "I learned this was an extremely pervasive problem."

In 2014, Clark founded SigOpt to market the software he developed to use machine learning and complex algorithms to optimize user experiments for websites and applications. He improved data collection for everyone from federal intelligence agencies to hedge funds and big banks. Traveling the world, he built a team of 30 people and raised $17 million in seven years.

After selling the company to Intel in 2020, he became Intel's vice president of AI and High Performance Computing Software teams within the Supercomputing Group -- helping people build even bigger and better computers. However, after two years, a thought kept nagging him. Customers didn't necessarily want the best result. They wanted the most reliable result.

Thus was born Distributional Inc.

The company creates reliable AI by creating better testing, automating test creations and calibration -- allowing organizations to reduce risk by standardizing testing throughout the life of all their AI technology.

"It's all about how to test them and make sure they're behaving as we wish," Clark said.

A lifetime love of computers

Clark has been working with computers since he was 10 years old in the early 1990s, and his father brought discarded office computers home.

"I tinkered around with QBasic and stuff like that,” he said. “I was always interested in making machines do things that I found interesting, even if it was just printing my name over and over on one of those old terminals."

He built computers for people while he attended Central Catholic High School in Southeast Portland -- customizing early Dell and Gateway computers. "I was willing to value my time at $10 per hour so I could undercut someone who was just updating HTML."

Clark built several dozen computers for local businesses and friends and designed websites. Then his interests took a cosmic turn.

"I became interested in more than how computers work and became interested in how the world and the universe work," he said.

He was particularly interested in physics and began reading Richard Feynman's lectures on theoretical physics. This led to Clark taking advanced placement courses as well as classes at Portland Community College.

"I wanted to understand physics, because that's the way the world works, and I wanted to understand math because that's the language of physics," Clark said.

"I was never told anything was impossible, so I never stopped."

However, his fascination with computers remained. "I was always interested in how you can make computers much faster, how you can run simulations and things like that," he said. "I was enthralled by these very beautiful simulations of fluid dynamics and partial differential equations."

Clark, now 38, said everyone will be touched by AI -- even the engineers who create and service the machines

"I see a lot of companies now not hiring engineers just because it's so efficient to have a system that writes a lot of stuff too," he said. "Engineers are definitely going to be touched by AI. The pace of change is insane. Even working in the field, staying on top of AI is hard. It’s definitely exponential."

Clark's parents weren't engineers or scientists, but while they knew nothing about creating artificial intelligence, he said they knew a lot about nurturing it naturally.

"I'm definitely here as a product of the encouragement of my parents," said Clark, who was born in Salem and raised in Tigard.

"We were exploring together," he said. "I remember my parents were very quickly unable to help me with my math homework anymore, but they were always very encouraging. They'd let me take over the entire dining room table."

It was that kind of encouragement that made him the tech entrepreneur he is today, Clark said. It was the support he also found at Oregon State.

"I was never told anything was impossible, so I never stopped," he said.

Graduate students at the College of Science are conducting crucial research that addresses critical challenges and benefits both local communities and the broader world.

To celebrate their accomplishments, the College will be hosting the inaugural Graduate Science Research Showcase from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16, 2025 in the Memorial Union Horizon Room.

Click here to RSVP!

This event offers a glimpse into the future of science featuring graduate research presentations, a poster session and a keynote address from renowned alumnus Jonathan Gallion, vice president of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for OmniScience.

Gallion, recipient of the College's 2024 Early Career Award, earned dual Honors bachelor's degrees in biochemistry and biophysics, and microbiology in 2012. His career began with an internship at SIGA Technologies, where he programmed robots to screen chemical compounds for antiviral medicines. At OmniScience, Gallion and his team utilize large language models to enhance clinical trial outcomes and improve human health. Their work accelerates decision-making and transforms data analysis in biotech, medtech, pharmaceutical and preclinical innovation. Rather than replace human expertise, their AI tools are designed to compliment it.

Schedule of Events

12 p.m.

Lunch

12:20 p.m.

Welcome from Executive Associate Dean Vrushali Bokil and Dean's Remarks from College of Science Dean Eleanor Feingold.

12:30 p.m.

Keynote speech from alumnus Jonathan Gallion, V.P. of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for OmniScience.

Keynote Talk Title - Beyond Automation: Agentic AI and the New Frontier of Life Science Innovation

Abstract: Artificial intelligence in the life sciences is moving beyond automation into a new frontier defined by agentic systems—AI tools capable of reasoning, planning, and autonomous action. As these AI agents continue to evolve from tools to collaborators, life scientists will need to rethink how we generate hypotheses, design experiments, interpret data, and generate insights. This keynote will examine how agentic AI is already transforming decision-making and accelerating innovation within clinical trial development and offer a perspective on how domain experts can adapt and lead at the intersection of scientific expertise and intelligent automation through AI.

1 - 2:30 p.m.

Five minute research presentations and dessert, followed by a poster session, showcasing the diverse research conducted across the seven departments in the College of Science. The session will highlight how Science graduate students are participating and contributing to this valuable research.

Presenters include:

Oluwasen Adu (Integrative Biology)
Advisor: Michael Blouin
Talk title: Genome Wide Association Study of Biomphalaria glabrata snail and its Schistosome Parasite

Vera Alenicheva (Chemistry)
Advisor: Vincent Remcho
Talk title: A Microfluidic Paper-Based Assay for the Quantification of CBD and THC

Lucas Allan (Chemistry)
Advisor: Tim Zuehlsdorff
Talk title: FC2DES: Modeling 2D Electronic Spectroscopy for Harmonic Hamiltonians

Hallee Boyd (Chemistry)
Advisor: May Nyman
Talk title: Characterization of Trivalent Lanthanide Keggin Phosphomolybdate Sandwich Clusters

Daniel Malone Buoy (Statistics)
Advisor: Claudio Fuentes / Sarah Emerson
Talk title: Representative Sampling Methods for K-Fold Cross Validation

Olivia Burleigh (Integrative Biology)
Advisor: Virginia Weis
Talk title: Transcription Factor-targeted ChIP-Seq for Smad3-mediated TGF-β Signaling in Heat-stressed Aiptasia

Jun Cai (Integrative Biology)
Advisor: Virginia Weis
Talk title: Effect of Sphingolipid Metabolic Pathway Inhibition and Knockdown on Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis

Giovanni Crestani (Integrative Biology, Ph.D.)
Advisor: Molly Burke
Talk title: Genomics of experimentally-evolved postponed reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster

Ushasi Datta (Chemistry)
Advisor: Marilyn Mackiewicz
Talk title: Unveiling the Hidden Properties: How Nanomaterial Surface Chemistry and Biomimetic Systems Shape Reflectance and Contrast

Konstantin Drallios (Chemistry)
Advisor: Thomas Osborn Popp
Talk title: 3D Printable Radiofrequency Coils

Rudranil Dutta (Chemistry)
Advisor: Claudia Maier
Talk title: Identification and Quantitation of Bioactive Alkaloids in Withania Somnifera

Arpa Ebrahimi (Chemistry)
Advisor: Claudia Maier
Talk title: Characterizing the Lipidomic and Proteomic Profile of the 5xFAD Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model: A Comparative Study Using MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Jessica Etter (Chemistry)
Advisor: Claudia Maier
Talk title: LC-QTOF and LC-TIMS-qQTOF MS Analysis of Fecal Inoculum Biotransformation Products and LC-MRM-MS Analysis of Human Withanolide Pharmacokinetics of an Ashwagandha Supplement

Caroline Hernandez (Microbiology)
Advisor: Maude David
Talk title: Whole-Cell Crosslinking Reveals Direct Lactobacillaceae and Rhizobiaceae Interactions with Host Duodenal Neuropods

Esteban Hernandez (Chemistry)
Advisor: Jennifer Field
Talk title: Experimental pKa Values of Substituted and Unsubstituted Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonamides via 19F NMR

Lucas Kolanz (Physics)
Advisor: Davide Lazzati
Talk title: Cosmic dust bunnies

Weiqi ‘Grace’ Li (Statistics)
Advisor: Yuan Jiang
Talk title: Reframing spatial transcriptomics prediction: From regression to classification

Sarah Louie (Biochemistry & Biophysics)
Advisor: Richard Cooley / Ryan Mehl
Talk title: Optimizing genetic code expansion technology to access post-translationally modified proteins

Praveeni Mathangadeera (Mathematics)
Advisor: Małgorzata Peszyńska
Talk title: Computational Modeling of the Nonlinear Heat Equation in Frozen Soil and Snow

Anshika Nagar (Chemistry)
Advisor: Marilyn Mackiewicz
Talk title: Shielded Nanoparticles: Advancing X-Ray Fluorescence Microscopy with Oxidant-Resistant Nickel and Cobalt

Luke Nearhood (Physics)
Advisor: Patti Hamerski
Talk title: Computing the Tension

Joline Nguyen (Biochemistry & Biophysics)
Advisor: Sarah Clark
Talk title: Isolation of Scarce Membrane Protein Complexes from C. elegans

Victory Chiamaka Obieke (Mathematics)
Advisor: Vrushali Bokil
Talk title: Compatible Energy Preserving Discretizations for Nonlinear Optical Wave Propagation: The Maxwell-Duffing Approach

Emily Palmer (Statistics)
Advisor: Yuan Jiang
Talk title: A Group Penalization Framework for Detecting Time-Lagged Microbiota-Host Associations

Madison Phelps (Mathematics)
Advisor: Małgorzata Peszyńska
Talk title: Nonlinear Solvers in Permafrost applications

Kevin Rice (Microbiology)
Advisor: Maude David / Kenton Hokanson
Talk title: Electrical Characterization of Primary Enteroendocrine Cells: Developing Tools to Screen Novel Microbial Neuroactive Compounds

Casey Rummelhart (Chemistry)
Advisor: Addison Desnoyer
Talk title: Frustrated Lewis Pairs Ligand for the Transformation of Carbon Dioxide to Chemical Feedstocks

Pavel Sengupta (Chemistry)
Advisor: Dipankar Koley
Talk title: Quantifying Dissolved Oxygen in Biofilms with Non-invasive Flexible Amperometric Oxygen Sensors

Michael Sieler (Microbiology)
Advisor: Thomas Sharpton
Talk title: Modeling the zebrafish gut microbiome’s resistance and sensitivity to climate change and parasite infection

Gavin Tovar (Statistics)
Advisor: Robert Trangucci / Sarah Emerson
Talk title: Sequential Approach to K-Fold Cross-validation---Computational Reduction Technique

Hao Yue (Chemistry)
Advisor: Marilyn Mackiewicz
Talk title: Targeted X-ray Imaging Agents for Visualizing Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Sima Ziyaee (Chemistry)
Advisor: Claudia Maier
Talk title: Exploring Cellular Heterogeneity through Single-cell Proteomics

Join us to celebrate the future of science — and the graduate students who are making it happen.

Research funding propels Team Science forward

Oregon State University is focused on big discoveries that drive big solutions. Many science faculty received grants last year in support of discovery-driven science, applied and transdisciplinary research science education and innovation in OSU’s priority research areas of integrated health and biotechnology, climate science and solutions, robotics, data science and AI, and clean energy and solutions. Below are some of the highlights—not including multi-year projects started before 2023.

Faculty honors

Astrophysicist Jeff Hazboun received a $73K Faculty Early Career Development award from the National Science Foundation. This prestigious NSF early career award is highly coveted by faculty! Hazboun’s project includes curriculum development and the implementation of a summer workshop in astrophysics-themed data analysis designed to foster inspired teaching, stimulate excitement in pulsar timing array research, facilitate the learning goals of undergraduate and graduate students, and support the community college students’ transition into four-year schools.

Mathematician Christine Escher received a $50,397 award from the NSF to host the Pacific Northwest Geometry Seminar series over three years at various Pacific Northwest universities. Escher is the principal organizer of the conference. This award supports meetings of the Pacific Northwest Geometry Seminar (PNGS), a regional meeting for researchers and educators of geometry, to be held at the University of British Columbia (2025), Seattle University (2026) and Lewis & Clark College (2027).

Integrated health & biotechnology

Materials scientist Kyriakos Stylianou, along with members of the College of Pharmacy and the College of Agricultural Science, received $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop improved ways of preventing stored potatoes from sprouting, particularly in the organic sector. Stylianou’s team studied nearly 200 different plant essential oils for their anti-sprouting effects. Oregon, Washington and Idaho produce more than 60% of the potatoes grown in the United States, and Pacific Northwest potato cultivation is a $2.2 billion industry.

Microbiologist Maude David is part of a multi-institution research team to receive a $4.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study European foulbrood disease (EFD) in honey bees. The group is investigating the factors contributing to the high incidence of infection, and will then share their findings with local beekeepers and growers to improve mitigation efforts. Beekeepers in Oregon typically pollinate about five different crops annually. If the colonies are weakened by EFD, this results in less pollination, which is a concern for blueberry and almond growers.

Evolutionary biologist Michael Blouin was awarded $1.86M over five years ($371K per year) from the National Institutes of Health for his project entitled, “Genetic mechanisms of snail/schistosome compatibility.” Schistosomes are water-borne blood-flukes transmitted by snails, which infect over 250 million people in more than 70 countries and cause severe and chronic disability. A debilitating helminth parasitic disease of humans, vaccines are available for schistosomiasis. This project will identify new genes that make some snails naturally resistant to infection by schistosomes, revealing potential new ways to reduce parasite transmission at the snail stage.

Statistician Robert Trangucci received $164K from the University of Michigan for his project entitled, “Data driven transmission models to optimize influenza vaccination and pandemic mitigation strategies.” Selection bias is common in infectious disease datasets due to complex observational and biological processes, and bias can arise from covariate data which is missing due to analytical limitations. The research team is addressing the concern by extending existing models to accommodate risk and data gaps over time for application in vaccination and other novel datasets.

Chemist Dipankar Koley received $542K from the National Institutes of Health for his project entitled, “Microenvironmental characterization and manipulation to prevent secondary caries.” A common reason for dental replacement is a recurrence of caries around existing restorations caused by microbial activity. The project seeks development of new and innovative materials to bias this microbial environment toward improved dental health, and the researchers are investigating the use of cations of magnesium and zinc applied with specialized release platforms.

Collaborative research at the interface of robotics, computer vision and AI

Statistician Yanming Di received $249K from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a project entitled, “DeepSeed: A computer-vision network for onsite, real-time seed analysis.” The Willamette Valley is considered the “grass seed capital of the world.” Seed testing, used for determining seed lot quality and establishing seed value, is a fundamental phase of the agricultural marketing system. With recent advances in robotics, computer vision, and AI, an opportunity presents itself for a new wave of innovations. This project utilizes AI and robotics to innovate devices and protocols for sampling grass seeds and a computer vision system for automated seed analysis. The investigators consist of experts in seed services, computer vision, statistics, and mechanical engineering.

Climate science and related solutions

Materials scientist Kyriakos Stylianou received $689K from Saudi Aramco for a project entitled “New Generation of CO2 Capture Adsorbents: Synthesis, Performance under Humid Conditions, and Scaleup.” In this project, the Stylianou group aims to discover novel adsorbents for the selective capture of CO2 from diluted sources. Successful materials will undergo scaling up and evaluation for their efficacy in removing CO2 from air.

Marine ecologist Bruce Menge received $200K from the National Science Foundation for his project entitled, “RAPID: A subtle epidemic: unique mortality of Mytilus californianus on the Oregon coast.”

The research team is investigating the major changes occurring in the Pacific Northwest marine ecosystems, with evidence these communities exhibit low resilience to climate change. For example, sessile invertebrates (mussels, barnacles, etc) become more abundant while seaweed species (kelp, etc) decline.

Evolutionary biologist Kathryn Everson received two awards for $276K from the University of Kentucky Research Foundation for a project entitled, “The role of hybridization in generating biodiversity: Insights from genomics of Madagascar’s true lemurs (Eulemur).” This project is funded by the NSF to understand how new species form in the context of complex gene flow and to expose the genomic signatures of evolutionary processes. The researchers will characterize patterns of gene flow, selection, and genome architecture for a species of lemur to gain a genomic perspective on the evolution of species boundaries. In addition, the team will construct a hybridization model using data on geographic range, diet, and social behavior for this lemur.

Clean energy and related solutions

Aerosol chemist Alison Bain received $284K from McGill University for her project entitled, “Single particle measurements.” This research aims to understand the optical properties of stratospheric aerosols. Using single particle experiments under environmentally relevant temperatures and humidities, the team will extend a wavelength-dependent refractive index model to include these conditions. They are also looking at how atmospheric aging impacts the optical properties of these materials.

Chemist Wei Kong received $110K from the American Chemical Society for her project entitled, “Superfluid helium droplets as microreactors for studies of photochemistry of fossil fuel hydrocarbons: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the corresponding endoperoxides.” The project will use superfluid helium droplets as microreactors to investigate the kinetics of the photooxidation process of a major component of petroleum (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH). Using several analytical techniques, the team will test the hypothesis that supercooling the helium droplets will stabilize an excited state of the oxygen molecule and prevent further reactions.

Collaborative partnerships to fuel a thriving world

Biochemist Ryan Mehl received $234K from the NobleReach Foundation in partnership with the National Science Foundation. The project “Ideal eukaryotic tetrazine ligations for imaging protein dynamics in live cells” was selected as one of the first set of 11 national pilot projects to receive $234K from the NobleReach Foundation.The partnership seeks to identify and accelerate the translation of NSF-funded research into biotechnologies and bio-inspired designs with commercial and societal impacts. This pilot will help inform future translational funding opportunities along with enabling Professor Mehl and the other selected principal investigators to accelerate bringing their research to the market and society.

Biochemist Patrick Reardon received $500K from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Instrumentation Program for his project entitled, “MRI: Acquisition of Helium Recovery Equipment: An integrated system for helium capture and recovery for the OSU NMR facility.” This award supports the acquisition and installation of an integrated system for helium capture and recovery for the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) facility. Helium is in high demand and is used for a wide variety of industrial and research applications, and it is a non-renewable resource which highlights the need for laboratories to capture and recycle this important gas. The NMR lab is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, NSF, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, and OSU, and it is a core facility and cornerstone for groundbreaking research in interdisciplinary science and engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, and biophysics at OSU, throughout the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The facility continually strives to enhance its state-of-the-art instrumentation for the highest levels of analytical performance.

"When I started to take more physics classes, I thought, 'Wow, this physics stuff is really cool,' and it just clicked,” Takach said. One thing led to another, his passion grew and he pivoted entirely.

"Not to say that math isn’t beautiful, but I think that applying math to something real is what is most important."

Takach is graduating this summer with a double major in physics and mathematics. "The coolest thing about the math department is how flexible it is. And in the physics department, everyone's really friendly and there's lots of interaction between students," he said.

In the fall, Takach is moving forward with a Ph.D. program at University of California, Berkeley, focusing on particle physics and phenomenology. This involves looking for things that can be observed and may not be obvious experimentally. Instead of testing a hypothesis, phenomenologists choose a mathematical theory and try to “tease out” observations. After they decide what the observable effects are, they tell experimentalists to go looking for them in real life applications.

By chance, physics meets education technology

Takach found a lot of faculty support that allowed him to make an impact early on in his academic career. In his first year, one of his main advisors, Associate Department Head David Craig became his go-to resource for knowledge.

“I did the naive freshman thing and went to Craig because he was one of the resident theoretical physicists here. He directed me to a bunch of stuff to study in my free time and what books to read. He also motivated me to start learning on my own, and helped me learn how to attack those high-level concepts early without waiting to be in a class.”

Takach’s journey didn’t stop there. Last summer, he landed an internship at University of California, Davis, where he gained experience working with computational physics and quantum field theories in the realm of particle physics.

At Oregon State, he worked on campus as a peer advisor for the Science Success Center and as a learning assistant for the Techniques of Theoretical Mechanics course in the physics department.

His passion blossomed when he learned how to utilize the power of Python, a computer programming language, to create educational videos about high-level physics concepts and make the content more accessible to students who haven’t learned it.

“Getting an early start and giving kids the opportunities to learn more as early as they can is so important. It becomes second-nature if they start early enough,” he said.

Inspired by YouTuber 3Blue1Brown, who made animated mathematics content, Takach created his own video to help more students have access to an engaging, easier-to-grasp learning experience. His goal was to teach about an advanced mathematics topic: curl.

In vector mathematics, curl is a concept that involves measuring the rotational or swirling behavior of a vector field. A vector is a direction with a specified measurement, such as how fast a golf ball moves forward when hit with a golf club. Imagine a bunch of arrows pointing in the direction that the ball is moving – the longer the arrows, the stronger the force in that direction.

“There are tons of people online that make these kinds of videos. Making this content accessible to younger people is essential because the amount of science you need to know in order to advance in a field is very daunting,” Takach said.

He sent his video to Physics Professor Emeritus Corinne Manogue, the leader behind the Paradigms in Physics project funded by the National Science Foundation. This physics education project led to the creation of 19 new physics courses and focused on shifting the curricula from traditional lectures to active engagement for students at Oregon State.

She hired Takach to make more educational videos that were aligned with the physics curriculum, including quantum mechanics. The videos were intended to improve the learning experience for future physics students.

“The most concrete thing that I want to have an impact on is teaching. I love sharing the experience of learning something for the first time. It happens so frequently – it's the weirdest experience and when you share that with someone, It’s motivating, fulfilling and fun,” he said.

Physics Associate Professor Elizabeth Gire also had a positive influence on his academic career. After she taught one of his first upper-division physics courses, he left feeling inspired. "She really, really cares about the students and how much everyone's learning. I think that rubbed off on me. The way she goes about teaching and encouraging people to work together is definitely something to look up to and had a big impression on me.”

Looking back, one of Takach’s favorite memories at Oregon State is living with his friends for three years. "Two of my best friends from high school are still my roommates now. They’ve been a great support system.”

During his free time, Joey loves to dive into music and plays several instruments, including guitar, bass, viola and violin. When the sun comes out, he enjoys hiking, backpacking and traveling.

After completing his Ph.D. in California, Takach dreams of becoming a physics professor. “Learning and teaching for as long as possible is the most ideal for me. I need the connection to what is actually real. Not to say that math isn’t beautiful, but I think that applying math to something real is what is most important.”