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Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer sits at a lab table showing equipment to a student.
Research

Expanding undergraduate research: Fruit fly experience has students “buzzing”

Every student deserves hands-on research opportunities. But how can that be a reality with limitations on time and available faculty?

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer, College of Science associate professor and principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute, and her colleagues in the Fly-CURE consortium stumbled upon a solution they hope to expand across the U.S.

Kendra Yasui
Students

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

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

Sullivan Bailey-Darland in front of an urban backdrop.
Students

A ‘limitless degree’: Physics senior pushes the boundaries of his field

How does DNA move? How do cells communicate with each other? When it comes to these questions, it’s easy to think of molecular biologists behind the words. But as physics and mathematics senior Sullivan “Sully” Bailey-Darland knows, there are many more voices asking.

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

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

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

Alyssa Pratt stands in front of a pole with a sign that reads "We did it." She is wearing her graduation cap and gown.
Students

Biochemistry and computer science senior bridges gap between the byte and the gene

Goldwater scholar and graduating senior Alyssa Pratt has always had a love for the sciences. She started with a love for the stars and now spends her day in the cyberspace realm with her double major in computer science; and biochemistry and molecular biology at Oregon State University.

Ebunoluwa Morakinyo is seen dancing with an Nigerian flag during African night.
Students

Biochemistry and molecular biology senior thrives from the stage to the lab

Being a Beaver has stretched Ebunoluwa Morakinyo to develop her passions inside and outside of the lab. A senior honors biochemistry and molecular biology student at Oregon State, her time on campus has included celebrating her culture while looking forward to a career dedicated to helping others.

Madison Collins stands in front of a grey background.
Students

Mathematics senior finds effective teaching strategies on her path to a graduate degree

Even though 1+2 will always be equal to 3, Madison Collins strives to teach math differently so that students can learn better and discover something new along the way.

Catherine Raffin poses in front of a bush of vibrant pink flowers.
Students

The field where ‘everything matters’: Biology senior chases an insect dream

Many people grow up with a fear of bugs, and above all else, a fear of spiders. Oregon State biology senior Catherine Raffin was just the same. The sight of eight spindly legs and a pair of fangs made her skin crawl, so she did the only logical thing: purchased a pet tarantula. “From a young age I was always morbidly fascinated with the insects everybody fears,” she said. “I thought it was crazy how something so small can be so terrifying.”

Jessica Etter standing outside near a tree.
Students

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

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

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

French, microbes and the microbiology senior who speaks both

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

Kimberly Truong
Mathematics

College of Science student selected as Goldwater Scholar

A third-year mathematics student has been named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

A group of individuals stand on a staircase for a photo during a mathematics conference.
Mathematics

Making math inclusive: 2023 Math For All satellite conference

Three years ago, current Oregon State University Assistant Professor Swati Patel and two colleagues wanted to do something to counter systemic racism and inequities in mathematics. In response, they founded the Math For All conference at Tulane University in New Orleans. Math For All is now a national conference that hosts annual local programs throughout the country. In late February, about 40 people attended the Math For All satellite conference in Corvallis for free.