YaleEnvironment360 interview with Jane Lubchenco

The oceans are still largely out of sight and out of mind for most of us, says Jane Lubchenco. The Oregon State University professor and head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was interviewed this month by The New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert for YaleEnvironment360. See http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2169

We’re now on Facebook

We’ve added a page on Facebook for our friends who would like to connect with us there. Links on the Facebook page will lead back to the Breakthroughs blog, to other stories and videos on the web, or to pages on the OSU website.

Hope to see you there!

Breakthroughs in Science at Oregon State University on Facebook

First Rule of Lionfish Research

Emily Pickering has a rule about swimming with lionfish: don’t get poked! The OSU first-year student is studying these fierce looking fish with OSU coral reef expert Mark Hixon in the Bahamas. Native to the South Pacific, lionfish are raising havoc in the Caribbean and along the Florida coast. Read Emily’s posts from Lee Stocking Island at her blog, A Chronicle of the Invasion.

Epitaph for a Coral Reef

For OSU coral reef scientist Mark Hixon, climate change is personal. He studied a tropical reef for a decade, and the results of his work stunned and inspired him. In a new book, Thoreau’s Legacy, published by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Books, Hixon describes the calamity that struck in 1998. His is one of 67 personal stories and reflections on global warming at www.ucsusa.org/americanstories/. A story about Hixon’s research appeared in the spring 2008 issue of Terra magazine.

In waters off the Bahama in 2006, Mark Hixon collected juvenile coral-reef fish for tagging. (Photo courtesy of Mark Hixon)

Off to Kenya

Finals this week! And after that, where else to go but Kenya? That’s where Shalynn Pack, a junior in zoology from Marcola, Oregon, will work this summer in pursuit of a career in tropical forest conservation and ecotourism. Check out her lab: Lake Nakuru National Park at www.kws.org/nakuru.html.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Breakthroughs in Science blog!

We’re happy to see you here. A quick orientation: on the left-hand side of the page you’ll find categories that may help you zero in on the topics you’re most interested in. We post frequently with the news of the day, so do bookmark and visit often! We’d like to hear your thoughts and feedback so we can develop the blog to help our alumni, friends, and donors connect with the College of Science.

Please be in touch: anne.ruggiero@oregonstate.edu. Again, welcome. See you again soon!

Dean Sherman Bloomer on a research trip in Japan

Where, oh Where?

Today’s article on the Cyber Diver News Nework asks the question:

Where have all the big fish gone?

And gives us the answer (spoiler, sorry!):  In our stomachs.

“We have already eaten most of the big fish in the Caribbean according to a new study [by OSU alumnus Dr. Chris Stallings] that links the decline of sharks, groupers and other big fish to a rise in human population.”

Mark Hixon was Chris’ doctoral advisor here at OSU, and was quoted in the article regarding the Lionfish population:

“Lionfish are minor players on their native Pacific reefs, yet they are undergoing a population explosion and overeating small fishes in the greater Caribbean region. Preliminary evidence suggests that lionfish are less invasive where large predatory native fishes are abundant, such as in marine reserves.”

We write about Mark and his work on Breakthroughs because A) he’s a world renowned expert in coral reef ecology, B) his work is vital to OSU’s strategic plan, and C) he’s a great teacher and mentor — and a nice guy to boot.

The Oregon Way

On February 11, 2009, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski issued an executive order (link opens as a PDF) creating a new public/private partnership to advance Oregon’s recovery. Peggy Fowler (OSU/College of Science Parent), Catherine Mater (Political Science ‘75; M.S., Civil Engineering ‘84), and Jim Walls (Wildlife Science ‘75) have been appointed to the group which will coordinate federal stimulus money coming to Oregon.

The new partnership, called The Oregon Way Advisory Group, will use Oregon’s green advantage to compete and win grant dollars included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Barack Obama. The Act includes $37 billion in competitive grants. For specific information on these grant dollars, please visit www.staterecovery.org/federal-assistance.

The group will advise and assist state agencies and other partners seeking federal competitive grants by developing innovative proposals that create immediate jobs and promote renewable energy, reduce carbon, encourage greater energy efficiency or sustainable development.

Ms Fowler recently retired from Portland General Electric as CEO and President. Mrs. Mater is president of the Corvallis engineering firm Mater Engineering, Ltd., and director of Sustainability Programs at OSU. Mr. Walls is executive director for the Lake County Resources Initiative, a nonprofit in Lakeview, Oregon working on natural resource projects.

For more information, visit the website at Oregon.gov.

Save the Date: F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Award Lecture

Date: May 4, 2009

Austin Auditorium, LaSells Stewart Conference Center

Welcome: 7:15-7:30 p.m.

Introducing Dr. Peter Clark
Dr. Sherman H. Bloomer, Dean, College of Science

Lecture, Q&A: 7:30-8:30 p.m.

About the F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science:

A true Renaissance man, Francois A. “Doc” Gilfillan inspired colleagues and students alike. He served the College of Science as dean from 1938 to 1962, and OSU as acting president from 1941 to 1942. Doc Gilfillan dedicated his professional life to scholarship and science at OSU as a faculty member in pharmaceutical chemistry.

During his administration as dean, the College gained stature because of his work to establish many new programs in research and education. He was fluent in German, Russian, French, and Italian; studied Latin, Greek, and Japanese; and knew ancient Sumerian and a few NW Indian dialects. His love of learning led him to explore new knowledge all his life.

In his memory, his family established the F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science. The purpose of the award is to recognize distinguished scholarship in science by honoring a faculty member in the College whose scholarship and scientific accomplishments extend over a substantial period of time at OSU and are widely recognized by peers. The winner of the award receives a plaque presented at the annual College of Science Faculty and Staff Awards Day, a stipend, and an opportunity to present their research in a public lecture.

Committed to a Fault

In the arid environment east of Bend, erosion is slow. Topography reveals the presence of fault lines where they are not obscured by ancient lava flows. (Photo: Anita Grunder)

Some of us need a direct, physical connection with a subject to look at it through the lens of science. For Ajeet Johnson, an OSU master’s student in Geosciences from Bend, that connection came from rock climbing at Smith Rock and skiing at Mt. Bachelor. Now she locates fault lines and seeks answers to questions about Earth movements in Central Oregon’s High Lava Plains. She is looking for clues to explain a landscape shaped by volcanoes and colliding tectonic plates, and she wants to know what those clues might mean for our future. See “Committed to a Fault” in the latest issue of Terra.

Nick Houtman