National Sciences Foundation Grant

With a top-tier oceanography program, OSU has recently won this rare grant to design and build three ocean research vessels. OSU will initially receive $3 million for the design phase of the project, with an additional $290 million to come over the next 10 years if Congress provides the money to build these hi-tech ships. Of the three 175-foot long ships, OSU would operate one ship under the grant with the other two projected to go to the Gulf Coast and the East Coast. Timing is perfect as OSU’s current research vessel, the Newport (OR) based Oceanus, is set to be retired in 2020.

The Oceanus – Oregon State University’s current research vessel

The National Science Foundation hasn’t authorized a multi-ship project since the 1970s, OSU officials said, and no other NSF ships are likely to be built in the next decade.

Research on these ships is in areas such as predicting tsunamis, understanding ocean acidification and predicating global warming. This grant, along with a new ship, would continue to further the success of OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospherics Sciences as well as further establish Newport as an “ocean research and education hub.”

OSU Performing Arts Gift 

A $5 million gift from an anonymous donor is the largest the university has every received for the arts and is a commitment to advance its performing arts programs including digital arts, performance technology and communication. Part of the gift ($1million) is contingent on OSU securing an additional $1 million in private support, which can come from gifts of $25,000 or more.

With the gift establishing endowments for four faculty and staff positions and scholarship, graduate fellowship, and program funds; there is a lot of excitement around how this will elevate support for OSU’s School of Arts and Communication.

OSU Chamber Choir

Support of Engineering Research Facility 

OSU has received a total of $20 million in private gifts for a new educational and research facility for the College of Engineering. A recent $7 million from Peter (and Rosalie Johnson), a 1955 engineering alumnus, joins an earlier $10 million gift from an anonymous donor and $4 million in additional private funds. With the possible matching of state funds, the $40 million building will meet the needs for engineering faculty, lab space and a center focused on the recruitment and retention of engineering students.

OSU Cascades 

OSU Cascades in Bend, OR is the state’s first branch campus and is rapidly moving towards its goals of becoming a 4-year campus. To fund the expansion, the OSU Cascades has raised $3.3 million in private funds since last April towards their goal of $4 million.

Plans for OSU Cascades Expansion

Go Beavs!

-AG

On August 6^th, the rover Curiosity landed in the Gale Crater on Mars.

Jeff Barnes and Dan Tyler have been working for the past four years with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on a computer model of the Martian atmosphere. They have been using the model to make adjustments to the spacecraft’s control system for its landing on Mars. The model calculates and predicts Mars’ likely weather conditions based on observations of atmospheric conditions.

The Mars Science Laboratory is a continuation of previous research the two scientists have done. In 2008, the Phoenix Mission landed in the north polar region of Mars and both scientists were also involved. In the past, Barnes has also been involved with the Viking mission and the Mars Pathfinder mission.

Jeff Barnes is a professor and Dan Tyler is a research associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.

To read more: http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2012/jul/osu-scientists-part-intensive-planning-tricky-mars-landing

Go Beavs!

kg