When Lee Buckingham’s dad brought home a broken HP computer, Lee took it apart and fixed it. He was 15 years old. Through high school and college, the Oregon State graduate student in Forest Engineering, Resources and Management fed his appetite for technology (“I like to build them from parts”) and taught himself to write [...]
Category » Healthy Economy
February 1, 2013
10 Steps for Innovators
The journey from idea to innovation turns, twists and hits the occasional roadblock. Follow the progress of an Oregon State idea that is making the wood-products industry more sustainable. Research by wood-science professor Kaichang Li has enabled Columbia Forest Products, North America’s largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood, to switch from adhesives made with formaldehyde to [...]
January 30, 2013
Caring for Cows
Humane treatment of livestock benefits industry as well as animals
Studies show that a stressed animal is more likely to be a sick, scrawny, infertile animal — hardly the formula for business success if you’re a rancher or dairyman.
January 29, 2013
Oregon State University In Asia
Scientific partnerships flourish across the region
For growth in research and educational opportunities, Oregon State University faculty and students increasingly look west. Connections to Asia are expanding. They encompass a wide range of activities including academic conferences, student exchanges and faculty collaborations. They focus on business, engineering, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, wood science, music and more. The university’s growing international influence is fueled [...]
January 23, 2013
The Glove Goes Wireless
Student team wins national award for innovative design
A student-designed “wireless hand sensor” may not only help reduce hand and wrist injuries associated with repetitive motion but may have applications in robotics, medicine and computer gaming.
January 10, 2013
Advantage for Business
Oregon State creates "one stop shop" for businesses to access market-driven research, skilled workforce
OSU officials have launched a new initiative called Oregon State University Advantage, designed to boost the university’s impact on job creation and economic progress in Oregon and the nation. “Oregon State University Advantage should foster increased bottom-line success for business,” said Rick Spinrad, OSU vice president for research. “It will dramatically increase private industry access [...]
October 12, 2012
After Fukushima
Nuclear power's future remains strong
As concern about climate change has grown, nuclear energy — long a polarizing subject — has gained increasing favorability. Its low carbon footprint, reliable power supply and strong safety record convinced many critics that nuclear power should be a bigger part of our energy mix. That newfound favorability suffered a setback on March 11, 2011, [...]
October 11, 2012
Business Partnerships Lead Research Growth
Private support, technology licenses lead increase in Oregon State research revenues
Oregon State University recorded its second-best year ever in research funding and achieved a new milestone in research support from the private sector in the fiscal year that ended June 30. In all, Oregon State research totaled almost $281 million last year, just shy of OSU’s top research performance achieved in 2010. Meanwhile, private sector [...]
October 8, 2012
Robots Learn to Walk
An era of walking robots that can help people with physical disabilities, take on dangerous missions or aid in disaster response is about to begin. One of the leaders in this emerging field, Oregon State University engineer Jonathan Hurst, was recognized in October by Popular Mechanics with one of its “Breakthrough Innovator” awards of 2012. [...]
September 10, 2012
Behind the Screens
OSU-UO partnership aims at greening the flat-panel display industry
Some of today’s flat-panel TV and computer screens are nearly as big as a living room wall. They bring us unimaginably sharp detail, from the spots on butterfly wings to the grimace on a linebacker’s face. Whether hooked up to your cable feed, DVD player or wi-fi, this technology is becoming integral to daily life. However, our love of flashy high-res has a dark side.
June 20, 2012
Relay for Wheat
If wheat breeding were a relay race, the land grant all-star team would include Foote, Kronstad, Peterson and now Zemetra
When he was a college student, Bob Zemetra found the perfect career. “I liked working with plants, and I realized that in plant breeding — in theory — I could be outside in the good part of the year and inside in the bad part of the year.” Things didn’t turn out that way, he [...]
June 7, 2012
Wheat for the West
Land grant research catapulted wheat farming into an economic power that feeds the world
It is arguably the plant that made the West. Pioneers brought wheat in practically every wagon on the Oregon Trail. It fed farm families in the Willamette Valley and miners in the John Day and California gold-rush towns. It was currency and foreign exchange. As the nation grew, scientists developed dryland and irrigated growing techniques. [...]
June 1, 2012
Value-Added Scientist
Mark Whitham’s know-how is a sought-after commodity for small canners hoping to kick-start or upgrade their facilities.
June 1, 2012
“They Never Tasted Fish Like This Before”
A Coos Bay entrepreneur teamed up with an Oregon Sea Grant seafood specialist to create a new business and local jobs.
May 30, 2012
Running Clear
Gary Klinkhammer turned water analysis into environmental protection
The Arctic Ocean, 1997. Gary Klinkhammer had strapped a water chemistry analyzer onto the hull of a retired U.S. Navy nuclear submarine to measure carbon. He had come to this bleak and desolate place looking for organic matter, fertile detritus dumped into the ocean by massive rivers in Siberia and North America. “The Arctic in [...]
May 30, 2012
Turncoat Proteins
Scientists scope out the earliest signs of disease
It’s one of life’s little ironies. The proteins in our bodies fight infection, carry messages, ferry oxygen and build tissue. But then, like double agents in a spy novel, they can betray us. They overreact to a virus and attack our own organs. They promote cancer, help clog arteries or set up roadblocks in the [...]
May 30, 2012
From Wood to Watts
Forest-based fuels could fire up rural development, but at what cost?
About a million years ago in South Africa, a Homo erectus cave dweller used fire on purpose, and some charred bones at the site suggest it may have been for cooking. Thus was born the biofuels industry — and also the first known barbecue. The name of that cave, Wonderwerk, means “miracle” in the Afrikaans [...]
May 30, 2012
Sowing seeds for business
Startup companies and entrepreneurs work hand-in-hand with researchers
New startup companies are emerging from Oregon State research. Here are three young companies just getting their feet on the ground.
May 26, 2012
Data Driven
Chris Patton uses computer modeling to help build world-champion racecars
When Chris Patton was helping his Formula SAE team design a racecar for international competition, he made an unusual suggestion: angle the rear wheels outward in relation to the car. Common knowledge would warn against that move. Turning the rear tires outward makes the car less stable. But Patton, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering [...]
May 8, 2012
New Corvallis microtechnology firm launches line of industrial micromixers
Company aims for $2 billion microreactor life-sciences market
Microflow CVO (www.microflowcvo.com), a new company spun off from research in the Oregon State University Microproducts Breakthrough Institute (MBI), has launched its first product line of stainless steel micromixers. Inside the precision-engineered devices are a multilayer network of channels designed to meet manufacturer needs in the pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, personal care products and other industries. Dime-sized [...]
February 21, 2012
Taking stock of wave energy
Researchers make preparations for an emerging industry
These are the formative years of a West Coast wave energy industry, and scientists are working with businesses, communities and policymakers to gather environmental data, test new technologies and consider the options. Their work is coordinated through the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), a partnership between Oregon State University and the University of [...]
December 21, 2011
New OSU spinoff company ships first product
Biosurfactant aims at pharmaceutical, cosmetic, environmental remediation and other global markets.
AGAE Technologies opened its doors in May 2011 on the basis of research by Xihou Yin, research scientist in the College of Pharmacy.
December 8, 2011
OSU undergraduate solves long-standing problem in organic chemistry
Sam Bartlett's findings make chemical synthesis faster, more efficient
When Sam Bartlett, an Oregon State University senior in chemistry, put on his lab coat, goggles and latex gloves in the summer of 2010, he didn’t expect to wind up helping organic chemists around the world. With guidance from Chris Beaudry, assistant professor of chemistry, he developed the most efficient and productive method yet reported [...]
October 27, 2011
Testing Our Metal
Research sharpens manufacturing's competitive edge
Chain saws, baseball bats, truck bodies, jet engine parts and bridges. All from America’s industrial heartland, right? Or made in China? Wrong. Companies that produce these and other metal products — from kitchen knives and laboratory incubators to steel fabrication stock — employ thousands of Oregonians. One of the tools in their toolbox is a [...]
October 26, 2011
The Science of Design
On the cutting edge of functional apparel for health, comfort and sustainability
One day last spring, a Nike executive was touring Oregon State University’s apparel design facilities. After being shown the textile lab, the thermal lab and the chemistry lab, he blurted out: “Oh my gosh! This is design with beakers!” He was right — but only partly. Beakers are just the beginning of science-based apparel design [...]
October 26, 2011
The Apparel Industry’s Higher-Ed Partner
OSU is tightly linked with the Portland area’s apparel community. Examples include: The OSU Design Network The network brings together professionals across the industry for informal gatherings and annual events in Portland, like last year’s Recycled Fashion Show — the longest-running fashion show of designs made from recycled materials in the country. OSU’s Apparel Research [...]
October 14, 2011
Willamette Innovators Night Spotlights Creative Economy
WiN is the Willamette Valley's largest gathering of businesses, researchers, inventors and policymakers focused on the creative economy.
“Made in Oregon” means more than lumber, hazelnuts and pears. At the annual Willamette Innovators Night (WiN) on Nov. 10, established manufacturers from Oregon Iron Works to startups such as Trillium FiberFuels and the AirShip Technologies Group will discuss how research and industry partnerships are changing the state’s economic landscape. “WiN provides a seedbed for [...]
September 14, 2011
Bright Idea
The future of solar energy could be on your desk — the inkjet printer
In the beginning, there was silicon, and it was really good. Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. It gave us golden, sandy beaches and sunlit kitchen windows. Beer mugs and home insulation. Silicon Valley in California and Silicon Forest in the Pacific Northwest. Personal computers and the Information Age. And solar [...]
September 14, 2011
Sticky Business
Incidental discovery could lead to a revolution in the adhesives industry
The OSU researchers were working toward a hot-melt adhesive made from cheap and plentiful vegetable oils that could be used in wood composites. For that purpose, they were making little progress. But at one point, Kaichang Li, an international expert in wood chemistry and composites, and his postdoctoral research associate, Anlong Li, noticed that their [...]
June 8, 2011
Biotech Partnership
Focus on flowering genes
Research into tree biotechnology has gotten a boost through a new agreement between Dow AgroSciences LLC and Oregon State University. The wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company will make its EXZACT™ Precision Technology available to Steve Strauss, distinguished professor of forest biotechnology in the College of Forestry. EXZACT™ provides a versatile and comprehensive [...]
