An ancient quest for the perfect blue ended in a hot furnace in OSU’s Department of Chemistry — totally by accident. A blue pigment that is both safe and stable eluded the Egyptians, the Han Dynasty and the Mayans. The French developed cobalt blue in the 1800s, but it contains carcinogens. Prussian blue releases cyanide. [...]
Category » Healthy Economy
January 22, 2010
Agricultural Sciences Welcomes New Dean
An agricultural leader from Purdue University became dean of the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences in August.
November 23, 2009
Leading Man
Jon Lewis explores the art and business
of American film
Moreland Hall faces the picturesque Memorial Union in the heart of a historic college campus straight out of central casting. Rounding a corner on the way to film professor Jon Lewis’ modest office, you’d encounter a poster that makes it clear he thinks in Technicolor and speaks in terms just as vivid: “REAL SEX: The [...]
October 9, 2009
Jon Lewis’ Five Favorite Indie Films
1. Stranger than Paradise — directed by Jim Jarmusch. Composed entirely of awkward long-takes … a low-key, black-and-white film that captured everything that was cool about off-Hollywood movies, circa 1984. 2. Repo Man — directed by Alex Cox. Also 1984. Punk aesthetics, extraterrestrials in urban LA, something about a plate of shrimp … and it [...]
June 23, 2009
Summer of Opportunity
Students plug into research
experiences at home and abroad
Ah, summer vacation. Time to kick back, right? Not so much for OSU students who are discovering opportunities to expand their horizons. They’re modeling blood flow, studying wildlife conservation in Africa, surveying Oregon’s old-growth forests and teaching entrepreneurship.
April 24, 2009
Where Grass Seed Is King
Oregon’s Willamette Valley is the undisputed “grass-seed capital of the world.” In close partnership with growers and scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, OSU researchers and agronomists have been at the forefront of an industry worth $500 million. Here are some of the milestones. 1909 Seed lab starts up on campus for research and [...]
April 24, 2009
Buzz About New Honeybee Specialist
Ramesh Sagili arrived in Corvallis in February to start a honeybee research program targeting mites, pesticides, stress and nutrition. The new OSU bee specialist is part of an initiative to help ensure that there are enough healthy honeybees to pollinate Oregon’s crops. Sagili says Varroa mites, nutritional deficiencies or other factors might be the cause [...]
April 24, 2009
Kearney Hall, Showcase for Civil Engineers
An antiquated building on OSU’s northeast corner has undergone a thoroughly modern makeover. Celebrants who attend Kearney Hall’s grand opening on May 15 will observe its 19th-century heritage faithfully refurbished on the exterior. But on the inside, Kearney has been utterly transformed. With its recycled materials, nontoxic finishes, salvaged woods, efficient lighting, low-flow fixtures and [...]
April 24, 2009
Eat Locally, Market Globally
Dann Cutter has maintained a reactor on a nuclear submarine and, for the past 12 years, kept the computer networks running at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. He serves on the Waldport, Oregon city council and two state advisory boards (rural health care and transportation). Why, then, would he return to college for [...]
February 24, 2009
Chemistry Goes Green in New OSU-UO Center
Creating more efficient, environmentally friendly electronics manufacturing practices is the goal of a new Green Materials Chemistry Center at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon.
February 24, 2009
On Course
Rob Golembiewski isn't letting the grass grow under his feet
Rob Golembiewski wears a size-13 shoe, but that’s nothing compared with the shoes he has to fill. The former head of the golf and turf management program at the University of Minnesota’s Crookston campus has replaced Tom Cook as the director of Oregon State University’s turf management program. Thirty-one years ago, the hardworking and revered [...]
February 22, 2009
Once and Future King
Salmon could rebound if we’re willing to pay the price
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were early witnesses to the majesty that is the salmon in the Pacific Northwest. When the explorers first came upon the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia rivers, they observed a scene that was both confusing and awe-inspiring. Wrote Clark: “This river is remarkably Clear and Crouded with Salmon in [...]
September 23, 2008
Air Beneath Their Wings
Five undergraduates — five dreams. Blake Kelley sees a bright future for nuclear power and is learning all he can about reactor designs. For Hiromi Omatsu, the future is in technology that enables elderly people to stay in their own homes. Writing is Stephen Summers’ love. He publishes poetry and fiction in OSU’s student literary [...]
September 23, 2008
Fear and Loading
Whether you venture onto a few wooden planks over a trout stream, a steel colossus over a swift river or a concrete viaduct carrying bumper–to–bumper commuters, you trust the beams and girders to hold you up. This act of faith, made daily by millions of motorists on U.S. highways, was shaken last summer when a [...]
July 19, 2008
Horse Power
New facilities strengthen treatment options
When a horse develops an infection, its owners usually turn to a rural veterinarian. But when lameness strikes an Oregon Appaloosa or quarterhorse, rural vets increasingly refer their patients to OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine for treatment. And with good reason. A team of highly qualified surgeons, working in facilities that just underwent a $12 [...]
July 19, 2008
Wired Fantasies
There’s a cyber-equivalent of souping up your car inside and out: “modding.” It’s part of the DIY (“do it yourself”) computer culture. Instead of gutting and customizing your ride, you’re modifying your PC. Modder Richard Surroz sees himself as a kind of PC Picasso, or perhaps a Rodin. “I can’t paint, I can’t sculpt, but [...]
January 23, 2008
Innovations to Market
Agriculture Tried Fizzy Fruit yet? Or the spicy hazelnut mix Oregon Dukkah? Scientists and entrepreneurs have developed these and other new products at the Food Innovation Center in Portland. Other OSU-inspired foods include surimi, oyster shooters, microbrew beers, Umatilla Russett potatoes, Shay apples, Cascade pears, and Clearfield, Stephens and SuperSoft wheat. Forestry New soy-based wood [...]
January 23, 2008
Breaking Through
Researchers take it to the marketplace
When Larry Plotkin took a buy-out package from Hewlett-Packard in 2005, he aimed to start a new business in the mid-Willamette Valley. He was familiar with OSU research on transparent transistors, algae-generated biodiesel and microbial fuel cells. “This is world-class stuff,” he says. And he felt that the potential for new products based on OSU [...]
July 23, 2007
Found in Translation
Words and language have always fascinated Michael Goodman. Growing up in Florence, Oregon, he liked tracing the roots of words that most of us take for granted, and at Oregon State University, he has minored in Japanese. But it is his affinity for computers that is propelling the senior in the School of Electrical Engineering [...]
July 23, 2007
More Than Machines
TekBots bring students together
Educating tomorrow’s electrical engineers has come to this: Teamwork, creativity and ownership are as important as the principles of theory and design. All get rolled into a box that first-year Oregon State University students receive in their introduction to the field. Inside are circuit and charger boards, wheels, a steel roller ball and assorted electrical [...]
April 1, 2007
Minding the Dairy
Scientists reveal a killer’s M.O.
Little matters more to dairy farmers than the purity of their product and the health of their animals. So when Warren “Buzz” Gibson, co-owner and herd manager at the Lochmead Dairy in Junction City, Oregon, heard six years ago that an incurable cattle disease called Johne’s (pronounced “yo-knees”) could threaten his reputation for quality, he [...]
April 1, 2007
Growing Technology
From microbes to plants, OSU researchers are leveraging biological materials to develop a variety of new products. Here are some highlights: Cellulose Power Professor Michael Penner in the Department of Food Science and Technology is studying one of the holy grails of the bio-based fuel industry: the economical conversion of woody plant materials into ethanol [...]
February 1, 2007
Pressure’s On
High-strength building products
It was a great idea, just ahead of its time. More than 50 years ago, engineers came up with a way to increase the strength and stiffness of wood. By applying steam, heat and pressure, they increased strength by about 250 percent. Problem was, strong wood was in plentiful supply. So, except for some minor [...]
February 1, 2007
Genes of Autumn
“Its leaves have been asking it from time to time, in a whisper, ‘When shall we redden?’” Henry David Thoreau Autumnal Tints, 1862 The magical transformation of autumn leaves inspires poets and awes observers. But the genetic triggers that produce those stunning colors have long baffled scientists. Until now. OSU researchers, studying aspens with scientists [...]
February 1, 2007
Canola Fuels Debate, Research
In the past couple of decades, canola has catapulted from obscurity to celebrity. The oilseed made its commercial debut in margarines and cooking oils, edging out more saturated-fat-laden competitors. Now it’s gaining stature as the ideal oil for yet another consumer product: biodiesel. But canola’s rising profile has not come without controversy. A type of [...]
February 1, 2007
Small Miracles
Harnessing nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has arrived. No longer do we just have to imagine the benefits. Advertisers tout them in cosmetics, clothing, batteries, dental adhesives, paint and golf clubs. In 2004, nanotech consultant Lux Research, Inc., estimated the worldwide sale of products containing nanomaterials at $158 billion. And new products are on the horizon: medicines, sensors, filters and [...]
February 1, 2007
Know Thy Customer
Companies as diverse as electronics manufacturer Hewlett-Packard and peat producer Sun Gro Horticulture are looking to the College of Business for research-based services to enhance their customers’ satisfaction. When HP wanted to improve user comfort with its digital projectors, and Sun Gro wished to expand its customer base for an innovative horse-bedding material, both turned [...]
July 23, 2006
The Weight of Wine
For Jim Kennedy, it’s all about mouth feel. The sensation of wine on the palate can be silky and smooth or coarse and hard. Wine experts call it texture.
July 23, 2006
Greening the Bottom Line
In the business world, profit has long been the standard for performance. Red ink on the bottom line raises red flags with investors. However, companies are increasingly judged on their social and environmental behavior as well as economics.
