NEUROSCIENCE - New research in mice sheds light on the seemingly random brain signals that hum in the background of brains. These signals might help the brain switch between states of inattention or disengagement and states of optimal performance, UO researchers reported Oct. 14 in the journal Neuron.

EARTH SCIENCES - There’s a new saber-toothed predator in town — and it’s been hiding in plain sight. The fossil specimen, unearthed in Wyoming, was on display for decades at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. When it went off-exhibit in 2017 during a museum renovation, UO graduate student Paul Barrett finally got a closer look.

CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - UO chemist Geraldine Richmond has been confirmed as the new undersecretary of science and energy for the federal Department of Energy following a voice vote by the U.S. Senate.

COMPUTER SCIENCE - Ram Durairajan wants to future-proof the Internet, and three new grants will help him do so. The UO computer scientist has scored more than $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and $200,000 from the Internet Society Foundation.

CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - Amid a global effort to transition to more climate-friendly biofuel options, a UO chemistry professor is helping develop carbon-free fermentation technology. Shannon Boettcher, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received a $400,000, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

PHYSICS - When Italian physicist Giorgio Parisi was one of three scientists named last week to receive this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics, UO physicist Eric Corwin was elated to see his longtime collaborator recognized.

CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - A certain class of enzymes are an important player in cell biology because they frequently mutate and become major drivers of cancer. Now, a research group including Scott Hansen have developed a blueprint for these enzymes and identified where a critical regulatory protein binds to the enzyme, a finding with potential to help boost the effort to build more specific cancer drugs.

The Division of Graduate Studies is proud to announce the 2021-2022 recipients of the prestigious Raymund Fellowship.

BIOLOGY - Bee populations have been suffering sharp declines in recent years, part of a pattern of widespread loss of pollinator diversity and abundance. Now a UO biologist and former UO postdoctoral fellow have looked for ways to incentivize almond growers to adopt bee-friendly practices.

PHYSICS - A research team that includes two UO physicists have outlined new techniques for controlling the building blocks of quantum computing, a potentially significant step toward making such computers more accurate and useful. Physicists David Allcock and David Wineland are founders of the new Oregon Ions Laboratory.