CHEMISTRY - Geraldine Richmond, the UO’s Presidential Chair in Science and a much-honored professor of chemistry, has been nominated to serve in the Biden administration as undersecretary for science in the Department of Energy. Richmond is one of 16 people recently nominated by President Joe Biden for positions in his administration.

COMICS AND CARTOON STUDIES, PHYSICS - The University of Oregon Science/Comics Interdisciplinary Research Program pairs artistic students with accomplished scientists to create dynamic illustrations that tackle subjects not normally seen in the pages of a comic book.

ENGLISH, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - UO professor Sarah Wald hasn’t gone down the TikTok rabbit hole, but she’s explored just about every other storytelling medium to examine issues of equity and diversity in outdoor recreation and public land use.

ENGLISH - UO English professor Tara Fickle has received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support her project “Behind Aiiieeeee! A New History of Asian American Literature.” The project examines a canonical and controversial Asian American literary anthology.

EARTH SCIENCES - As the newly appointed Ann and Lew Williams Chair of Earth Sciences, Diego Melgar studies big earthquakes and tsunamis—when and where they’re happening, and how to warn us as early as possible.

PHYSICS - Albert Einstein was wrong. That’s the message from University of Oregon physicist Eric Corwin, who is setting out to demonstrate why Einstein’s model of diffusion, a theory describing the movement of particles, does not accurately predict how some particles behave in the real world.

PHYSICS - A theoretical path to make artificial composite thin films in which sound waves can be stopped, reversed and even stored for later use has been accomplished by University of Oregon physicists.

BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Imagine a drug that could temporarily reenergize plasticity in the brain to treat autism or schizophrenia, or even help an adult’s aging brain pick up a new language or learn to play a musical instrument.

BIOLOGY - A research team led by University of Oregon biologist Lauren Ponisio has uncovered how native bee species may be best equipped to survive intensive agricultural practices and climate change in California’s Central Valley.

PHYSICS - Three University of Oregon educators who have worked to bring innovation and excellence to their teaching are this year’s recipients of fellowships from the Tom and Carol Williams Fund for Undergraduate Education.