GLOBAL STUDIES AND LANGUAGES - Two longstanding cultural bedrocks at the UO are joining the recently launched School of Global Studies and Languages. The Northwest Indian Languages Institute, known on campus as NILI, and the Yamada Language Center will become part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ newest school.

INDIGENOUS, RACE, AND ETHNIC STUDIES - Many were shocked by U.S. gymnast Simone Biles’ decision this week to withdraw from a premier event at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on mental health, a reaction that could be rooted in unrealistic expectations society places on athletes to be “superhuman,” UO experts said.

PSYCHOLOGY - Elliot Berkman, a psychology professor and associate managing director of the Center for Translational Neuroscience at the UO, wants to find out if a new technique, one that asks smokers to focus on the big picture, may help with smoking cessation.

ANTHROPOLOGY - A toddler who was found dead in Oregon 58 years ago has finally been identified, thanks to a concerted effort involving local, state and national law enforcement, genetic genealogists and UO scientist Jeanne McLaughlin, an osteologist and forensic anthropologist.

BIOLOGY - Gabriel Luna-Arvizu, a doctoral student in the lab of UO biology professor Dan Grimes and the Institute of Molecular Biology, has received a Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. The highly competitive national fellowship is awarded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - The Human Performance Alliance weaves together three synergistic scientific programs to accelerate high-impact advances in human performance: scientific moonshots, innovation hubs, and agility projects.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - A new study led by a UO researcher is raising the alarm that physically demanding work in hot temperatures could increase rates of kidney disease in the United States among workers who toil outdoors.

EARTH SCIENCES - Just three years after reporting the first-ever dinosaur fossil in Oregon, a team of excavators led by a UO geologist has uncovered a second bone, this one 103 million years old, at a quarry on public lands near Mitchell in Eastern Oregon.

DATA SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - The university’s chief academic officer has launched a campus-wide effort to build on strengths in academia, with initiatives in data science, diversity, environment, innovation, and sport and wellness.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - On January 29, the Brewers announced they were naming Sara Goodrum their new minor league hitting coordinator, making her what is believed to be the first-ever woman to hold that title for a major league franchise.