Paving the way to safer mobility
Civil engineering doctoral student Brian Staes recently earned his third Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship to fund his research into how people evacuate areas threatened by natural disasters such as tsunamis, hurricanes, and wildfires.
Realistic virtual labs are key to expanding online engineering degree programs
A project exploring differences in physical and virtual labs, which received seed funding from the Center for Research in Engineering Education Online (CREEdO), has now received $200,000 in additional funding from the National Science Foundation.
FY22 Research Funding Highlights
In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the College of Engineering notched its highest-ever total in research funding, with $75.8 million in awards — an increase of more than 17% over the previous record of $64.6 million, set the year before.
A blueprint for career success
From welder to community college to a degree in construction engineering management, Tausha Smith traces her path to becoming an Oregon State Engineer.
Mechanical engineering student aims for the stars
Graduating with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an aerospace engineering minor in June, Brittany Blanksma-Stark is eager to apply what she learned in the College of Engineering toward creating a better future—and, possibly, exploring new worlds.
Five College of Engineering faculty win early-career investigator awards
Five faculty in the Oregon State University College of Engineering have received prestigious early-career investigator awards from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
Student thrives at nexus of art and engineering
Robotics, marine energy, fine arts, and music. Graduating bioengineering undergraduate student Paris Myers has left her mark at Oregon State in a multitude of ways.
Kelsey Stoerzinger earns Department of Energy early career award
Kelsey Stoerzinger will use her Department of Energy early career award to design and test catalysts that facilitate the conversion of nitrate into ammonia more efficiently and sustainably than current methods.
Creating communities within the College of Engineering
Through her roles as student ambassador, Center for Diversity and Inclusion intern, and Engineering Student Council President, radiation health physics student Subisha Sundaram is passionate about supporting women and helping people of color in STEM.
Xiao Fu earns NSF CAREER Award
Training a machine learning algorithm can be costly and time sensitive. Xiao Fu will use his National Science Foundation award to reconceptualize the way training data is collected so algorithms can learn without supervision.
Bringing order, efficiency to mass transit design projects
The next time you hop on a subway or ride a train between terminals at an airport, give a nod to engineers like Chris Tyndall, B.S. civil engineering ’09. A design manager for Kiewit Corp.’s infrastructure engineering design group, Tyndall manages...
Public works leader earns national recognition
Delora Kerber, B.S. civil engineering ’83, director of public works for the city of Wilsonville, Oregon, was selected as a 2021 Top Ten Public Works Leader by the American Public Works Association.
Reaching new heights: Pioneering female engineer left a space-age legacy
When she arrived at Oregon State College in 1945, Elaine Gething Davis was the sole woman in her mechanical engineering class. She went on to became one of the first female space engineers at Boeing.
Pure water from a box is project’s promise
Paul Berg, B.S. civil engineering ’78, is working to give millions of people access to safe drinking water.
Oregon State Engineering students, alum earn NSF fellowships
Humanitarian engineering graduate students Ethan Copple and David Evitt, as well as bioengineering alum Melanie Huynh, have earned NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards.
Bioengineering faculty member stokes passion for interdisciplinary research
New bioengineering faculty Heidi Kloefkorn brings to the College of Engineering skills in developing noninvasive observation technologies, experience in degenerative and chronic pain models, and histological and electrophysiological tissue analysis.
Engaging through art
Dominique Bachelet, who sits on the Corvallis Arts Center exhibition committee, curated an exhibition titled “What Will Nature Do?” in the fall of 2021.
Designing sustainable outdoor products
Oskar Zehren and his classmates will be the first-ever Oregon State University students to earn a bachelor’s degree in outdoor products when they graduate this spring.
Yue Cao earns NSF CAREER Award
With support from the National Science Foundation, Yue Cao aims to create a universal modeling framework for different types of energy storage.
Houssam Abbas earns NSF CAREER Award
With his early-career award from the National Science Foundation, Houssam Abbas will develop a computation theory and tools to implement ethical systems underlying the control of autonomous systems such as self-driving cars.
Sensing opportunity
Electrical and computer engineering doctoral student Sanjida Yeasmin, part of the inaugural Outstanding Scholars Program cohort, develops noninvasive biosensors to assess health conditions with speed and precision.
Barbara Simpson earns NSF CAREER Award
With her early-career award from the National Science Foundation, Barbara Simpson will harness the massive parallelism of GPUs to create real-time hybrid simulations of complex structures.
Lighting new pathways for architectural engineering opportunities
Clotilde Pierson recently joined the faculty of the architectural engineering program, bringing to the College of Engineering new expertise in daylighting and its effects on the built environment and its occupants.
Predicting the behavior of neutrons with exascale computation
Todd Palmer, professor of nuclear engineering, leads the Center for Exascale Monte Carlo Neutron Transport (CEMeNT) in its quest to better understand the dynamic behavior of neutrons.
Materials scientist spins sustainable products
Kenya Hazell, materials science master’s student and GEM Fellow, seeks ways to sustainably create and apply polymer composites — unique materials with synergistic properties, formed by combining reinforcement materials with polymer matrices.
A circuitous path leads student to create light-sensing technology
Debbie Chou, a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering at Oregon State University, is a researcher at heart.
The softer side of electronics
Soft robots are made of pliant, supple materials, such as silicone. Some can squeeze through tiny spaces or travel over broken ground — tasks that stymie rigid robots. The field of soft robotics is still in the early stages of development, but it offers.
Intel engineer adapts computational chemistry skills learned at Oregon State
After obtaining his chemical engineering Ph.D. with a focus on computational chemistry from Oregon State in 2021, Kingsley Chukwu transitioned to a career as an electronic design automation tools software engineer at Intel.
Mechanical engineering student channels eco-friendly energy
Although Bridger Cook is just beginning his graduate studies in mechanical engineering after taking courses through Oregon State University’s Accelerated Master’s Platform, he started to prepare years ago as an energy systems engineering undergraduate.
Great strides
In a dramatic breakthrough for robotics, researchers in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University used a reinforcement learning algorithm operating in a simulated environment to train a bipedal robot to walk, run, hop, skip, and climb stairs.
‘If I make this, What will it do?’
Machine learning is making inroads into chemical engineering, where it’s helping researchers develop new nanoporous materials for a variety of applications.
Pulling back the curtain on neural networks
When researchers at Oregon State University created new tools to evaluate the decision-making algorithms of an advanced artificial intelligence system, study participants assigned to use them did, indeed, find flaws in the AI’s reasoning.
Using machine learning to accurately count species
Computer science and ecology may seem like an unlikely combination at first, but it’s exactly the niche Oregon State University assistant professor, Rebecca Hutchinson, envisioned. Her research uses machine learning and statistical modeling to help...
Lidar-based building information models
Oregon State researchers, led by Yelda Turkan, assistant professor of civil and construction engineering, are using deep learning algorithms to discover better, faster way for architects and engineers to design, construct and manage buildings.
Graduate programs in artificial intelligence
The College of Engineering launched a unique program for graduate study in artificial intelligence in fall 2021, with an initial cohort of about 40 students. Oregon State’s program is the first in the United States to offer both master’s
New NSE faculty member fuels collaboration
Sasha Chemey, newly hired assistant professor of nuclear engineering, often turns to sports to clarify how he envisions his new role. "As a chemist, I bring a different perspective. Hopefully, my role can help us play a little positionless basketball."
Curiosity leads to computer science master’s degree program
Once thinking he’d never study at a university, Daniel De León has been engaged in some deep learning for the past five years. Today he is a master’s student in computer science at Oregon State University and a GEM Fellow.
Promoting diversity in open-source software communities
Google recently named Anita Sarma, associate professor of computer science, one of 21 Award for Innovative Research (AIR) recipients for 2021. Sarma will use the funding to determine how to support diversity within open-source software.
The art of engineering buildings
Alex Saccente was going to study art when she went to college. Art was her passion, and she’d been painting and sketching for years. Her high school teachers had a different idea, though.
Stepping up and giving back
Electrical and computer engineering student Quentin Onyemordi found many mentors when he first came to Oregon State from Canada. Now in his fourth year, the incoming president of the NSBE student chapter is excited about doing some mentoring of his own.
Engineering success on the farm
Around Albany, locals know associate professor of mechanical engineering David Blunck and his family for their farm, Blunck Family Produce & Willow, where they grow a cornucopia of crops, including corn, cucumbers, zucchini, apples, flowers, and pumpkins.
Medicine and engineering: two sides of the same coin
Helena Raposo, who grew up in Brazil and moved to Portland during high school, says her main goal in engineering is improving people’s lives. Now that she’s recently graduated with a degree in bioengineering, she is taking a year off to continue research.
Roundabout flight plan leads to commission as second lieutenant
In 2018, Ellie Parker landed an internship at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. A rising junior at the time, she worked in the aeromechanics branch, helping to test Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, in the world’s largest wind tunnel.
Oregon State to play major role in AI research institute for agriculture
Oregon State University will participate in a new research institute that will develop artificial intelligence solutions to tackle some of agriculture’s biggest challenges related to labor, water, weather, and climate change.
Mending the environment with math and science
Pursuing a degree in ecological engineering — with a minor in environmental engineering — is a natural extension of Katelin Godwin’s upbringing, her lifelong awareness of the fragility of the natural world, and her sense of obligation to protect it.
From Ayacucho to Corvallis, seeing is believing
Peru native Lucia Gómez Hurtado has been busy in the lab—examining the degradation of materials in nuclear reactors—and out of it—serving in leadership roles for student chapters of the American Nuclear Society and the Society of Women Engineers.
Laying the foundation for an exciting career
The College of Engineering added its architectural engineering bachelor’s degree program in 2019 — the first in the Pacific Northwest and only the second west of the Rockies. In June, its inaugural class of five students will receive their degrees.
New AI degree program prepares leaders of ‘the next industrial revolution’
This fall, the College of Engineering is launching what will be the first graduate program in the United States to offer both master’s and doctoral degrees in artificial intelligence as an interdisciplinary field of study.
Becoming a student of leadership
Fourth-year computer science major Anjali Vasisht hopes to leverage her excellent education at Oregon State, internships at high-profile tech companies, and student chapter officer experience to become a leader in the technology industry.
Mechanical engineering helps student prepare for takeoff
Over the course of her college career, fourth-year mechanical engineering major Kristen Travers has discovered a love of thermal fluid science and propulsion.
Brewing up a refreshing research project
Chemical engineering major Riley Humbert has spun her interest in home brewing into a honors thesis about the how a wild yeast affects the fermentation and flavor of beer.
Shrinking concrete’s carbon footprint
A whopping 5% to 8% of the carbon released into the world’s atmosphere comes from the production of cement, a key component of concrete. At Oregon State University, researchers are developing numerous ways to reduce that load and related climate impacts.
Powering back up in the aftermath of the big one
In the aftermath of a 9.0 magnitude Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, the electrical grid will experience extensive damage. Ted Brekken is assessing the power grid of the entire Western U.S. to tell policymakers how to boost the grid’s resilience.
Putting robots to work down on the farm
Joe Davidson wants to offload the backbreaking work of handpicking delicate fruits and vegetables to robots. He’s also enlisting machines in the effort to prune fruit trees and make decisions about how much water, fertilizer, and pesticide they need.
Changing course
Two Oregon State researchers are making computer science education more accessible (and interesting) to a broad variety of Oregon middle school and high school students
Advisors help students find stability in a landscape rocked by COVID-19
In the days following March 18, the date Oregon State University announced that all courses would be conducted remotely during the spring term in response to the COVID-19 health emergency.
Beavers Care Initiative helping engineering students in need
College of Engineering students at Oregon State University who are beset by financial woes caused by the COVID-19 health emergency are getting fast and crucial relief from the college’s Student Emergency Fund.
The last mile: Caregiver clears pandemic hurdles to earn degree
Chris Gomez from WellStar North Fulton Hospital was on the verge of earning his master’s degree in radiation health physics through OSU Ecampus. But the COVID-19 public health emergency threatened to delay the completion of his degree.
NSF selects graduate research fellows from Oregon State
NSF selects graduate research fellows from Oregon State
Jennifer McKee sews the way to safety
Jennifer McKee with sewing assistants Rupert (left), and Rosie, who “could care less.” McKee is wearing the first mask she made, which she puts on when venturing out for essential errands.
Rescuing spring term: The unsung heroes of tech support
As Oregon State University scrambled to prepare for home-based remote teaching in the spring term, the faculty turned for help, in great numbers, to the information technology staff.
'We will get through this together'
Ten days before the start of the spring term, Bryony DuPont was readying her new home office and preparing strategies for an entire 10-week academic quarter of remote teaching.
Oregon State engineering undergrads earn coveted Goldwater Scholarships
Juniors Tucker Holstun and Yesh Godse are among 396 college students to receive the award for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Thinking big with minigrids
Phylicia Cicilio, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, integrates renewable energy sources that combine small-scale electric generation with village-sized distribution.
Powered by the Sun
Oregon State Engineers are developing a new generation of energy storage and production technologies that could shake up the solar power landscape.
Flow state
Wade Marcum, professor of nuclear science , is researching the use of liquid sodium and reactor core coolant and increased reactor efficiency.
Turning dirty water into clean energy
Tyler Radniecki, associate professor of environmental engineering, is partnering with local water utilities on wastewater treatment processes.
Wave power
Bryony DuPont, associate professor of mechanical engineering, helps manufacturers of wave energy converters optimize their devices for performance, cost, and reliability.
Leading from within
Sneha Sinha, industrial engineering student, works to address issues of representation and change the stereotype of a typical engineer.
The fight to protect infrastructure
Burkan Isgor, professor of infrastructure materials and the John and Jean Loosley Faculty Fellow, has developed tests to measure the impact of microbes on infrastructure.
Sticky business
Kaichang Li, professor of chemical engineering, researches plant-based adhesives that have significant advantages over traditional adhesives made from petroleum-derived products.
Layer by layer
Brian Paul, professor of manufacturing engineering, and Somayeh Pasebani, assistant professor of advanced manufacturing, are developing a new generation of metal additive manufacturing technology.
Burning to understand
David Blunck, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been chosen to spearhead a new four-year, $2.1 million effort to study the burning of live fuels, such as live trees and bushes.
Oregon's combined strengths focus of newfound partnership
Ducks, Beavers turn Civil War rivalry on its ear in the name of medical discovery and advancing scientific impact.
Ultrasensitive sensor detects trace amounts of gas
In 2012, Oregon State researchers partnered with the National Energy Technology Laboratory to develop an ultrasensitive, low-cost sensor that...
Small things
Melissa Santala, assistant professor of materials science, uses transmission electron microscopy to understand the microstructure behavior of materials and chemical process efficiencies.
Surface smarts
Chih-hung Chang, professor of chemical engineering, develops thin films and nanomaterials that have potential applications just about everywhere, from ski slopes to solar farms.
Driving innovation
Erdem Coleri, assistant professor of infrastructure materials, is making advances in reducing roadway costs while improving performance at the beginning of the pavement life cycle.
Digital materials science
Pallavi Dhagat, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing an experimental printer that uses inks composed of dielectric and magnetic nanoparticles.
Core concern
Samuel Briggs, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, and Julie Tucker, associate professor of materials science, are developing materials that survive harsh conditions of nuclear reactors.
A reluctant student winds her way to Oregon State and her engineering dream job
Valerie Byxbe vowed never to go to college, and she kept her word for a good while.
Charting a course in bioengineering
Oregon State’s interdisciplinary graduate program in bioengineering provides highly individualized research experiences.
Radiation health physics student represents U.S. nuclear policy overseas
Heather Bell is earning a degree online while leading the U.S. Department of Energy at an embassy abroad.
Hack
Yeongjin Jang, assistant professor of computer science, uses his skills to find and fix weaknesses in software.
Securing a future of abundant fresh water
Bahman Abbasi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is leading a team of researchers to develop a modular, portable, self-contained desalination plant.
The promise and peril of AI
Julie A. Adams, professor of computer science, is working to ensure AI technologies do not outpace our ability to understand and adapt to their far-reaching impact on society.
Defense against the dark arts
Rakesh Bobba, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been working to establish Oregon State as a leader in educating cybersecurity students at every level.
Cheap detectors keep the peace
Abi Farsoni, associate professor of nuclear science and engineering, is working to develop new, less expensive technologies for nuclear treaty verification.
Marching to the beat with many drummers
Robyn Wells, mechanical engineering major and Honors College student, is combing her time in the Oregon State band with a research project on workload and physical discomfort.
Tracking antibiotic resistance in the canals of Ho Chi Minh City
Tala Navab, assistant professor of environmental engineering, has been examining the prevalence of multiple-antibiotic-resistant enteric bacteria in septic systems and soils in Vietnam.
Revolutionary testing for food-supply safety and illicit drug use
Alan Wang, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is developing new biosensors that could transform how, and how often, we monitor food-borne contaminants.
Targeting tumors with 3D animation
Two professors are advancing mathematical modeling to make 3D images more realistic and help medical professionals better target cancerous tumors.
Nanotechnology breakthrough
Greg Herman, professor of chemical engineering, and Xiaosong Du, postdoctoral fellow, have developed a means of printing transistor-based glucose sensors onto a catheter attached to a wearable pump.
From an uncertain start, computer science major streaks to the top
Through sheer resolve and hard work, and with unwavering support from some dedicated faculty, Alannah Oleson found her footing and blazed a trail of her own.
Energy-efficient solutions for wastewater treatment
Tyler Radniecki, assistant professor of environmental engineering, is researching promising wastewater treatment systems that rely on complex microbial processes.
Community matters
Lewis Semprini, distinguished professor of environmental engineering, is working to build strong, healthy communities that thrive on toxic waste.
From forests to faucets: Improving watershed health
Meghna Babbar-Sebens, associate professor in water resources engineering, identifies locations in watersheds where “green infrastructures” can be created to help biosystems purify waterways.
Clean water for a thirsty region
Jack Istok, professor of water resources engineering, is developing new technologies to ensure clean water by employing microorganisms to consume groundwater contaminants.
Advancing access to safe drinking water
Nordica MacCarty, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is developing and testing a new water purification system and is investigating ways to support its deployment across the globe.
For adventurous triplet Oregon is home but the world is her classroom
Triplet Kylee Mockler Martens, chemical engineering graduate, found the world was her classroom after a 10-week internship with Unidad de Desarrollo Tecnolólgico (UDT) in Concepcion, Chile.
Doctoral student Masoud Ghodrat Abadi stays on the move
Masoud Ghodrat Abadi, doctoral student in transportation engineering, is evaluating bicyclist behavior in dense urban areas using Oregon State’s bicycling simulators.
Pooling resources to prepare for the worst
Researchers in the College of Engineering are collaborating across multiple disciplines to strengthen lifelines and create more resilient communities.
Inspiring student innovation
Few things are more rewarding for graduate engineering students at Oregon State than a research partnership with a national laboratory.
Turning “what-ifs” into realities
Oregon State and other universities benefit from involvement in the National University Consortium because their cutting edge research can be directed toward strategically funded projects.
Pushing boundaries together
Engineering students and faculty are benefiting from recent donations of state-of- the-art testing equipment from Tektronix Inc.
First Spain, then Denmark for this Fulbright scholar
Fulbright Scholar Caitlyn Clark has done research in Spain and Ireland. Next stop — Denmark.
Actor turned engineer
Vishvas Chalishazar now works to make the electrical grid more robust and resilient
2017 Engineering Graduate Research Showcase
Students share passion for research and learn new skills
Taking the gamble out of nuclear fuel supplies
Todd Palmer, professor of nuclear engineering, uses Monte Carlo simulations to find alternate nuclear fuel supplies.
'Explainer in Chief' Retires
Distinguished Professor Tom Dietterich, who is considered one of the founders of machine learning, is retiring this year from Oregon State University, where he spent his entire career of 31 years.
Combining passions to impact the environment
Rebecca Hutchinson’s work in computer science focuses on advancing ecological research.
National Science Foundation program entices students to burgeoning robotics program
Samantha Hemleben and Pavel Zaystev work with Professor Ross Hatton modeling jumping spider movement on an air hockey table.
