Environmental engineering researchers at Oregon State University are using cutting-edge technology to better understand biofilms – communities of microorganisms that play a vital role in the environment. This research, led by Dorthe Wildenschild, professor and DeVaan Chair and Executive Director for Clean Water Technology, is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioimaging Research Program.
Mark Bransom, CEO of Klamath River Renewal Corp., delivered the third Dean’s Distinguished Lecture to a rapt audience on May 21 at the LaSells Stewart Center. The occasion, which was tied thematically to the Clean Water Showcase the following day, served as a celebration of sorts for the monumental effort Bransom led in KRRC’s removal of four of the six dams along the Klamath River, the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history.
Elise Cordle’s senior year at South Albany High School ended abruptly (and three months early) with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Classes were canceled; graduation celebrations were postponed. But that didn’t thwart Cordle’s ambition to be the first in her family to attend college.
“College is something that was always talked about in my family,” Cordle said. “My parents would have attended if they’d had the opportunity, and it was something they really wanted for me.”
The College of Engineering at Oregon State University is poised to strengthen its already substantial efforts in ensuring communities in Oregon and beyond have access to clean water, thanks to two new faculty appointments made possible by support from the college’s wider community.
Bahman Abbasi has always been driven to help those in need and protect the environment. As an associate professor of mechanical engineering at OSU-Cascades, he’s doing this by innovating ways to bring clean water to the world.
Kyle Proctor had no agricultural background before pursuing his doctorate in water resources engineering at Oregon State, yet he soon found himself growing endless rows of plants beneath solar arrays at the university-operated Vegetable Research Farm.
When asked why she has focused her career on water, Meghna Babbar-Sebens has a simple answer: “Water is life.”
Clean water is precious in India, where she grew up. According to a recent report by the World Bank, India contains 18% of the world’s population, but just 4% of the world’s water resources.
