Terra+ Spring 2015

Adrift in a Sea of Data
Stunning images of rare zooplankton garner worldwide citizen input.
They float in the ocean by the billions, these wandering animals whose Greek name means “drifter.” Most are smaller than a pinpoint, their adaptive peculiarities (whip-like propellers, bug-like antennae, hair-like fringes for foraging on algae) visible only under a microscope. Read More

Unraveling the Origins of Heart Disease
To tease out the complex interplay of immunity and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), biomedical researcher Stephen Ramsey has designed software that can analyze both gene expression measurements and genetic information. Read More

Wired for Sound
Just to look at it, you’d never know Daren Keck’s handmade gizmo is a musical instrument. A flat plastic contraption about the size of a thin, paperback novel, it bristles with wires of yellow, red, green and black alongside a row of stainless-steel switches. Read More

Oregon Welcomes Wayfaring Fish
They school silently in a big blue tank, their 2-foot-long bodies slipping through the saltwater like silken sashes. Read More

Every day, breaking news from OSU researchers makes headlines around the world. Here’s a handful of recent examples:

The treadmill desk, once viewed as an exercise panacea, hasn’t lived up to the hype, says researcher John Schuna. See NPR and Discovery News.

The vital role of fitness in health is overlooked in many medical schools, finds sports science professor Brad Cardinal. See Time magazine.

Winter blues can be traced to deficiencies in the “sunshine vitamin,” psychologist David Kerr discovers. See the Weather Channel.

Visit the Terra Website
The next issue of Terra magazine offers powerful stories of women’s successes in STEM fields, despite the stubborn biases that linger in American society. We will take you, too, to some of Earth’s most threatened coral reefs where you’ll see up-close what marine scientists have been warning us about. You’ll also meet a Korean-born consumer researcher who’s shedding new light on Internet shopping. All of this and much more is packed into the spring issue of OSU’s award-winning research magazine. If you’re not yet receiving Terra magazine, email us at terra.magazine@oregonstate.edu to request a free subscription.

Oregon State University is Oregon’s leading public research university, receiving $285 million in research funding for fiscal year 2014. Here we highlight a few of our most recent grant-funded projects:

Science for Society
Principal Investigator: Bruce Menge, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has awarded $2.25 million to Oregon State University for a program called “PISCO: Science for an Informed Society.”

Energy from the Sea
Principal Investigator: Belinda Batten, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the first year portion of $1.4 million of a total $4 million award to Oregon State University for lab and field arrays for marine energy.

Markets for Small Farmers
Principal Investigator: Larry Lev, Professor of Applied Economics
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded nearly $500,000 to Oregon State University to explore the potential of the specialty food market for small and medium-sized farms.

Transit for Working People
Principal Investigator: Jose Porter Medina, Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
The Oregon Department of Transportation has awarded $163,000 to Oregon State University to continue development of an Open Source tool for regional and statewide transit networks.