Leonardo da Vinci combined the practical and the beautiful, the mechanical and artistic. At the 2013 da Vinci Days festival in Corvallis, Oregon State University scientists, engineers and mathematicians shared their journeys under Antarctic sea ice, to an African village, to Mars and through a mathematical landscape.
The “Forgotten Fish,” an ancient (and threatened) species native to Oregon’s rivers, found many new supporters among the hundreds who enjoyed da Vinci Days in July.
On average, an individual encounters about 80,000 synthetic chemicals every day. So says Robert Tanguay, a toxicologist at Oregon State University. Many of those chemicals — from fire retardants in fabrics to drying agents in paint — are untested for toxicity to people. Tanguay and his research team are working to change that. Their results are helping those who make the products we use as well as those who use them.
Monitoring northern house wrens provides clues to sustainable forest management.
Kristin Jones’ research aims to discover whether intensive forestry practices, such as herbicide use, interfere with wrens’ habitat.
“Today we have the best available science seated at the table, which enables stakeholders to have a more constructive dialog of how to manage the resources for future generations.”