Spring 2024 17 B R I E F S MARINE SCIENCE ADRIENE KOETT-CRONN GETTING STUDENTS TO THE WATER NEW PROGRAM NURTURES MARINE AND COASTAL STUDIES. By Scholle McFarland Each year, hundreds of Oregon State students visit the Oregon coast and the Hatfield Marine Science Cen- ter in Newport. They learn to identify marine organisms and sketch tidepools (like biology student Abigail Sader, shown here); explore the physical workings of the ocean and coasts; and build transferable skills they can take into their profes- sional careers. ¶ Thanks to a new aca- demic support program created this school year — OSU’s Marine and Coastal Opportunities — getting students’ hands in the sand is becom- ing even easier. Housed in the Office of Academic Affairs alongside other university experiential learning programs, Marine and Coastal Opportunities is a hub that connects students and faculty with coastal programs, field courses and experiences like internships, as well as awards and scholarships. It spun out of OSU’s multiyear Marine Studies Initiative along with new programs like the College of Liberal Arts’ interdisciplinary marine studies degree. ¶ Last fall, 260 students representing nine colleges, 18 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs came to Hat- field as part of their studies. This sum- mer, 10 field courses at the coast will let students explore topics such as arts, ecology, biology, aquaculture and the human dimensions of conservation. FINDING A PLACE IN SPACE The future of self-driving cars will de- pend in part on Oregon State researchers helping to modernize the National Spatial Reference System, which underpins all U.S. surveying, mapping, precision agriculture and, you guessed it, autonomous vehicle navigation. The system received its last major update more than 40 years ago. The team will receive $6.5 million over five years from NOAA. HELP FOR RURAL SCHOOLS With youth mental health issues on the rise, school counselors are in short supply — especially in rural ar– eas. But Central Oregon will soon see some relief, thanks to a $3.9 mil- lion federal grant providing full tuition and a monthly stipend for as many as 75 students to earn their Master of Counseling degree at OSU-Cascades. In return, each will work as a school counselor in rural Oregon for two to three years. Learn more at beav.es/PATH-SC. KEY ADVANCE IN CARBON CAPTURE When people talk about fighting climate change, reducing emissions often takes center stage. But what about the carbon dioxide already in the air? As part of a $24 million fed- eral effort to develop new meth- ods for direct air capture of greenhouse gases, OSU researchers have discovered the chemical element vanadium reacts with and binds car- bon dioxide at a “Goldilocks” level of reactivity — neither too much nor too little — an important step tow- ard improved technologies for redu- cing CO2 levels in the atmosphere.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==