16 OregonStater.org CREDIT TK N EWS END OF AN ERA MORE THAN A CENTURY OF FRIENDSHIP AND GIVING COMES TO A CLOSE FOR THE OSU FOLK CLUB. By Cora Lassen In the Corvallis Community Center’s Chandler Ballroom, a ghost appeared. The room was packed with women when Leonora Kerr burst into the room, wearing an elaborate black feathered hat, to roaring laughter and applause. She was the wife of William Jasper Kerr, Oregon State president from 1907 to 1932. And her appearance marked the final meeting of the organization she founded in 1908: the OSU Folk Club. Of course, this wasn’t a real ghost. On this particular October afternoon, the apparition was played by Freda Vars, M.S. ’66, a member of the Folk Club for 58 years and the club’s unofficial historian. Vars spoke of the club’s history. Founded as a networking and cultural group for women associated with the university, the club soon began supporting campus projects, including construction of the Memorial Union. Then came the Great Depression. “In B R I E F S COSMIC HONOR A discovery that opened a new window on the universe has earned Oregon State astrophysicist Xavier Siemens the Bruno Rossi Prize, one of the highest honors in high- energy astrophysics. Siemens led an international team of nearly 200 researchers, including OSU students, that detected low-frequency gravitational waves — ripples in space-time first predicted by Albert Einstein. The discovery revealed a long-theorized, universe-spanning background of gravitational waves produced by pairs of supermassive black holes slowly merging. PRINT. MOVE IN. Oregon State University researchers have developed a fast-curing, low-carbon building material designed to make 3-D printing homes and infrastructure faster and more practical. Unlike traditional concrete, the clay-based material hardens as it is printed, eliminating days-long curing delays and allowing construction across unsupported gaps such as window and door openings. Early tests show that it reaches residential-grade strength in just three days and reduces carbon emissions by replacing conventional cement with soil, hemp fibers and biochar. SKIP THE SCALPEL OSU College of Pharmacy researchers have developed new nanoparticles that make it possible to destroy melanoma tumors using low-power, skin-safe laser light instead of surgery or high-powered lasers that can damage healthy skin. The particles collect inside tumors and heat up when exposed to the laser, killing cancer cells while sparing surrounding tissue. In early mouse studies, tumors disappeared without invasive procedures.
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