(OSU Cascades HERS Lab Director Matt Shinderman and students are studying the Pika, a small animal that has adapted to the hostile environment of 9 square miles of lava fields in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument near Bend, Oregon | Photo by Rob Kerr / OSU Cascades HERS Lab field research pika research at Lava Lands Newberry National Monument Dining Hall, sms photos Residence Hall Rooms)
Research and other grant funding at Oregon State University – Cascades reached more than $5.7 million during the past fiscal year ending on June 30, a record for the Bend campus.
“OSU-Cascades researchers and experts increasingly fulfill our commitment to Central Oregon, the state and nation, advancing regional economic development priorities and contributing to a growing and innovative branch campus of OSU,” said Andrew Ketsdever, interim vice president of OSU-Cascades.
Research at OSU-Cascades contributes to Oregon State’s leadership as the state’s top comprehensive public research university. This past fiscal year research funding at Oregon State topped $471 million, a university record and the fourth time in six years that OSU’s research awards have exceeded $400 million. Research funding received by the university includes governmental awards for research; revenue from business and industry for testing, licensing and other partnerships; and land grant funding provided by state and federal agencies.
Several labs and researchers at OSU-Cascades received funding:
- The Northwest Bat Hub, a collaboration of researchers and citizen scientists housed within the Human and Ecosystem Resiliency and Sustainability Lab, attracted $607,775 from the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service to extend bat monitoring and conservation efforts. Considered a key species in ecosystems in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, bats have experienced a rapid decline in numbers in recent years.
- The HERS Lab attracted funding to support monitoring of pika, a small mammal vulnerable to climate change. The HERS Lab also received $54,831 from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to study the effectiveness of wildlife crossings in Central Oregon.
- Awards from the U.S. Department of Energy tallying $798,699 continued research underway in the Water and Energy Technologies Lab, led by Associate Professor Bahman Abbasi. The lab is working to develop transportable, modular technology to produce fresh water from seawater, as well as clean water from wastewater derived from fracking.
- A $153,604 grant from Portland State University supported a high school teacher training program led by computer science senior instructor Jill Hubbard, a member of the CS for Oregonteam, to further democratize access to computer science education.
- More than $84,500 in grants from Oregon Health & Science University funded work underway by Shannon Lipscomb, an associate professor in human development and family sciences, to determine ways to enhance a sense of resilience and belonging in young children.
- In the Laboratory for the American Conversation, an award of more than $36,000 from the National Science Foundation is advancing understanding of environmental change taking place in the Arctic. Funding from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is also supporting research underway in the lab to understand the socioeconomic and cultural impacts of changes in marine reserves and fishing efforts.
“OSU-Cascades researchers and experts advance not only innovation, but also sustainability, health and wellness, and diversity and inclusion as they collaborate to create a better Central Oregon and better world,” said Chris Hagen, director of research for the Bend campus.
OSU-Cascades’ total research funding in the 2021 fiscal year included $1.6 million in federal and NSF awards, $76,116 in grants from state agencies, and $46,909 in grants from local educational and nonprofit organizations.
