The Ohio State University-Cascades attracts more than $2 million in annual research awards and grant funding

Researchers at Oregon State University – Cascades received $2.3 million in funding during the latest fiscal year to address challenges as diverse as global freshwater scarcity, declining bat populations in the US Pacific Northwest, and the environmental impact on children’s health.

“Advancements in knowledge by expert faculty researchers, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students at The Ohio State University-Cascades are helping to solve real-world problems in our society and around the world,” said Sherm Blumer, Chancellor and Dean of The Ohio State University-Cascades. . “These dedicated researchers inspire undergraduates and the next generation to solve practical problems.”

Research at OSU-Cascades contributes to Oregon’s leadership as the state’s top overall public research university, with research funding at just under $480 million during the past fiscal year.

OSU-Cascades awards included $1.4 million from federal agencies and more than $760,000 from private foundations. Highlights of the past year include:

• Computer scientist Patrick Donnelly has received $638,000 from the Food and Agriculture Research Foundation to develop a smart compost bin that can measure food waste at home, providing consumers with a clearer understanding of their household’s sustainability.

• Engineering researcher Bahman Abbasi leads a team in the Water and Energy Technologies Laboratory where more than $380,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy has supported the development of technology to recover graywater from hydraulic fracturing. Additionally, Espiku, a company founded by Abbasi and launched through the OSU Advantage Accelerator. The company is developing technology that has been developed to convert salt water into drinking water through a patented, environmentally friendly process.
• The Human and Ecosystem Resilience and Sustainability Laboratory, led by co-directors Matt Shinderman and Tom Roodhouse, has attracted a $322,000 grant from the National Park Service for a collaborative project to collect native seeds and return propagating plants to natural lands where they can help build more. Resilient ecosystems.
• Awards totaling more than $273,000 from the National Park Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service will help researchers at the Northwest Bat Hub, a unit within the HERS Laboratory, monitor the health of bats and bat populations to support the conservation of beneficial mammals.
• Shannon Lipscomb, associate professor of human development and family sciences at The Ohio State University-Cascades, and research partner Molly Kyle, an environmental epidemiologist at The Ohio State University College of Health, received $264,000 from the National Institutes of Health as part of a multi-year study to advance progress. Understanding children’s health and development.
• Jill Hubbard, a computer scientist focused on transforming how computer science is taught in K-12 schools in order to help diversify the next generations of technology experts, is co-leading a $148,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. In collaboration with researchers from Southern Oregon University and William & Mary, she is looking at how K-5 teachers can integrate computational thinking into lessons across subject areas.

Funding also included $140,000 from Business Oregon and the Oregon Innovation Council for collaborative regional planning for an innovation hub that could foster economic development and encourage participation among underserved populations in the innovation economy.

In total, OSU-Cascades has attracted $11.6 million since its founding in 2001. To learn more about ongoing research at OSU-Cascades, visit OSUcascades.edu/research.

About OSU-Cascades: Oregon State University’s Bend campus brings higher education to Central Oregon, the fastest-growing region in the state. Surrounded by mountains, forests, and high desert, OSU-Cascades is a highly innovative campus of a first-class land-grant research university, offering small classes that accelerate faculty-student mentoring and experiential learning. Degree programs meet industrial and economic needs in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, natural ecosystems, health and wellness, and the arts and sciences, preparing students to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Ohio State University-Cascades is expanding to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students, building a 128-acre campus with net-zero goals.