IMPACT

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away — in Lake Oswego, Oregon — Joey Takach ordered a bunch of soundboards, accelerometers and other metal parts online.

College of Science alumnus Michael S. Waterman (Mathematics '64, '66) will be presented with an honorary doctorate at this year's university-wide commencement ceremony in Corvallis.

Ryan Holzschuh liked math as a teenager. He was even one of the top mathematics students at Cleveland High School in inner southeast Portland and took a year's worth of college-level math classes during his senior year in 2022. However, it took going to Oregon State University for Holzschuh to truly fall in love with numbers.

Mathematics alumna Megan Tucker navigated clouds with a pen. After jumpstarting her technical writing career at Amazon Web Services, she's found her voice answering the unspoken questions.

In the intricate languages of mathematics and biology, alumna Rachel Sousa, ‘20, is multilingual. Since graduating from Oregon State, she has bridged the disciplines through several prestigious research experiences and credits her success to seizing opportunities no matter the odds.

More than 150 years ago, Joseph Bertrand stated a mathematical theorem. Proving why this theorem is true hasn’t been a simple endeavor. Two College of Science alumni, along with professor Patrick De Leenheer, recently published a paper in the SIAM Review pulling back the curtain on Bertrand’s Theorem. Together, they wrote a proof that is accessible to undergraduate mathematics or physics students.

How does DNA move? How do cells communicate with each other? When it comes to these questions, it’s easy to think of molecular biologists behind the words. But as physics and mathematics senior Sullivan “Sully” Bailey-Darland knows, there are many more voices asking.

Even though 1+2 will always be equal to 3, Madison Collins strives to teach math differently so that students can learn better and discover something new along the way.

A third-year mathematics student has been named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

Math alumnus James Hansen jumpstarted his career as an actuary, completing half his degree while still in high school.

Genomics pioneer Michael Waterman (Mathematics ’64, ’66) receives the 2021 Lifetime Achievement in Science Award for his remarkable accomplishments that have brought honor, distinction and visibility to Oregon State University.

Jennifer Smucker, mathematics senior, heads to Virginia Tech in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in math. She hopes to be a role model for other women in STEM.

Two students from the College of Science have been awarded the competitive 2021 Goldwater awards.

Megan Tucker will graduate next month with a substantial amount of research experience under her belt: She was awarded the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship, which gave her the opportunity to work on an interdisciplinary team at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Albany, Oregon, during the summer of 2019. The new knowledge gained from her internship helped her land a job as a technical writer with Amazon Web Services — a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments.

Michael Kupperman was among the 20 percent of applicants accepted for a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The paid 10-week internship program is designed to encourage undergraduates and recent graduates to pursue STEM careers through research experiences at one of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories.

Patrick Franklin’s (BS ’89) mathematics education helped him adapt and thrive in some of the most competitive and iconic work places in America.

Mathematics senior Rachel Sousa found her passion in mathematical biology, motivated to work harder and break barriers in the notoriously male-dominated field.

For Rachel Legard ('19), a mathematics and business double major, participation and involvement in student and campus organizations has always been a priority.

Inspired by her mathematics professors, Sara Tro is headed to the University of Colorado, Boulder, to pursue a Ph.D. in applied mathematics.

Meet 2018 Presidential Scholars and science students Eli Nicholas and Jordyn Hamilton.

Greek astronomy and pi at the 2018 Da Vinci Days Festival.

Sarah Hagen, Branwen Purdy and Emerald Stacy share their enthusiasm for mathematics with the broader public.

The NSF Research Traineeship project on “Risk and Uncertainty Quantification in Marine Science” at OSU is preparing a new generation of natural resource scientists.

Math, physics and nuclear engineering senior Jesse Rodriguez isn’t your average student by most measures. A transfer student, Rodriguez enjoyed an incredible and wide-ranging learning experience where his classes in the different subjects led him to many wonderful insights about the deeper connections among his majors, and ultimately to a more solid understanding of science itself. He was one of just 26 students in 2018 to earn a prestigious Department of Energy fellowship that will pay for his Ph.D. at Stanford University to study plasma physics.

Math senior and baseball analytics expert Morgan Pearson was given job offers by two Major League Baseball teams—Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.

Math alumna Suzanne McGrath will receive the College of Science's 2017 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award for her achievements and leadership.

From humble beginnings to becoming an internationally celebrated mathematician and biologist, Alumnus Michael Waterman has shattered all expectations.

Alumnus Scott Clark ('08) was named to Forbes' 30 under 30 list for 2016 and wins the College of Science Young Alumni Award.