Posted: Monday, February 4, 2008 12:00 am
OSU oceanographers named to union
Three Oregon State University faculty members from the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences have been named fellows of the American Geophysical Union.
The international scientific organization focuses on the understanding of the Earth and space and promotes research, education and outreach in fields including geology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, volcanism, seismology and others. Acceptance as fellows to the AGU is restricted to fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of its membership.
Selected from OSU were Dudley Chelton, Robert Duncan and Anne Trehu.
Chelton, an OSU faculty member since 1983, specializes in the use of satellites and remote sensing techniques to observe and measure large-scale ocean conditions, including temperature and circulation. He holds the title of distinguished professor at OSU.
Duncan, associate dean for student programs in COAS, is a marine geologist who has been at OSU since 1977. His research has encompassed such diverse topics as how "hot spots" form island chains in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the bombardment of the moon by meteors, and the role that volcanism might have played in the extinction of dinosaurs.
Trehu is the co-director of the National Science Foundation-funded EarthScope Office at OSU. A professor of marine geology, she studies the structure of the crust and lithosphere in the Cascadia subduction zone and coordinates seismic arrays to monitor earthquake activity throughout the West. She has been on the OSU faculty since 1987.
The three OSU faculty members will be honored at the American Geophysical Union's Joint Assembly May 27 to 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Nick Pisias, a professor in the college, was named a fellow in 1999. Emeritus faculty John Allen, Brent Dalrymple and Bernd Simoneit, all from the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, also are members.
CHS musicians selected for all-state groups
Five Corvallis High School musicians were selected to participate in the 2008 Oregon Music Educators Association all-state honors groups. The students were selected from hundreds of audition tapes sent from around Oregon. The musicians rehearsed for three days while staying at the Hult Center in Eugene and then performed at a gala concert on Jan. 27. The performance celebrated the close to the music teachers' three-day conference.
Performing in the all-state orchestra from the Corvallis District Camerata Orchestra were Kayla Reiman, a sophomore violin player, Rebecca Lomnicky, a sophomore violin player, Bryce Caster, a junior violin player and Carmella Dunn-Hartman, a freshman viola player.
Performing in the all-state band was Jenna Miller, a junior bass clarinet player.
LEGO robotics teams win state awards
Five area teams took home prestigious awards from the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League 2007 Championship Tournaments held Jan. 19 to 20 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro. The statewide competition brought together 113 winning teams from qualifying tournaments across the state to compete their custom-made robots in a competition focused on sustainable energy and the global "Power Puzzle."
The "Micro-Transformers" from Franklin School in Corvallis took first place for the Radisys Robot Performance Award. From Ashbrook Independent School in Corvallis, the team "Pizza Power" took first place for the Vernier Software & Technology Programming Award. Also from Ashbrook, the "Underwater Walking Lime Trees" took third place for the Bonneville Power Project Award. From Philomath, the "De-arrangers" from Philomath Middle School took first place for the Tektronix Innovative Design Award. Another Philomath Middle School team, the "Techno Wizards" took second place for the Vernier Software & Technology Programming Award.
The teams were:
Micro-Transformers, Franklin School - Kushal Agarwal, Ian Campbell, Patrick Corrigan, Sam Greydanus, Tyger Liner and Preksha Naik. Coach: Arun Agarwal
Pizza Power, Ashbrook Independent - Ryan Bailey, Andrew Miller, Parks Remcho and Miles Wehner. Coach: Rozeanne Steckler
Underwater Walking Lime Trees, Ashbrook Independent - Michelle Bermudez, Mariah McIntosh, Claire Meunier, Tracy Reasoner, Wynton Davis, Mathew Moreno and Alex Reasoner. Coach: Shelley Reasoner
De-arrangers, Philomath Middle School - Kalim Anders, Leigh Fair-Smiley, Stefan Faridani, Spencer Light, Conor Meade, Jackson Rain, Graham Shields and Eric Isaacs. Coach: Rory Plaire
Techno Wizards, Philomath Middle School - Ben McMorran, Trevor Rose and Jeremy Goodrich. Coach: Jeff McMorran
OSU grad promoted, honored at Pentagon
Aaron Larsen, the son of Gary and Kathy Larsen of Myrtle Point, was recently promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Army.
His promotion ceremony at the Pentagon was presided over by Col. John Angevine, who presented Larsen with the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for his service to the Pentagon and the Bronze Star for his recent service in Afghanistan, which was Larsen's second deployment to the Middle East. He served in Iraq in 2005.
The ceremony was attended by his wife, Carlene, and sons Raphael and Maximilian, his parents, Gary and Kathy Larsen, and family friends Sam and Connie Hunt.
Lt. Col. Larsen has been stationed in Washington, D.C., since 2004, assigned to the Pentagon. He recently graduated from the National Defense University's joint combined war fighting course in Norfolk, Va.
Lt. Col. Larsen and his family are scheduled to be posted in South America later this summer. He is a graduate of Myrtle Point High School, Oregon State University and the University of Arizona.
College honor roll
Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif. - Jordan Miles, a sophomore from Corvallis was named to the dean's list for the fall semester. He is double majoring in Diplomacy & World Affairs and Economics.
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich. - Jun Zhao of Corvallis was named to the dean's list for the fall.
Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont. - Tyler Naibert of Corvallis was named to the President's Honor Roll for the fall semester for a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
College graduates
West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas - Morgan Bussanmas of Philomath graduated in the fall with a Bachelor of General Studies.
Rotary Club benefits Uzhgorod orphanage
The Corvallis Rotary Club recently completed a project in Corvallis' sister city, Uzhgorod, Ukraine. Funds totaling $11,800 from Rotary plus $5,000 from an anonymous gift were used to purchase dental supplies for the Chaslivtsi Orphanage dental facility. Most of the supplies were purchased in Uzhgorod and included toothbrushes and paste, fluoride packets for the fluoride rinse program at the orphanage, restorative materials and instruments for the facility. This is the fourth year that the club has supported this project which provides dental treatment to approximately 100 orphan children. Previous to this, the children had no available dental treatment. The local organization, TOUCH, also supports this project. The project has been under the direction of Dr. Bill Paul, a local retired dentist and a member of the Corvallis Rotary Club.
Artist's works in national print show
KENOSHA, Wis. - A Corvallis artist's works are among 100 pieces showing at the 21st Parkside National Small Print Exhibition. Held in the Communication Arts Gallery on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus, the exhibition continues through Feb. 21.
Corvallis printmaker Yuji Hiratsuka's intaglio prints "Galaphant" and "Solemnities" are in the show. Images of the prints are available for purchase with a portion of the selling price helping UW-Parkside art scholarships. Pieces in the show were selected from more than 900 prints submitted by some 350 artists from across the country.
Grant allows students to compete nationally
A team of college students from Oregon State University has received a $10,000 grant that will allow them to explore the feasibility of implementing vegetable oil based alternative fuels within the special social, economic and environmental conditions in Third World developing nations.
The team, advised by David Hackleman, of the OSU Department of Chemical Engineering, is one of 58 university teams from around the country have been awarded EPA grants to work on sustainable solutions for environmental problems.
OSU's project, "Sustainable Biofuels Systems for Undeveloped Regions," will be demonstrated at the People, Prosperity and the Planet sustainability design competition to be held April 20 to 22 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The P3 awards are given to the six highest-rated student designs and include additional funding up to $75,000 for the teams to further develop their designs, test their projects in the field, and move them to the marketplace.