IMPACT

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.

When it comes to healing cats and dogs in a sunny California beach town, emergency veterinarian Karianna Crowder ‘17 is up to the task.

“I was drawn to the sciences and less so to agriculture my whole life. When it comes to wanting to be a small animal veterinarian, I wanted to focus more on the science behind it,” Crowder said.

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.

Paul Kenis founded the California Wolf Center. Matthew Bacho helped confront AIDS. Deb Bellinghausen supervised a lab combatting periodontic diseases.

Now they are among the alumni who want to show their appreciation with financial donations to the microbiology department.

Kyle Ireton (Biochemistry & Biophysics, ‘12) has unconventional advice for students following in his footsteps: Don't follow him.

The College of Science community recently gathered to celebrate this year’s Alumni Award recipients. These alumni distinguished themselves through their groundbreaking research, strong leadership and efforts to enhance equity, access and inclusion.

Rather than being swayed by conventional markers of success such as titles and salaries, Parisa Khosropour (B.S., ‘89) advocates for the relentless pursuit of personal excellence. Khosropour is the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award for her professional accomplishments and mentorship that has brought honor, distinction and visibility to the College of Science.

Microbiologist Jo-Ann Leong never imagined that her quest for a new vaccine would ultimately change the world we live in today.

The remnants of ancient bacteria live inside each of us as mitochondria, structures in cells that are critical for life. Breakthrough work from Simon Johnson, B.S. biochemistry and biophysics ‘09, and his lab has shed new light on how dysfunction of mitochondria causes human disease. For his great strides towards a cure for mitochondrial diseases within a decade since his last degree, Johnson has received the 2023 Young Alumni Award in the College of Science.

The three years Peggy Cherng, ’71, spent in Corvallis powering through a four-year program in applied mathematics are a bit of a blur. A rainy, green blur.

Rachel Palmer, the new assistant director of career development in the College of Science has always "hit the ground running" and has no intention of slowing down. In this new position, Palmer aims to educate students on the importance of career development.

Meet Justin, 2009 Mathematics and Computer Science graduate, now an MES architect at Axonics Inc.