2024 Project Descriptions for Rogers Program

Summer science research

Paid Summer Research Enables Faculty-Student Collaboration

Over the summer, Lewis & Clark offers students paid, hands-on research experiences that rival those of graduate-level institutions.

NIH Grant Received for Innovative Neuroscience Research

2023 Rogers Science Research Tuesday Talks

Student-faculty collaborative research

rogers

2023 Project Descriptions for Rogers Program

Summer science research

NSF support for data science teaching and 6-12 outreach

Summer Research, Direct Experience

The summer gives students the chance to devote their full attention to research while learning from and collaborating with professors.

2022 Rogers Science Research Tuesday Talks

Student-faculty collaborative research

collaborative research, computer science, John S. Rogers Science Program, Physics, psychology

Students Present Original Research Alongside Faculty at Annual Rogers Presentations

Each year, undergraduate students across departments have the opportunity to participate in the John S. Rogers Science Research Program, which supports collaborative scientific research with Lewis & Clark faculty. At this year’s virtual presentations, projects ranged from an interactive game on earthquake preparedness to analysis on ideologies surrounding color blindness and racial passing.

Students Share Their Science Research Over Lunch

Each week in June and July, students in the John S. Rogers Research Program present their original findings in front of peers and faculty at the Science Brown Bags. The program is designed to prepare students for careers in science by facilitating student-faculty collaboration on research projects.

Recent Alumna Bridges the Gap in Science Policy

Student-athlete Katie Kowal BA ’17, winner of Lewis & Clark’s highest academic honor—the Rena Ratte Award—earned degrees in both physics and political science. As the Boulder, Colorado, native heads off to begin a two-year fellowship at the Science and Technology Policy Institute, Katie shares some of her favorite and formative Lewis & Clark memories.

Simran Handa BA '19 works with Greg Hermann, professor of biology and department chair, on his cell biology research. Handa is one of se...

A STEM Program Blooms

Lewis & Clark creates pathways to success for first-generation college students interested in science and math.

open to the public, research, rogers, science

2017 Rogers Science Research Brown Bag Presentations

Student research presentations

NSF Invests in Lewis & Clark to Diversify the Science Teacher Pipeline

Recruiting and preparing a workforce of K–12 science and math teachers for an increasingly diverse group of students is crucial to improving science education. A new $125,000 National Science Foundation grant to Lewis & Clark will help to fund its STEM Teacher Pathways Project.

Science Illustration Workshop

Are you interested in learning how to draw different types of plants, bugs, and mammals? Do you have an interest in exploring how to tie together the arts and sciences? Then a Scientific Illustration workshop is for you! A Scientific Illustrator will be visiting campus the weekend of April 7-9 to lead three Workshops. If you are interested and want to sign up for one of these sessions, or want to learn more, click here!

Thank you to SAAB, the Biology Department & the Watzek Library for supporting this event.

Lunch with a Leader- Register for Free Lunch with Industry Leaders

Lunch with a Leader provides opportunities to converse with industry leaders in a casual setting. Learn more about career paths and industry trends while you enjoy a free lunch. This semester’s guests include, Emma Mcilroy of Wildfang, Marcus Harvey of Portland Gear, Documentary Filmmaker, Brian Lindstrom ’84, and Kazi Huque of Grameen-Intel. Registration is required.

NIH supports Wormland, too

NIH AREA Award to Dr. Greg Hermann’s research program

Assistant Professor of Biology Tamily Weissman-Unni Wins Major NSF Award

The pursuit of a better understanding of how the brain grows and functions is the goal of Tamily Weissman-Unni’s research laboratory. Now Weissman has been named a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award that will support her research and teaching over the next five years.

research, rogers, science, student

2016 Rogers Science Research Brown Bag Presentations

Student research presentations

Summer student research: Immigration and incarceration

Maggie Costello ’16 and Sofia Knutson ’16 spent the summer working with Professor of History Elliott Young to study the relationship between immigration and incarceration in the United States and Mexico. They reflect on this experience in the following Q&A.

Julian Harris '16, Kenzie Batali '15, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Casey Jones

Summer student research: Red wine and heart disease

Kenzie Batali ’15 and Julian Harris ’16 spent the summer working with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Casey Jones to find a potential treatment in red wine for coronary heart disease. They reflect on this experience in the following Q&A.

NSF to support research on pesticide degradation

Professor of Chemistry Louis Kuo has been awarded a $220,116 National Science Foundation grant in support of his research on the degradation of organophosphate (OP) pesticides.

Aojie Zheng '15 and Assistant Professor of Physics Shannon O'Leary

Summer student research: Measuring magnetic fields

Aojie Zheng ’15 is working with Assistant Professor of Physics Shannon O’Leary to study how laser light can be used to detect and measure magnetic fields. She reflects on this experience in the following Q&A.

Summer student research: Designing crystallographic labs

Owen Phillips ’16 is working with Professor of Chemistry Louis Kuo to design exciting lab assignments for chemistry students, while also studying crystals. He reflects on this experience in the following Q&A.

Joel Schooler '15, Elijah Rebensdorf, Associate Professor of Psychology Erik Nilsen, Susan Heinselman '15, Noah Callaghan '15

Summer student research: Motivating healthy behaviors

Noah Callaghan ’15, Susan Heinselman ’15, and Joel Schooler ’15 are working with high school student Elijah Rebensdorf and Associate Professor of Psychology Erik Nilsen to study how our interactions with technology impact our motivation to be healthy. They reflect on this experience in the following Q&A.

Students honored at prestigious computing conference

John Sibandze ’15, Samuel Kelly BA ’14, Christian Dicker BA ’14, Sam Dodson BA ’13, and Danielle Fenske BA ’14 won honorable mention for their poster titled “Viability of Parallel Prefix for Sequence Alignment on Massively Parallel Graphics Processing Units.”

Summer student research: Social cognition in children

Ashley Hufnagle ’16 has been working with Assistant Professor of Psychology Jennifer LaBounty to study how children respond to the psychological states of those around them. She reflects on this experience in the following Q&A.

Melanie Morris '15, Demi Glidden '16, Jennifer Lakeman '16

Summer student research: Flies and nicotine

Demi Glidden ’16, Jennifer Lakeman ’16, and Melanie Morris ’15 have been working with Assistant Professor of Biology Norma Velázquez Ulloa to study the biological impacts of nicotine on fruit flies. They reflect on this experience in the following Q&A.

Summer Student Research: Food on the brain

Emma Cook ’15 and Tate Sellers ’16 have been working with Assistant Professor of Psychology Todd Watson to study interaction between cognitive inhibition and high calorie foods.

Summer Student Research: Socially mobile peasants

Katie Keith ’15 has been working with Associate Professor of Economics Clifford Bekar to study social mobility among peasants of medieval England.

Summer Student Research: The making of memories

Sarah Lowenstein ’15 and Holly Thomson ’16 have been working with Pamplin Professor of Science Janis Lochner to study the science behind memory formation.

festival, keynote address, perception, science, symposium, visual arts

2014 SCIENCE WITHOUT LIMITS SYMPOSIUM

September 16 - 17, 2014

Art, Emotions and the Brain
From Neurons to the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan

September 16-17, 2014

We are very excited to have neuroscientist Francisco Fernadez de Miguel as our symposium keynote speaker. Dr. de Miguel, Professor of Neuroscience at the Instituto de Fisiología Celular-Neurociencias of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, UNAM, will discuss his work in uncovering our brain’s response to viewing art.

2014 Rogers Science Research Brown Bag Presentations

Students discuss their research projects during a series of brown-bag talks on Tuesdays in June and July. Each presentation is 15 minutes; there are generally 3-4 talks per session. For more information about projects see project descriptions.

2014

2014 Project Descriptions for Rogers and CELS Programs

Reuben Peterson '14 and Amaya Lucas '15 conduct research with holographic optical tweezers.

Students present research findings at Northwest conference

Lewis & Clark students presented a diverse array of research findings to an audience of more than 500 people at the Murdock College Science Research Program’s recent Conference on Undergraduate Research.

Powerful microscope provides new focus for sciences

With a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Lewis & Clark has acquired a laser scanning confocal microscope for research use by students and faculty in the biology, chemistry, and physics departments.

Students study energy generation and storage in metal oxide films

Keira Roberts ’14 and Luciano Santino ’14 are working with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Anne Bentley to study the controlled growth of metal oxide electrodes as they relate to energy storage and generation. In the following Q&A, the team members reflect on their experience.

Students expand the field of atomic optics with summer research

Alaina Green B.A. ’13 and Aojie Zheng ’15 are working with Assitant Professor of Chemistry Shannon O’Leary to investigate how laser frequency noise can be used to make precise measurements of magnetic fields. In the following Q&A, Green and Zheng reflect on their experience.

Flickr image of a zebra finch courtesy of Arnon Azmon.

Songbirds help student study effects of binge drinking

Devin Owen ’14 has the unique experience of working in a laboratory with Christopher Olson, a Post Doctorate Fellow at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU). The two are investigating the ways in which binge drinking in young adults can contribute to problems with cognitive development. They are also pioneering the use of songbirds in human behavioral research. In the following Q&A, Owen reflects on his experience.

Students investigate binge drinking, risky behavior

Melissa Newton-Mora ’14, Juliana Pirkle B.A. ’13, and Clackamas High School student Kyra Ortega-Schwartz are working closely with Todd Watson, assistant professor of psychology, to study cognitive inhibition in two different age groups: young adults and pre-school aged children. Their study focuses on behavioral impulses and inhibition. In the following Q&A, the students reflect on their experience.

Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences Liz Stanhope

Students connect hearing in humans to movement in fish

Daniel Blasher B.A. ’13, Sreyhiek Seng ’16, and Abraham De Leon, a student at Rosemary Anderson High School, worked with Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences Liz Stanhope to construct a computational model of sensory hair cells in the inner ear to better understand hearing in humans and motion detection in fish.

Student researches molecular defects that can cause Alzheimer’s disease

Ben Robinson ’15 is working alongside Professor of Physics Bethe Scalettar to study the ways in which high-resolution microscopes can help us understand memory formation. Their cutting-edge research contributes to a field currently studying the causes of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.

Students develop tools to expand cybersecurity knowledge

Miles Crabill ’16, Evan Damon B.A. ’13, Kaleb Ganz ’14, and Claire Humbeutel ’15 are working with Professor of Computer Science Jens Mache to integrate cybersecurity knowledge into undergraduate classrooms.

Students use holographic tweezers to study microscopic bubbles

Amaya Lucas ’15 and Reuben Peterson ’14 are working with Assistant Professor of Physics Shannon O’Leary to discover whether or not holographic optical tweezers are well suited in the study of microscopic bubbles.

Student researches neurons key to memory formation

Sarah Lowenstein ’15 is working with Professor of Chemistry Janis Lochner to research neuronal proteins and memory formation using high-resolution microscopy.

Students investigate the effects of invasive plant species removal

Michelle Garfias ’15 and Janel Hull ’15 worked with Paulette Bierzychudek, William Swindells Sr. Professor of Natural Sciences, to study the effect of removing invasive plant species from River View Natural Area in Southwest Portland.

Students’ summer research uses gaming to create smarter computers

Brandon Cieslak ’15, Samuel Kelly ’14, Sam Levenick ’15, and Rosemary Anderson High School student Kal Johnson are working alongside Associate Professor of Computer Science Peter Drake and Associate Professor of Mathematics Yung-Pin Chen to develop an artificially intelligent program to play the board game Go.

Students use games to increase problem solving skills in children

Desiree Etzel ’14, Marjorie Pichon ’14, and Steven Lucas ’13 are working with Associate Professor of Psychology Erik Nilson to research games that foster problem solving skills in young children.

columbia river, democracy, lubchenco, salmon, science, symposium

2013 Science Without Limits Symposium: Science and Democracy September 17 -18

L & C is hosting another Science Without Limits Symposium this fall , featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Jane Lubchenco Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University, former Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and one of today’s most highly regarded ecologists. Dr Lubchenco brings her scientific expertise along with her perspective on how science plays a role in our democratic society and here discussion titles invite a broad audience.

Summer Reading Group featuring “Compass & Gyroscope” by Kai Lee - Beginning Wednesday July 3rd in the Olin Lounge

Read about and discuss the future of salmon in the Columbia River: Is Restoration Possible?
“We are currently in a holding pattern since the salmon recovery problem has been largely domesticated politically. As a society we appear to be waiting for something to change, be it in the science, technology, economy, or even public attitudes, something that will shake us into a place where the problem becomes so apparent that a way forward is both clear and acceptable.”
(Lackey, Lach and Duncan, 2006)