About Interdisciplinary Scientific Research at the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences is positioned at the forefront of the emerging field of
integrative science because of the university’s widely emulated tradition of organizing research around
interdisciplinary and interdepartmental research institutes and centers reporting to the UO vice president for
research. The only Oregon member of the Association of American Universities, the UO is classified by the Carnegie
Foundation as a doctoral-granting university with high research activity.
Highlights:
1959 Physical biochemist Aaron Novick becomes founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biology, a leader in the development of new interdisciplinary fields such as beneficial microbiology.
1961 The Institute of Theoretical Science is formed, bringing together several interrelated disciplines that encompass mathematics, theoretical chemistry, and theoretical physics.
1970 Biology Professor George Streisinger is the first to adopt zebrafish as his preferred research subjects because the development of their transparent young can be observed and monitored.
1980’s U.S. Sen. Mark O. Hatfield’s leadership results in Congressional and state legislative funding to build new science buildings and remodel older science buildings on campus. The $45.6 million result provides the setting for the university's premier science programs.
1981 With support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the Chemical Physics Institute and an associated shared laser laboratory are established.
1982 Streisinger becomes the first scientist to clone a vertebrate (zebrafish).
1985 The Oregon Legislature allocates funding to establish five Centers of Excellence in advanced science and technology at the University of Oregon in: Biotechnology, Computer Science, High-Energy Physics, Materials Science, and Optical Science.
1985 The Materials Science Institute (chemistry, physics and biology) is formed to bolster research and graduate education supporting expansion of Oregon’s high-technology industrial base.
1986 The Institute of Neuroscience is formed, with interdisciplinary teams focusing on research issues of mutual interest at various biological levels including cellular neuroscience, developmental biology, excitable systems, neural plasticity, and cognitive neuroscience.
1989 Dedication of the Willamette Science Complex, financed primarily by a $33.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and $12 million from Oregon lottery proceeds.
1990 The UO Center for Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention becomes one of eight national centers for research on mental processes and brain function.
1990 A grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation establishes a focused research program in cognition, learning and instruction in the UO Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences.
1993 A combination of funding from the W.M. Keck Foundation and the National Science Foundation establishes one of the nation's first integrated image analysis facilities for research in the earth and materials sciences at the UO.
1997 The Oregon Center for Optics is established, replacing the Chemical Physics Institute and bringing together researchers studying new uses of lasers and optical devices in basic science and technology.
1997 The UO Brain Biology Machine Initiative (BBMI) is launched. Since 1999, the Oregon federal legislative delegation has secured $16.3 million in research support for BBMI activities.
1998 A National Institutes of Health grant ($4.3 million) establishes the Zebrafish International Resource Center, cementing the UO’s position as the world’s top zebrafish research facility.
1998 Chemistry professors Jim Hutchison and Ken Doxsee develop the pilot program for the university’s world-leading green chemistry education program.
1998 The Materials Science Institute establishes the Graduate Internship Program which integrates industry or university-level internships into individualized graduate education programs. The UO is now seventh in the nation for the number of master’s degrees awarded, largely as a result of this innovative program.
2000 Formation of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) including the UO, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, and the world-leading "Silicon Forest" high technology industry cluster of Oregon and southwest Washington.
2002 The Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon is established.
2002 The Neuroinformatics Center is formed to research application of computer science and numerical computation to problems with brain modeling and imaging.
2002 The Lewis Center for Neuroimaging opens, quickly becoming one of the world’s leading interdisciplinary, multifaceted fMRI research facilities in cognitive neuroscience and biological fMRI imaging. The center, funded with a gift from Bob and Beverly Lewis, has a Siemens Allegra 3T MRI unit and full capabilities for the design and fabrication of MR coils to support a broad range of research needs and applications.
2003: The Oregon Legislature’s $21 million allocation to establish the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) as the state’s first “Signature Research Center” includes $9.5 million for a shared instrumentation facility at the University of Oregon.
2004: UO faculty members secure a record $90.2 million in contracts, grants, and other funding, ranging from basic and applied research studies to instructional and outreach activities. The total represents a 56 percent increase for external funding in just three years.
2005 Inventions earn the UO $3.5 million, a 77 percent increase from 2004 and the tenth record-breaking year in a row. University researchers produce 43 inventions, ink 30 out-license agreements and form three spin-off companies. The UO ranks in the top tier of the nation’s research institutions for licensing income per research dollar spent.
2006 Since the early 1990s, 19 new companies have grown out of UO innovations and research in areas of interdisciplinary excellence such as the neurosciences, biosciences, and education.
June 8, 2006 Public launch of the Integrative Science Complex, a two-phase building project that begins with groundbreaking for the Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories, a signature research center associated with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI). The second phase, a new science building, would add 100,000 gross square feet of top quality research and training space designed to facilitate integrative research collaborations.