Portland State University College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Making a splash. Alida Cantor, geography prof, won our CLAS Researcher of the Year Award (Social Sciences).

She is particularly interested in the intersections of water with communities, food, energy, and urbanization. She leads several grants from the and the focused on environmental justice, water and community impacts of renewable energy development around the U.S. West.

Cantor will be celebrated during the annual Research Awards Ceremony on May 10.

Finding a cure for malaria. Papireddy Kancharla, a chemistry research prof, won ’s Research Faculty Award. 👏👏👏

His current research focuses on discovery and development of new, safe and affordable medicines for the prevention and treatment of various human diseases from synthetic and natural sources.

Kancharla will be celebrated during the annual Research Awards Ceremony on May 10.

This one’s a no-brainer. 🧠 Bill Griesar, psychology prof and cofounder of , won ’s inaugural Undergraduate Mentoring Excellence Award. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

He’s developed and taught neuroscience courses at PSU since 2001 and co-developed the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience minor.

Griesar will be celebrated during the annual Research Awards Ceremony on May 10.

Join us in transforming lives during PSU’s Spring Day of Giving on April 17! Support the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences by choosing from 22 funds that directly impact our community. Whether you rally behind specific departments, student scholarships, or our CLAS Student Hardship Fund, your contribution makes a difference.

🔗Link in bio to all of our funds and how to get involved.

New date, same great speakers!

Our Tag, We’re It event has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 23 — and we hope you’ll join us!

Inspired by ’s current exhibition Labor of Love, historian Patricia Schechter, geographer Pronoy Rai and scholar-activist Molly Benitez will take us on a journey of their work on labor: the seen, the unseen, and what it does to us. Q&A will follow.

We invite you to visit the exhibit before joining us for our talks. The museum is open on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Light snacks and sweet treats will be served.

🗓️: Tuesday, April 23
🕠: 5:30PM
📍: Academic and Student Recreation Center 515
🔗: RSVP at the link in bio!⁠

Installation image: Mario Gallucci

You've probably heard of PFAS, the "forever chemicals" that affect our health and the environment. Erik DeVore is here to shine a light on how the chemicals are used and how we can avoid them.

Read the full article on the Follow the Water blog: https://followthewater.info/peril-in-the-pipes-the-dangers-of-pfas-in-our-waters/.

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This post is part of our collaboration with Portland State University College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Dr. Alida Cantor's Water Resource Management class. Her class explored water policy, water quality and quantity issues, and environmental justice. Graduate and undergraduate students translated research for their final projects into creative forms that Follow the Water is excited to share.

Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland State University Profs. Judy Bluehorse Skelton and Emma Johnson discuss their collaborative work in Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) on KBOO 👇

Land-based Healing Judy BlueHorse Skelton (Nez Perce/Cherokee), Assistant Professor at Portland State University (PSU) and Emma Johnson (Cowlitz), Senior Instructor at Portland State University, both in the Indigenous Nations Studies Department discuss their collaborative work in Indigenous Traditional Ecological and....

“Students deserve to see themselves in the curriculum, and while students have always had the opportunity to take classes due to our offering the minor and the certificate, we wanted to take it a step further,” says Prof. Cristina Herrera.

👇 Hear more about the new Chicano/Latino Studies major on KOIN 6

PSU leads way with Chicano-Latino degree programs PSU launched this — the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest — at a time when ethnic studies are under attack in many parts of the country.

PSU Geology Prof. Jonathan Fink joined Think Out Loud to talk about how volcanic eruptions might factor into future disaster management.

Hear more 👇

PSU researcher looks at how volcanic eruptions might impact climate change disaster management Research from Portland State University shows that the increasing frequency of extreme weather events means they’re more likely to occur at the same time as a volcanic eruption – creating “compound disasters” that will challenge emergency management officials.

Prof. Cristina Herrera talked with KGW-TV’s Daisy Caballero about our new Chicano/Latino Studies major.

"Latinx's are the largest ethnic minority, the fastest growing in our region ... and we need more programs and majors like our students so they can find a home."

Hear more 👇

In a first for the Pacific Northwest, Portland State launches Latino/Chicano studies major PSU's Latino student population has tripled since 2011, and the university is on track to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the coming years.

Portland State University grad student Rebecca Bryant is carrying on her family’s legacy in the United States Air Force — but blazing her own path as a math researcher, thanks to a scholarship from the Department of Defense. 💯

Read more 👇

Flying high: PSU math student lands full-ride scholarship, Air Force job Portland State grad student Rebecca Bryant is carrying on her family’s legacy in the U.S. Air Force — but blazing her own path as a math researcher, thanks to a scholarship from the Department of D…

More from our Portland State University Department of Geography's collab with Follow The Water 👇