Majors: Physics
Hometown: Myrtle Creek, Oregon
Charity joined the race to find and detect gravitational waves as an undergraduate intern at NASA. Combing through a month’s worth of data from the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, she dialed in to just four milliseconds to check for gamma ray bursts. Though she didn’t discover new gravitational data, she made waves of her own, and presented her work to top NASA scientists.
Whether or not you’re enrolled in the Clark Honors College, you can earn honors through a number of departmental honors programs. Offerings and requirements vary, but generally include advanced upper division courses in your major and completion of a research project.
Majors: Biology and Chemistry
Hometown: Eugene, Oregon
Researching infections caused by nematodes can be hard, because you can’t test on a person. The solution? Species 34, a worm that hitches a ride on fig-pollinating wasps without hurting them. For departmental honors, Eric joined the UO’s Phillips Laboratory. He worked to trick the worms into thinking they’re on a wasp. By isolating the worms based on their islands of origin, he helped further our understanding of parasitic species. “Signing up for departmental honors helped solidify what I wanted to do as a career,” Eric says. “It truly gave me hands-on experience in the joys and challenges of research.” Now, Eric’s ready to take on a master’s program, right here at the UO.
Small, discussion-based classes with other high-achieving students and faculty mentorship are the hallmarks of the Clark Honors College.
Each year, the Knight Campus selects a handful of the most promising young students to be Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholars. The scholars are paired with research mentors—graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members—and immersed in a 12-month, comprehensive experience in Knight Campus-affiliated labs. The result? Researchers ready to tackle society’s most pressing scientific challenges.