USU CoS
Your July 2020 College of Science Newsletter
Research advances amidst COVID-19. Summer student research programs continue at a distance, student research funding awarded and Dean Maura Hagan announces retirement.
Dean Maura Hagan Announces
Retirement Plans for December 2020
Utah State University  Science  Dean Maura E. Hagan announces she is retiring from her post and from the university effective December 31, 2020. USU Executive Vice President and Provost Frank Galey announced Hagan’s decision publicly on Wednesday, June 24.

“We thank Dean Hagan for her outstanding service to the College of Science and the USU academic community across all of our campuses,” Galey says. “It is clear that the teaching and learning, research and discovery, and outreach and engagement by the college has made great gains under her leadership.”
Head shots of nine faculty members who were selected for Promotion and Tenure
Congratulations to faculty
selected for Promotion and Tenure!
Each year, faculty members are recommended and selected for promotion and tenure based on their outstanding contributions to their fields of study and Utah State University. Read about the College of Science faculty members who have been selected for promotion in the 2019-2020 academic year.
Chemistry Graduate Marina Fosso
Office of Research's New Website Offers Tips for Research Labs During COVID-19
The Office of Research has created a website with guidance for developing resources for your research lab during COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Visit the website for a COVID-19 specific SOP template. There are also examples of SOPs created by researchers on campus to aid you in developing a SOP for your lab.
 
The website will be continue to be updated with best practices and guidelines to help keep your research going during the pandemic and help you and your personnel avoid COVID-19 transmission.
Congratulations to the College of Science 2020 Minigrant Recipients!
Eleven Utah State University science majors are recipients of College of Science Undergraduate Research Minigrants for the 2020-2021 academic year. Awardees are Clay Barlow, Samantha Benovitz, Olivia Gornichec, Carly Lee, Brais Marchena, Madeline Measom, Anthony Peidl, Ray Poe, Jeremy Shaw, Josafat Vargas and Andrew Williams.

Each minigrant awardee receives a semester stipend of $750, plus department-matched funds of $250. Awardees in the current grant cycle received funds to support research during summer 2020, fall 2020 or spring 2021.
Above: 2020 Native American Summer Mentorship Program participant Alexis Stewart gathers sand samples near her Blanding, Utah home as part of a luminescence dating research project with USU Geosciences professor Tammy Rittenour. Photo by Vanessa Alba.
In the Time of COVID:
Undergrad Researchers, Mentors
Use Technology, Ingenuity and Grit
Initiated in 2014, Utah State University’s  Native American Summer Mentorship Program  was created with the express purpose of bringing scholars together to experience hands-on research in state-of-the-art labs and enabling them to get to know USU faculty, from a broad range of disciplines, one-on-one. With such emphasis on physically gathering, networking and advanced laboratory training, how could program organizers pull off a pandemic-induced spatially distanced event with success?
2020-2021 Science Unwrapped Speaker Schedule
Science Unwrapped Explores 'Brave New World' in 2020-21 Series
During the 2020-21 academic year, the College of Science's public outreach program, Science Unwrapped, explores the excitement and challenges of emerging science.

If public gatherings are allowed, events will take place, as always, on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. in ESLC 130. If social distancing remains, we'll explore remote delivery options. Whether we use a physical or virtual venue, we promise a provocative series!

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July 24