News

It’s Wednesday morning, and Portland State physics Professor Ralf Widenhorn isn’t standing at the front of a lecture hall, he is bright-eyed and addressing students in a research lab. Beakers and supplies are strewn all around, and in the back, one student balances on a scale to help plan a demonstration, with data being reported in real time in a graph on the computer. The PSU Science Outreach Society is deep in the planning stage of its next demonstration to be held at the Bagdad Theater in Southeast Portland.

On May 5, four Portland State electrical engineering seniors—Hung Minh Nguyen, Hoa Van Nguyen, Anh Viet Ngo and Thang Duy Vo—won the top prize at the Cornell Cup USA, a national embedded-system design competition at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. They competed against 22 other teams, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley, among others.

An overwhelming victory at the regional portion of the National Student Advertising Competition has the Portland State advertising team thinking of loftier goals.

In the regional competition on April 28, the team, known as 486 Advertising among its members, finished well ahead of second-place finisher and favorite University of Oregon in the District 11 regional.

Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, spoke to Portland State faculty, staff and students at a recent lecture on the state of higher education.

Starting in the 2012–13 academic year, Portland State’s Center for Academic Excellence and Center for Online Learning will become a single entity. The merger brings together what the two departments do while leaving out many overlapping aspects.

Last year, the Portland Japanese American Citizens League donated documents to Portland State containing information on Japanese American civil rights dating from 1941 to the 1980s. After a long process involving proper storage and cataloging, the Millar Library recently announced that the documents are now available to PSU students, faculty and staff.

Local startup Pacific Light Technology recently got $3 million to start research on LED light technology. Currently partnered with Portland State’s Business Accelerator, the lab and office space provided will help Pacific Light to develop technology that will lead to more efficient and less expensive LED lights.

“This city has a blight on it. It’s not producing the results we need it to,” Mayor Sam Adams said at a May 9 City Council meeting. “We can’t wait for the state to figure out higher education,” he added.

A proposed Urban Renewal plan has $50 million worth of building and land improvements coming to the Portland State campus. Some of these projects include renovating Cramer and Neuberger Halls, expanding the School of Business, increasing classroom space and efficiency, and research lab upgrades.

Break out those reusable bags and get some fresh air while doing your grocery shopping. Vendors from all around the state of Oregon open shop on Portland State’s campus for the Portland Farmers Market, drawing 12,000–16,000 shoppers each Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.