Cutting edge research, nationally recognized professors

The Columbia-Willamette chapter of the international science society, Sigma Xi, hosted their fourth annual awards banquet at Portland State on Thursday, May 21.

Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi promotes and honors achievement in sciences. It inducts new members based on their research potential or accomplishments in the field.

 be in, but you have to be nominated and approved,” said Linda Mantel, president of the Columbia-Willamette chapter.

In her speech to the 17 new members, Mantel emphasizes Sigma Xi’s commitment to the scientific society and importance of camaraderie, “we are all colleagues here,” she said.

All six winners of this year’s Outstanding Scientific Researcher Awards are from Portland State.

Below is a brief profile on each of the six winners’ accomplishments in their given fields.

Catherine deRivera, Portland State environmental sciences and management
Winner in Biological Sciences
An expert in marine invasive species, Professor Catherine deRivera’s research looks at the impact and spread of non-native species and how to control them.

Her research focuses on the European green crabs, which have spread to the North American west coast. Last year deRivera also began to look into the impact of the U.S. road system on wildlife. According to deRivera, our current road system is inherently in conflict with our natural system.

She explained that roads cause pollution and also break up natural habitats that are critical for animals to live. “My research looking at how we can adapt the roads so that they are not in as much conflict with our natural system,” deRivera said.

Aside from her research work, she is also an adviser to the Oregon Invasive Species Council. She has 18 referred publications and has attracted $600,000 in external funding for her research. She is currently teaching a marine ecology class.

Alex Ruzicka, Portland State geology
Winner in Earth Sciences
When the Buzzard Coulee meteorite fell in Canada last Thanksgiving, Professor Alex Ruzicka was on the case to classify the meteorite.

An expert in meteorites, Ruzicka is also the co-founder and director of the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory, which provides education outreach to people in the area on meteorites.

It is the only meteorite laboratory in the Pacific Northwest.

“We get a lot of inquiries, he probably speaks to one or two dozen people in a week who thinks they found a meteorite” said Melinda Hutson, Ruzicka’s wife and colleague, adding that of a thousand calls only seven might be meteorites.

Hutson said Ruzicka’s research looks at the formation of planets and meteorites, specifically silicate inclusion and iron meteorites.

During the formation of the earth, silicate rock separated from the metal which formed the core, but there are some cases where it has been difficult to explain why the two did not separate, Ruzicka explained.

One of Ruzicka’s current projects is funded by NASA and looks at how olivine aggregate minerals that float loose in space came together during the first stages of meteorite formation.

Ruzicka has 25 referred publications and $488,000 in external funding. Currently he is teaching two courses at Portland State, geology and astrogeology.

W. Robert Daasch, Portland State electrical and computer engineering
Winner in Engineering
Professor Robert Daasch only needs 60 seconds to predict whether a computer chip will still be working 10 years from now.

That one minute of testing translates to 10 years of studies and research for Daasch, the founder and director of the Integrated Circuits Design and Testing Laboratory at Portland State.

Companies such as Texas Instrument and IBM support his research. 

He also holds three patents, has had academic papers in 19 publications and he recently received the Technical Excellence Award from the Semiconductor Research Corporation. 

Currently, Daasch is working on semiconductor memory.

“We’re trying to understand the reliability and predict the performance of these pars with statistical methods that we extrapolate from that first minute of testing,” Daasch said.

Daasch was pleased yet modest with receiving the Outstanding Scientific Researcher award.

“It’s always humbling to have colleagues who recognize your work and to be considered one of the best,” Daasch said.

Mingdi Yan, Portland State chemistry
Winner in Physical Sciences
Professor Mingdi Yan’s research in surface chemistry has transformed the way chemical and biochemical properties of surfaces are fabricated and controlled.

She has 56 referred publications and 15 patents, one of which is licensed to a Swiss company.

Yan is a member of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute and has $6.7 million in external research funding and currently has eight active grants.

Recently, Yan was in Washington, D.C., for an event held by the National Institute of Health as part of a panel of experts there to review research proposals from researchers all over the country.

“It’s prestigious to be there, to be able to sit with people from Columbia, Yale and Berkeley and talk the same language,” Yan said. “It raises the reputation of PSU.”

Yang will be featured in an extensive profile in the Vanguard on Wednesday.

Bin Jiang, Portland State mathematics and statistics
Winner in Mathematical Sciences
Professor Bin Jiang’s specialty area is in computational mathematics where he has been interested in the development of efficient numerical methods to solve large-scale practical problems in the fields of material science and nano-optics.

“One of my research areas is in nano-optics, specifically, I simulated the manufacturing of high-performance solar cells because the current performance is pretty low,” Jiang said.

His research has garnered $160,000 in external funding and Jiang has 26 referred publications to date.

Professor Jiang is currently teaching Numerical Analysis and Introduction to Linear Algebra. 

On receiving the Sigma Xi award, Jiang said: “I’m very excited to think that all my hard work in the past several years have been acknowledged by our local research scientists.”

Leslie Hammer, Portland State psychology
Winner in Psychology
Professor Leslie Hammer’s research focuses on the realities of life experienced by the “Sandwiched Generation,” or adults who are rearing children while caring for aging parents.

Hammer examines the various stressors related to the unique work of raising children and caring for the elderly.
Her study has been noted in Time magazine and the Chicago Tribune, as well as presented at conferences and published in academic journals.

She has 42 referred publications, her most recent was in the Harvard Business Review. Over the years, Hammer has attracted over $6.8 million in externally funded research grants.

Aside from her research work, Hammer is also the director of a new occupational health psychology graduate training program at Portland State.

She currently teaches an occupational health psychology course.