It's About Collaboration
"Oregon State provides a wonderful environment for interdisciplinary collaborations," says Cherri Pancake, professor of Computer Science and Intel Faculty Fellow. She should know. A world-renowned researcher in intelligent information systems, Pancake has built collaborations with over a hundred researchers campus-wide and from other universities around the globe, Oregon State's size and openness makes it easy to create new partnerships. Her colleagues in the School agree, noting that we have an "exceptionally collegial" faculty.

It's About Relevant Research
Every day, millions of computer users confidently rely on spreadsheets to crunch numbers, organize data, and spit out the information. What most of these users don't know, however, is that nearly 50 percent of all spreadsheets contain errors, an alarming statistic that impacts the accuracy of everything from mortgage payments and loan calculations to sports statistics and internal revenue records. Computer science professors Margaret Burnett and Curtis Cook are researching ways to rid spreadsheets of hidden errors. They're developing a color-coded, interactive testing system that alerts users to potential errors before they become part of the spreadsheet.

It's About Interdisciplinary Research
The NSF was looking to fund a major grant aimed at establishing a high-speed, Internet-linked, world-class tsunami research center that could be used by researchers worldwide. Cherri Pancake put that vision together with the Mechanical Engineering department. Funded by a $4.8 million National Science Foundation grant, Oregon State's O. H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab is being transformed into the largest tsunami research facility in the world, enabling researchers worldwide to participate in real-time experiments using cutting-edge communications technology. "The NSF has cited our proposal as being the clearest vision of what they were looking for," said Pancake. "We created the marriage between advanced technology and earthquake engineering that will enable new breakthroughs in tsunami research."

It's About Partnering: Making Innovative Breakthroughs
Researchers from the Analog/Mixed Signal group have teamed up with researchers at Washington State University and the U.S. Army Research Lab to develop what just might be the world's tiniest engine. Twice the thickness of a human hair and only two millimeters square, the minuscule generator uses body heat or other sources of waste heat to create its own electricity. Just three of these micro-engines can produce enough power to run a wristwatch using only the body heat of the wearer. Oregon State associate professors Karti Mayaram and Annette von Jouanne and professor Terri Fiez are working with WSU faculty to capture the electricity generated by the micro-engine and condition it for use in a wide range of applications.

It's About Taking it to the Next Level
Oregon State Engineering and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy have teamed up to form a unique research and educational center aimed at transforming breakthrough research into economic impact. The Microproducts Breakthrough Institute is working to develop new products and spin off new companies that tap the emerging miniaturization technology called MECS (Microtechnology-based Energy, Chemical, and Biological Systems). MECS research at Oregon State involves researchers from all engineering departments and from the Colleges of Science and Agricultural Sciences. It has the potential to spawn an new industry in the Pacific Northwest that could rival the Silicon Valley's microelectronics boom triggered by research at Stanford.