In March 2025, we put out a call for proposals for big ideas around the College's Strategic Advantages and Prosperity Widely Shared. Teams and individuals are invited to participate in a mini symposium called an Ignite Session which will feature those ideas and invite collaborators. That Ignite Session will be held on April 23, 2025. Teams will then be invited to submit a proposal for seed funding (up to $50,000 for each of two years). These funding proposals will be due in September 2025.
Background: In 2019, we held a College-wide faculty meeting to engage in developing our four Strategic Themes, which resulted in the creation of a draft white paper for each theme. The College then held Town Halls to further discuss and finalize white papers surrounding each theme. In 2021, the College announced a new opportunity for faculty teams to initiate projects advancing the College’s Strategic Advantage vision which was replicated in subsequent years. A call for pre-proposals was placed and 3 - 4 proposals/teams were selected to participate in Ignite Sessions and to submit a proposal for seed funding. Each year, we ask for new teams to bring forward their ideas. You can view recordings of these sessions below.
2025 Strategic Advantage Ignite Session
Recording
Presentations:
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Clint Epps - ‘Chronic Wasting Disease: Integrating Surveillance, Management, and Community Response’
- Collaborator(s): Dana Sanchez
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Jillian Gregg - 'Soil C Must Be Measured to Constant Mineral Mass!'
- Collaborator(s):
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Angee Hunt - ‘Closing the Loop: Transdisciplinary Solutions for Full-Circle Seafood Utilization’
- Collaborator(s):
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Juliana Ranches - ‘Effects of Wildfires Smoke Exposure on Livestock: Developing Tools to Assist Producers’
- Collaborator(s): Jenifer Cruickshank
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Stuart Reitz - ‘Environmental, Economic, and Social Benefits of Converting Waste Agricultural Plastics to Diesel in Rural Oregon’
- Collaborator(s): Lucas Ellis, Skip Rochefort, Leanne Giordano, Marina Denny, Gina Greenway (Greenway Research), Kevin DeWhitt (PDO Tech)
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Samantha Chisholm Hatfield - ‘Effective Utilization of Traditional Ecological Knowledge Combined with Western Science in Research Produces Better Results’
- Collaborator(s): AJ (Amy) Mallozzi, Sydelle Harrison
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Jing Zhou - ‘Crop Species Classification and Mapping Using Spaceborne Imagery and AI’
- Collaborator(s): Aaron Becerra-Alvarez
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Brittany Barker - ‘Modeling Tools to Reduce the Arrival, Establishment, and Spread of Invasive Species Under Climate Change’
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Collaborator(s): Leonard Coop
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Collaborator(s): Leonard Coop
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Jeffrey Steiner - 'Gene to Plant to Field to Factory - Industry 4.0 Biobased Manufacturing With Industrial Hemp'
- Collaborator(s): Kelly Vining, Gordon Jones, Skip Rochefort, and Karl Haapala
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Pete Berry - ‘Community-Based AI Model Development Using a Smartphone Application’
- Collaborator(s): Jing Zhou
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- Collaborator(s): Taylor Chapple
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Malena Orduña Alegría - ‘Harnessing AI to Transform Agricultural Water Management and Community-Engaged Research’
- Collaborator(s): Floyid Nicolas
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Siva Kolluri - ‘Biological Activity and Benefits of Natural Compounds’
- Collaborator(s): Claudia Maier
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Mana Ohkura - ‘Enhancing Surveillance of Emerging Pathogens Using Long-Read DNA Metabarcoding’
- Collaborator(s):
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Massimo Bionaz - ‘Point-of-Use Technology for Rapid Virus Detection’
- Collaborator(s): Liang Huang, Li-Jing (Larry) Cheng
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Cory Simon - 'Applied Optimization and Machine Learning Algos'
- Collaborator(s):
2024 Strategic Advantage Ignite Session
Cyber-physical System for Identification and Sorting of Grass Seed (Funded)
Contact: Dan Curry, Crop and Soil Science
A Case for Establishing a University-Wide Platform for Sustainability
Contact: Sam Bell, Sustainability Double Degree Program
Building an AI-Powered Consumer Education Platform to Support Sustainable Food Choices
Contact: Jung Kwon, Food Science and Technology
Integrating AI into the AgBiz Logic Online Decision Tool to Assist Producers in Solving Economic, Financial, and Environmental Problems
Contact: Clark Seavert, Applied Economics
Connecting High Throughput Phenotyping, Machine Learning, and Genomics to Breed for Climate Adaptation
Contact: Ryan Contreras, Horticulture
How Can We Use Generative AI and Custom Chatbots (GPTs) to Help Members of the Public Translate Agricultural and Horticultural Research?
Contact: Leslie Madsen, Horticulture / Extension Master Gardener Program
Use of Fourier Transformed Infrared System and Artificial Intelligence to Assess the Health of Animals
Contact: Massimo Bionaz, Animal and Rangeland Sciences
Towards Next Generation Pear Production: Learning-based Fruit Detection and Tracking (Funded)
Contact: Brian Pearson, Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center
2023 Strategic Advantage Bold New Ideas Ignite Sessions
GIS Focused Technology for Advancing Agriculture in Oregon, Recording
Contact: Pete Berry, Crop and Soil Science
Unlocking the Full Potential of Seaweed as a Sustainable and Multi-Functional Commodity, Recording
Contact: James Fox, Microbiology
Multifunctional Spray for Smart Sustainable Agricultural Production, Recording
Contact: Qingyang Wang, Food Science and Technology
2022 Strategic Advantage Bold New Idea Ignite Sessions
Building Climate Resilience and Competitiveness Through-System Level Water Management, Recording
Contact: Salini Sasidharan, Biological and Ecological Engineering
Working floodplains as natural infrastructure: Strategic management of ecosystem services in floodplains, Recording
Contact: Desiree Tullos, Biological and Ecological Engineering
Automated approaches to the monitoring and analysis of plant-insect interactions, Recording
(Funded)
Contact: Tim Warren, Horticulture
2021 Strategic Advantage Ignite Sessions
Innovation Hub for Sustainable Food Manufacturing, Recording
(Funded)
Contacts: Sheri Cole and Yanyun Zhao, Food Science and Technology
A Trans-disciplinary Big Data Extension and Research Center, Recording
(Funded)
Contact: Jeff Chang, Botany and Plant Pathology
Microbiome-Mediated Genetic Resistance to Plant Biotic and Abiotic Stresses, Recording
(Funded)
Contacts: Chris Mundt and Posy Busby, Botany and Plant Pathology
Socio-economic Resilience in Concert with Biological Innovation, Recording
Contact: Michael Banks, COMES -Newport
2020 Four Themes Virtual Town Hall Sessions
Coastal Food Systems and Conservation
Recorded Session White Paper Comments
Food Innovation for Health, Markets and Access
Recorded Session White Paper Comments
Working and Natural Landscapes
Recorded Session White Paper Comments
Agricultural Competitiveness and Resilience
Recorded Session White Paper Comments