A Message About Research From
STEADMAN UPHAM
Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education
and
Dean of the Graduate School
The University of Oregon transforms lives through knowledge. This is our vision, our goal, and the reality of what we accomplish when we do our jobs well.
Our students share in this reality daily, but all Oregonians are touched by this vision through the outreach activities of UO's talented faculty and staff. Outreach is not just a word in our mission statement, it is the tangible result of aggressive technology-transfer programs and energetic teaching that touch the lives of citizens in every sector of society.
This issue of Inquiry illustrates the scope and influence of outreach at the University of Oregon. Sometimes our outreach entails the discovery of new information, novel relationships, or innovative technology; sometimes outreach means taking our discoveries and technology and moving them into the marketplace. In still others, it simply means teaching and learning--the transfer of ideas and information to problem-solvers in many different fields.
The six profiles in these pages demonstrate the remarkably varied ways the University of Oregon reaches out across space and time to the very frontiers of knowledge. Whether it involves blazing a trail across the interface of athletics and capitalism, exploring the brain's secrets, or preparing Oregon's schools to meet twenty-first century challenges, UO faculty and staff members and students make positive contributions to Oregon's economy and quality of life. We value this opportunity and cherish our role in Oregon's future.