Providing the State of Oregon with extension education in plant pathology is a major service mission.
Our extension faculty include Cynthia Ocamb, Jay Pscheidt, Melodie Putnam, and James Young who are based on campus. Philip Hamm, Richard Smiley, Robert Spotts, and David Sugar are located at research stations throughout the State.
The OSU Plant Clinic, a plant diagnostic disease center, housed in Cordley Hall, provides service to growers and the general public. The Insect ID Clinic is located within the OSU Plant Clinic.
The OSU Herbarium directed by Aaron Liston, housed in Cordley Hall, is the largest and most active in Oregon, with worldwide collections of vascular plants, bryophytes, algae and fungi, providing public service through its identification and inquiry program. Richard Halse is the Herbarium Curator, and Joseph Spatafora is Curator of the Mycological Collection.
The OSU Electron Microscope Facility, managed by Teresa Sawyer, is housed in Cordley Hall and operates as a service business offering technical assistance with instrument operation, specimen preparation, and analytical procedures associated with visual analysis of biological and physical specimens.
Natural History Discovery Days is a highly popular science field trip for about 2000 elementary and middle school students across much of western Oregon . Held at OSU twice each year, faculty and students from Botany and Plant Pathology join other OSU departments to produce and staff displays designed as a fun, educational experience.
Faculty and Students take part in Science Connections, a partnership between OSU and Portland Schools to enhance education in public schools by forging connections between working scientists and teachers and students in schools.
Science Education Partnerships in Science, a K-12 program funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and an Eisenhower grant is committed to using community scientists to help teachers provide a quality science education for all students. SEPS maintains a database of scientists, currently about 150 volunteers, including faculty from the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, who are eager to give presentations, arrange field trips, mentor individual students, and help teachers with classroom science activities.
