Senior psychology major Joan Hicks didn’t know much about statistical analysis, but she immersed herself in the research method to study underreporting of depression in Ghana. Now she has intriguing findings to submit to an academic journal.

That’s one example of the enriching student experiences featured in the autumn issue of Oregon Quarterly, available now and focusing on undergraduate research at the UO.

Others include an anthropology major’s examination of women and homelessness; physics majors tracking asteroids during all-night viewing sessions at UO’s Pine Mountain Observatory; an environmental science/biology major who teams up with pigs to battle a farm pest; a biology major working with experts in the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact; a medieval studies student who uncovers the multifaceted role of Viking feasts; and a comparative literature major who explores feminist translation theory within the works of leading international female poets.

The autumn issue also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Broadway House jazz series, hosted by Paul Bodin, an adjunct instructor of philosophy, in his Eugene home. You’ll find profiles of Ed Whitelaw, emeritus professor of economics, and Eric Nummedal, a 2016 graduate of biochemistry and biology whose devotion to the scientific method has been a springboard to his career in research.

Other Ducks in the spotlight this include 2018 graduates Anisha Adke and Zoë Wong, friends from the Clark Honors College now with the National Institutes of Health, and Kayla Carlile, whose Duck Tale traces her path to self-acceptance as a single mom.