Linn-Benton Community College

Five Linn-Benton Community College students were awarded $5,000 scholarships from the Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium, part of Oregon State University. The students and their majors are Hazel Betz, physics; Aaron Groves, physics; Brian Riedy, engineering; Brianna Smith-Sparks, physics; and Levi Willmeth, computer science. Catherine Lanier, associate director of OSGC at OSU, wrote in an email announcing the winners, “We had a significant increase in the number and quality of applications this year, making the award selections very competitive and difficult. There were many deserving students!” Scholarships were awarded to 12 community college students, 15 university students, and seven undergraduate research projects throughout the state. The Oregon Space Grant Consortium, part of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, is a state-wide network of universities, colleges, museums, educators, researchers, students and science professionals promoting STEM education throu...

Summer is rocking for LBCC students participating in international competitions in robotics and music, and launching rockets at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Oregon is the place to be for ocean engineering, says LBCC physics instructor and ROV team advisor Greg Mulder. That said, this is the 7th year LBCC’s Remote Operated Vehicle team, or ROV, has qualified for the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center’s annual international ROV competition, held this year at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan June 26-28. The event pits teams from college and universities around the globe. The team worked all year to design and build a submersible robot, which they tested at nearby Osborn Aquatic Center pool. Students on the team come from a variety of majors including math, physics, computer science, engineering, health and human performance, and drafting. The team also relies heavily on technical writers, as one-third of the competitions score is ...